-Com Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 19,2002
202
Dr. Dennis Calvin
Penn State
Extension Entomologist
According to the 2000
Pennsylvania Agricultural
Statistical Reporting Service
(PASS), about 60 million
bushels of corn, 5.3 million
bushels of oats, and 7.6 mil
lion bushels of wheat, are
stored at some point in on
farm storage facilities.
This means that Pennsyl
vania farmers are storing
$153, $l9, and $8.2 million of
corn, wheat, and oats, respec
tively, in safe deposit boxes
on their farm. Unfortunately,
these facilities are not se
cured against insect and
pathogen thieves.
National USDA statistics
suggest that 10 percent of the
grain crop is lost during the
period from harvest to the
point of feeding or process
ing. Based on these numbers,
insect and pathogen robbers
are stealing $lB million from
Pennsylvania farmers each
year. These figures do not in
clude losses in on-farm stored
soybeans and other small
grains.
So what can farmers do to
prevent losses to these
thieves? Unfortunately, the
defenses are getting weaker
as many grain protectants
and fumigants are currently
under review by the EPA for
continued registration. Grain
protectants like Malathion,
Reldan, and Actellic, and the
fumigant phosphine gas
(Fumitox and Phostoxin) are
all organophosphates. The
fumigant methyl bromide’s
registration has already been
limited to 2005. This will
leave us with only biologicals
such as Bacillus thuringiensis
formulations and inert mate
rials such as diatamaeous
earth as protectants and pos
sibly no fumigants in the near
future. There are a couple of
materials that can be used as
crack and crevice treatments.
A lesson
well learned..
Lancaster
Farming’s
classified ads
get results!
Protecting Grain Quantity, Quality In Storage
Fortunately, there are other
methods to protect grain.
These, however, require
farmers to pay much closer
attention to grain while it is
in storage.
Good stored grain man
agement begins before har
vest. You must clean out your
harvesting equipment and
granary. The first step is to
clean out old grain from a
bin. This requires getting
grain and dust out of cracks
and off the walls and ledges.
Insects that attack grain are
very small and thousands can
be harbored in small concen
trations of broken grain par
ticles. Never, put newly
harvested grain in on top of
old grain that is infested with
insects. 'Once old grain has
been removed and the bin
thoroughly cleaned, new
grain can be added. If this
grain will be stored for longer
than six months, a treatment
of a grain protectant will
help. In all cases it is a good
idea to spray the walls and
floor with a barrier treatment
before placing grain in the
bin.
Grain harvesting equip
ment can also harbor insect
infestations in augers. These
areas should all be cleaned
out before harvesting begins.
Otherwise insects living in
the grain residues can be
moved into the grains with
the first few loads, despite
other sanitation efforts.
Grain should always be dried
to less than 13 percent mois
ture for long-term storage. If
your sanitation procedures
are good, you can be assured
that the grain going into the
holding facility is free of
insect infestations. Once the
bin is full, a surface treat
ment is needed to seal the
barrier around the grain. If
the whole grain mass was
treated, a surface treatment
is not needed.
Unfortunately, following
good sanitation techniques
only insures that the grain
will be insect free immedi
ately after being placed in the
bin. Once in the bin, other
physical and biological pro
cesses can lead to grain deg
radation. Moisture migration
is a phenomenon that causes
pockets of moisture to de
velop in the grain mass that
leads to fungal growth and
possible insect activity. In a
metal grain bin where the
outside temperature is cooler
than the inside grain tem
perature, air circulates in
clockwise direction picking
up moisture as the tempera
ture warms in the middle of
the bin and then drops it out
at the top. This moisture then
allows the grain to begin im
bibing moisture and respira
tion begins giving off heat.
Once temperatures get above
a critical level, fungi begin to
develop and give off more
heat in the process. When the
grain mass temperature ex
ceeds 40 to SOT, then insects
can begin to develop and
reproduce. During the
summer this process is re
versed and moisture pockets
can build up along the edges
of the grain mass.
