PEST MANAGEMENT IN

STORED PRODUCT

Segun Philip Olupinla

June , 2021

PEST MANAGEMENT IN STORED PRODUCT

-Pest management in stored product can be very tedious and tasking

-Especially in a large stores, and more importantly those with

varieties of crops.

-More intricacies are created by the crop specific natures of store pests. RICE,
BEANS, YAMS and SHORGHUM don’t have same SPP of pests in most cases.

-Best way to go in store pest management is to adopt Integrated Pest

Management (IPM) concept.

-IPM methods which suits you best in terms of efficiency,

cost, safety and other requirements must be the one to
use
INTEGRATED PEST
MANAGEMENT
(IPM)
 WHAT IS IPM?

-An IPM is collection of pest control methods

that allows for maximum utilization of cultural
practices and natural enemies (for plant pests)
and physical methods (for storage pests).

-IPM can reduce environmental contamination

through the judicious use or reduced use of
pesticides.
 WHAT ARE THE COMPNENTS OF
IPM?

-Cultural practices…includes harvesting at

right time, using resistant varieties, etc

-Mechanical practices…includes using of

scarers, use of traps, etc.

-Regulatory practices…where govt laws

disallows indiscriminate movement of seeds or
crops from place to place.
 WHAT ARE THE COMPNENTS OF
IPM?...contd.

-Biological practices…use of parasitoid,

predators, pathogens, etc

-Chemical practices…use of pesticides.

STORED PRODUCTS PESTS
 LET’S CHECK ON THESE TYPES OF
STORED PRODUCT PESTS AND WAYS
OF MANAGING THEM CONSIDERING
 1. RODENTS

House Mouse Deer Mouse

Damage caused by
rodents
-They expose stored product to other pests and
contaminants

-They introduce micro-organisms to stored products

through their saliva and faeces

-Averagely 5 rats consumed about 43 to 57 kg of

grains and other produce per year.
Management of rodent populations

Ways to manage rodents include but not limited to;

1) Regular inspection of stores

2) Consistent sanitation and good housekeeping,

3) Rodents prevention form access to stored foods, and

4) Complete eradication of exiting rodents.

5) Proper checking to avoid accidental introduction of

rodents into stores through farmer and store tools.
CLASS INTERACTION

How best can

these be
achieved with
IPM?
 2 - Birds

Pigeons House Sparrows

Starlings
DAMAGE BY BIRDS
-Birds don’t run same live with rodents, they get their
damage done in the outdoors or open spaces where they
can have access to enter into a store or get inside an
open cribs

-A bird can consume an average of 103kg of grain per

year

-A bird faeces can help the build up of contaminant on

stored products.
Management of birds

-The easiest method of control is to keep birds

from access to stored foods.

-This is done by using wire mesh as screening,

or using local-made netting, where foods are to
be stored in open crib-type structures.

- The use of local scare-scrow may be of

ultimate important
CLASS INTERACTION

How best can

these be
achieved with
IPM?
 3-INSECT & BETTLES

1- Insects :
- Insects and beetles are the key pests of cereal grains
and stored food.

- Under optimum conditions, many of the species can

complete their life cycles in less than 30 to 35 days
and lay many eggs.

- This results in rapid build-up of populations that

consume and contaminate various stored products.

- Stored product insects and beetles are in most cases

, insects of small size with a hight reproductive
potential

- Therefore , they are easily concealed in grain and

grain shipment and have been carried to all parts of the
world.
Damages by insects and beetles

Example of insects pest of stored product are; Granary

Weevil, Maize Weevil, Rice Weevil, Lesser Grain Borer and
Angoumois Grain Moth;

key damages insects can cause to stored products

includes;

1. Loss of products
2. Quality changes
3. Damage to structures
3. Health hazards
CLASS INTERACTION

How best can

these be
achieved with
IPM?
 4-Mites
-Mites are common pests in grain storages and mostly
occur in damp or moist grain, residues, oilseeds and
animal feeds.  They are not readily seen because
they are the size of specks of dust.

