The current research aimed to use non traditional methods to control some stored grain insects. The effects of 180 millitesla (mT) magnetic field (MF) for six different exposure periods (3 min, 30 min, 1 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h) on mortality (%) of two stored grain insects, Tribolium casteneum adults and Trogoderma granarium larvae, reduction in F1-progeny (%), seeds germination (%) and seed components (%) after 8 months storage period were studied under laboratory conditions. According to results, the mortality (%) of tested insects increased with increasing of MF time exposure. Trogoderma granarium was more resistant than T. casteneum in which mortality reached 56 and 75%, respectively 14 days after from exposure period. Without any negative effect on seeds germination (%) the MF was very effective in protecting stored wheat from insect infestation up to 8 months compared to non-magnetic seeds which became infested after 3 months of storage. Furthermore, the germination (%) was accelerated by 6 h compared to non-magnetic seeds. The MF level caused a slight increase in the percent of total carbohydrate, crude protein and ash while slightly decrease the percent of moisture, total fats and crude fiber.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the insecticidal efficiency and safety of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) against: adults of rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L.); red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum Herbst.) and cowpea beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus F.) results showed that, both ZnO NPs and hydrophilic SiO2 NPs exhibited a significant toxic effect (df, F and p < 0.5) against S. oryzae and C. maculatus at the highest concentration while T. castaneum showed high resistance against the two tested materials. At the end of the experiment, recorded mortality was: 81.6, 98.3 and 58.3% at the highest concentration used for each insect (0.3, 2 and 8 gm ⋅ kg–1 of SNPs with C. maculatus, S. oryzae and T. castaneum, respectively), while mortality was 88.3, 100 and 38.3% at the highest concentration used for each insect (0.6, 2.5 and 8 gm ⋅ kg–1 of ZnO NPs with C. maculatus, S. oryzae and T. castaneum, respectively). Both tested materials caused high reductions in F1-progeny (%) with C. maculatus and S. oryzae. Histopathological examination of male mice livers showed hepatic architecture with congested blood sinusoids, binucleated hepatocytes nuclei, dilated central vein and margainated chromatin in some nuclei. Histopathological assessment of the lungs showed normal histoarchitecture. There were no differences in alveolar septa, bronchiolar and epithelium of the treated and untreated animals. Silica and zinc oxide nanoparticles have a good potential to be used as stored seed protectant alternatives if applied with proper safety precautions.