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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

In 1953, the khapra beetle reached US grain stores; authorities fumigated more than 600 infested sites before declaring it eradicated in 1966

Ben White California FAO The United States United States USDA

In 1953, when inspectors discovered a tiny brown beetle feeding inside a grain warehouse in California, the United States came across an enemy that was unlike almost any other agricultural pest it had encountered before. The insect, the khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium), could survive long periods without food, hide deep inside cracks and crevices, and spread through stored commodities while remaining unnoticed.

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