- When present in large numbers mites appear as a

moving carpet of brown dust on the grains
 Damage caused by mites:
-Mites cause direct damage by eating the germ of the
grain and spreading fungi in the commodities

-During heavy infestation from the mould and grain mite,

the dead and live mites settle as a brownish dust layer on
stacks of commodities and floors of stores and emit a
lemon flavoured odour leading to the popular name
´Lemon-scented mite´. 

-In this situation, they can cause discomfort to workers

handling infested grain and packaged commodities.

-Infested are also been reported to have caused feeding

problems and allergic conditions in stock.  The markets
reject heavily infested
commodities.
CLASS INTERACTION

How best can

these be
achieved with
IPM?
Let’s Check These Advanced Insect
Pest Management of Stored Grains
Physical control
1- Grain vacuator

• Cyclone-based grain vacuators can not only be used to

remove grain from storage, but they are also effective in
killing insects. The percussion effect created by the
cyclone causes insect mortality.
 2- Using high temperature

• A grain dryer
Heat produced by a grain dryer can cause mortality
to insects. Expose insects to a temperature
between +50°C and +55°C for approximately 15
minutes. Grain temperatures above +40°C will kill
insects at all life stages.
 3- Using low temperature

Stored product insect pests generally do not feed or

Disinfestation
reproduce time periods required
at temperatures at
below +17°C.
low temperatures
 4- Inert Dusts

Groups:

• Clays, sand, ash

• Minerals (lime, salt, ...)
• Synthetic silicas
• Diatomaceous earths
5- Radiation
Basically, radiation can be used to
kill insects in products such as
cereal grains

Problems which prevent widespread

use:
• High cost of investment
• Field performance
• Limited capacity
• Consumer acceptance
 Chemical Control Fumigants
A little caution here….

• Pesticides or mixtures of pesticides

which produce vapors (gases)

• Toxic when absorbed or inhaled

They must reach the target pests as gases to be effective .

• Sold as solids, liquids, or gases

ALSO,….
•Toxic to many pests.
•Can be applied by various methods.
•Some may be applied without
disturbing the commodity.
•Penetrate structures, commodities and
equipment.
Readily available and economical.
•Quick acting.
•Only practical method for infested
commodities such
as stored grain.
HOWEVER,………….
•Toxic to humans.
•Require trained applicators.
•Target area or commodity must be
enclosed.
•May injure seed germination.
•Temperature requirements may be
hard to meet, especially in northern
climates.
•Control is temporary—no residual
action.
•May damage some commodities
and/or equipment.
EXAMPLES………………
i) Grain admixture treatments:
Admixture treatments depend upon reasonably uniform
The use of contact insecticides
application of
a suitable contact insecticide, or in some cases a mixture of
insecticides .

ii) Insecticide deposits on bulk grain surfaces and bagstacks

Spraying the surface of a bulk of uninfested grain, in a
bin or in flat bulk
storage, can give quite good protection against reinfestation
for a limited
period, depending on the persistence of the insecticide used.

Space treatments
This term is used to describe insecticidal treatments, by
aerosols or vapours,
intended to kill insects exposed to the treatment in the free
space of a store
or other enclosure to which the treatment is applied .
Modified atmospheres

Carbon dioxide or nitrogen with low

residual oxygen levels are used to
control stored product pests.

There are three basic techniques:

• Hermetic storage
• High N2 levels
• High CO2 levels
Hermetic storage:

Hermetic storage is based on the principle of

depletion of oxygen through respiration of
insects
Nitrogen (N2):

Replacing the naturally occurring air by about

98 % nitrogen results in insect control
provided that the
residual oxygen content is below 3 %.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2

Carbon dioxide has a toxic effect to insects at

levels of above 35 % by volume irrespective of
the level of residual oxygen.

It kills the insects by dehydration by causing

their breathing apparatus to stay open
Microbial Control

Dust preparations or aqueous suspension of these

pathogens can be applied to stored products in bulk in
much the same way as conventional insecticides.

-Another way of application of the pathogens is

through food baiting with pheromone or other attractants.
 Let’s share more
experiences, if any