Because of this relation
ship between heating and
moisture, the bin fan can be
your best pest management
tool. A good practice is to
draw the temperature of the
bin below SOT once the out
side temperature is below
SOT. This prevents moisture
migration and the develop
ment and reproduction of in
sects that might be in the bin.
Once drawn below SOT, the
grain mass will stay cool until
well into the summer because
of the grain’s insulating abil
ity. It is best to keep the grain
temperature within 10T dif
ference of the outside tem
perature. Do not run the fan
to cool the grain unless the air
is dry. It is also important to
make sure the grain is clean
and there are few broken ker
nels. Broken kernels and
other debris allow insects to
become established. A
number of the common grain
infesting species do not estab
lish well without broken ker
nels.
Other details to pay atten
tion to are: 1) level off the
grain mass after the bin is
full, 2) use a grain distributor
to prevent a column of fine
materials in the middle of the
bin that will prevent good
aeration, 3) eliminate spilled
grain from around the bin, 4)
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HIGH YIELDS - Check out the field trials performance against
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2001 BETTER HYBRIDS
SOUTHEASTERN, PA
Trial Performed by: Mid-Atlantic Independent Tech Services
Top 24 of 48 Hybrids Tested in Stewartstown, PA
COMPANY HYBRID YIELD BU/A MST. % LOG. %
American AllO 194.6 15.5 1
Mid-Atlantic MA9094 190 2 16 7 1
Mycogen 2833 186 8 16 7 1
Agway AG6OOI 183 7 15 8 1
Mid-Atlantic MA9O9OYG 181.4 15 6 12
Garst 8342GLS/BT/IT 180.2 16.9 10
Doebler’s 749XYG 179.0 17.6 4
Golden Harvest H-8906 178.3 15.6 4
Hubner H-3555 177.1 16.9 2
Chemgro 7311 174.2 17 7 5
Hytest HT7712 174.2 17.8 7
Mycogen 27991M1 173.5 17.5 0
Agway AG6191 173.2 15.9 3
Garst 84848 T 172.7 17,8 3
Pioneer 33A14 170.9 16.4 1
Mycogen 2652 170.4 15.0 4
Mid-Atlantic MABOIIRR 170.1 16.0 2
Mycogen 7474 170 0 16.1 7
Golden Harvest H-9471 169.2 17.3 3
Garst 83621 T 169.2 17.4 4
Pioneer 33J81 167 2 17.7 7
Chemgro 75258 T 165.9 18.5 6
Chemgro 7155 RR 165.3 16 3 1
Doebler’s 747XY 164 5 17 6 14
Averages = 166.3 16 7 6
LSD ( 10)= 22 0 0.6 6
C V = 9 7 2.7 73
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DEVELOPMENT - We prove our hybrids in field trials before
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j 6051 Carlton Ave., Porters Sideling
Spring Grove, PA 17362
keep weeds away from the
bin (many grain insects can
feed on weed seeds), 5) pre
vent moisture leakage onto
the grain, 6) prevent rodents
and birds from contaminat
ing the grain, and 7) use a
space fumigant such as di
chlorfo resin strips above the
grain. Remember, it is im
portant to check the grain
once a month for areas of
moisture and heat. When
these are observed, it is best
to draw air into the grain
mass to cool it and eliminate
the moisture. If you pay close
attention to these simple
practices, the likelihood of
insect contamination and
grain quality deterioration is
minimal.
When grain is treated with
an insecticide, it should be
protected up to 18 months;
with the exception of mala
thion which has only a six
month period of protection.
If the grain is not protected,
insects can still invade and
begin building up popula
tions. For more information
on storing grains, check the
1999-2000 Penn State Agron
omy Guide, pg. 47-51, or on
line at http://AgGuide.a
gronomy.psu.edu/.
(800) 214-3340