Claim · model-written summary
Silica derived from rice husk ash and impregnated with neem and rosemary oils retained more than 85% of the germinative capacity of stored maize grains even after prolonged storage.
- Treatment
- silica derived from rice husk ash and impregnated with neem and rosemary oilse0
- Outcome
- germinative capacitye0
- Direction
- retainede0
- Value
- more than 85%e0
Not reportedMaterialGeneCompoundOrgan / stageInteractorInteractor roleSecond interactorSecond interactor roleComparatorSettingQualifier
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“silica derived from rice husk ash and impregnated with neem and rosemary oils could be a promising alternative to synthetic pesticides for storing maize grains, as it retained more than 85% of their germinative capacity even after prolonged storage”
Title
Bertrand Zing Zing; Winy Virgile Nanfa Guemfo; Christian Toumo Nana; et al. Bulletin of the National Research Centre/Bulletin of the National Research Center 2026. doi:10.1186/s42269-026-01388-w
Other claims from this paper (5)
- Intervention effect Rice-husk-derived silica controlled populations of S. zeamais in stored maize grains within 12 days of exposure.
- Intervention effect Compounding the silica with neem and rosemary oils produced a synergistic effect in controlling pests in stored maize grains.
- Intervention effect The effect of the formulation on stored maize pests was only comparable to synthetic pesticides after 5 days of application.
- Mechanism The authors attribute pest death to inert surface functional groups dehydrating the cuticles of the insect pests.
- Recommendation The authors propose the oil-impregnated rice husk silica as a promising alternative to synthetic pesticides for storing maize grains.