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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #136865
Title: AREAWIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL GRAIN STORES

Author
item Flinn, Paul
item HAGSTRUM, DAVID - RETIRED ARS
item REED, CARL - KANSAS STATE UNIV
item PHILLIPS, THOMAS - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Stored Products Protection International Working Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/6/2002
Publication Date: 7/30/2003
Citation: FLINN, P.W., HAGSTRUM, D.W., REED, C., PHILLIPS, T. AREAWIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL GRAIN STORES. STORED PRODUCTS PROTECTION INTERNATIONAL WORKING CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS. 2003. pp. 99-102.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: During the last 4 years, an area-wide IPM project for stored grain was developed and tested in 20 elevators located in Oklahoma and Kansas. During this study we have taken thousands of grain samples in concrete elevator silos. We found that there is little correlation between the need to fumigate because of high insect density, and whether the grain is actually fumigated. Fumigations tended to be based on past experience, or were calendar based. True integrated pest management (IPM) requires insect sampling, risk benefit analysis and often to use multiple control tactics. In the study, moving grain samples, probe trap, and power vacuum samples were compared. We found that the best sampling method for estimating insect density without moving the grain was the vacuum sampler. In new grain, insect densities were highest in the top half of the grain mass, and decreased with depth. Sampling the top 12 meters instead of the entire 30 meters greatly reduced sampling time. Grain silos were sampled every 2 months using a vacuum probe. Ten, 3-kg samples were taken in the top 12 meters of each silo and the grain was passed over an inclined sieve to separate the insects. Insect and grain data is entered into the risk analysis software. The software provides grain managers with a method to determine which bins are at risk without having to move the grain from one bin to another, and it also makes management recommendations and predicts which bins will be at risk in the future. This sampling and risk analysis program can save the elevators money because instead of turning and fumigating wheat in most of the bins at a facility, they only need to turn and fumigate bins that are predicted to have high insect densities.