~ 138 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2015; 3 (2): 138-141 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2015; 3 (2): 138-141 © 2015 JEZS Received: 30-01-2015 Accepted: 15-02-2015 Gul Zamin Khan Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, G.T. Road, Tarnab, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Muhammad Salman Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, Cotton Research Station, D.I. Khan, KPK, Pakistan. Inamullah Khan Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, G.T. Road, Tarnab, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Alam Zeb Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, G.T. Road, Tarnab, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Jawad Ali Shah Department of Agriculture, University of Swabi, Ambar, KPK, Pakistan. Azhar Hussain Department of Plant Protection, the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Ilyas Akbar Department of Plant Protection, the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Aisha Bibi Department of Statistics, University of Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Sajjad Anwar Sugar Crops Research Institute, Mardan, KPK, Pakistan. Tahir Badshah Department of Agriculture, University of Haripur, KPK, Pakistan. Saifullah Mountain Agricultural Research Center, Juglote, Gilgit, Pakistan. Amir Zaman Shah Department of Plant Protection, the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan Correspondence: Muhammad Salman Muhammad Salman, Cotton Research Station, Ratta Kulachi Farm, Tehsil & District Dera Ismail Khan, KPK, Pakistan. Assessment of irradiation doses for sterility of vector mosquito and subsequent mating compatibility with wild females Gul Zamin Khan, Muhammad Salman, Inamullah Khan, Alam Zeb, Jawad Ali Shah, Azhar Hussain, Ilyas Akbar, Aisha Bibi, Sajjad Anwar, Tahir Badshah, Saifullah, Amir Zaman Shah Abstract The present studies were designed to develop long term sustainable strategies for the control of dengue vector in Pakistan. Mosquitoes were separated into males and females based on sexual dimorphism at the pupal stage. Ten transparent plastic bottle having 100 male pupae each were exposed to different radiation doses i.e. 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 Gy by Cobalt 60 irradiation source. For Culex spp highest emergence of 90.50% was achieved with dose of 60 Gy and highest deformity of 25.25% was noted with 100 Gy. Aedes spp showed highest emergence (91.25%) and deformity (29.75%) with 60 Gy and 100 Gy, respectively. The mating frequency was acceptable at optimum doses of 40-60 Gy radiation. The radiation dose of 100 Gy yielded lowest adult emergence and highest deformity in the mosquito’s species. The dose of 40-60 Gy was determined as the optimum dose for initiation male sterility required for SIT program. Keywords: Cobalt 60, Irradiation doses, mating compatibility, sterility, wild females 1. Introduction In Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) the laboratory reared sterile males are mass released into natural environment for the purpose of suppressing or eliminating the target pest by disturbing its progeny production [1, 2] . SIT has been used extensively and effectively to control various insect pest species [3] . In mosquito control, the Sterile Insect Technique dates back to 1960s when sterile Aedes aegypti males were released in Florida (USA), with the intention to reduce Aedes population [4] . This was followed by considerable studies on mosquito SIT [5] ; pilot field trial in northern Sudan to determine the feasibility of SIT to control the African malaria vector An. Arabiensis [6] . Having potential for different species of mosquitoes, efforts for SIT tactics of Aedes species are also in progress at Insect Pest Control Laboratories (IPCL), Seibersdorf, IAEA, Vienna, Austria. Benedict and Robinson (2003) explained the SIT use as a safe techniques comprising of mass production, releases and subsequent mating competitiveness with wild females [5] . The genetically modified mosquitoes have the potential of decreasing mosquito borne diseases transmission by releasing and establishing in the target sites. SIT is an environment friendly and species specific method of insect control in which large numbers of sterile insects are released. This is a useful insect control method against a range of agricultural insect pest and pests of public health importance [3] . Michelle et al. (2006) defined the three stages of SIT, i.e. mass production, sterilization and subsequent release of sterile insects into a target population in an area-wide integrated approach [7] . The released sterile males mate with wild females which no longer produce offspring and therefore the size of the target population is decreased. SIT has been proven to be a safe, effective and environment friendly approach to suppress and remove pest populations. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a long history of supporting SIT programs against tsetse flies, moths and fruit flies. Alphey et al. (2010) reported SIT as an effective tool of vector control. They proposed that SIT is more valuable in the integrated multi-approaches control strategies and SIT may be very efficient that dramatically reduce the number of insects when the target vector density is decreased by other methods. However, the cost and benefits of SIT should be always assessed before planning any strategy for the control of mosquito populations, in the light of the