[en] The faba bean seed beetle,Bruchus Dentipes Baudi, the lentil seed beetle, B.ervi Froel, and the European lentil seed beetle, B.lentis Froel are the most important insect pests of lentil and faba bean in Syria. Adults lay their eggs on the green pods in the field and immature stages develop inside the seeds. Infestation rate differs from year to year and from one location to another. In 1991, it ranged between 9.6 and 13.90 for lentil seeds and 31.00 to 57.39% for faba bean seeds depending on the region. This reduced the economic value by about 50% for faba bean seeds and 20 - 30% for lentil seeds. Current disinfestation methods are unsafe and not adequately effective. Ionizing radiation could be an alternative approach. An investigation was initiated to determine the possibility of applying the irradiation disinfestation technique against these pests. The dose of gamma radiation needed for disinfecting faba bean seeds infested with B.Dentipes was found to be 90 Gy for the last two larval instars. Immature stages of B.ervi and B.lentis develop very rapidly in the field and reach the pupal or adult stage by harvest. This makes the application of this technique for disinfecting lentil seeds of little or no value. However, the results indicate that the irradiation disinfestation method could be an advantageous approach for disinfecting faba bean seeds. (author). 38 refs., 4 tabs., 1 fig