Sowing, processing and harvesting grain is not all. The most difficult task turns out to be to save already collected products in a granary or warehouse. After all, up to 100% of grain can be lost during storage.
The reason may be pests, moisture and poor-quality preparation of granaries for storage. Harmful collared insects are a real disaster for stored grain. The most common and most dangerous pests of grain and grain products are: collared and rice weevils, large and small chrysanthemums, pea and bean grain borers, grain borers, mealybugs, grain moth, flour mite, fireflies, house mice and rats. They destroy grain and its products and reduce their quality. Such grain will not produce high-quality flour and good bread.
. Granaries are inspected twice a year: in May, after they are freed from grain and products from it, and in July – before accepting and loading grain of the new crop. Grain that is stored for a long period must be examined regularly, while controlling the temperature, humidity and pest population of the grain in the mound.
Detection of pests in grain stored in the warehouses of agricultural enterprises requires the use of preventive and exterminating measures. Important sanitary and preventive measures are considered to be: bringing grain storages to the appropriate technical and sanitary requirements (warehouses, streams, warehouse territory, machines are kept clean;
granaries should be dry, whitewashed, with good ventilation, without cracks, freshly slaked lime should be poured on the cleaned surface of the underground in a layer of 1-2 cm, etc.), waste from grain cleaning should be disinfected and used for livestock feed (after approval by a veterinarian). Rubbish and waste that have no economic value. burned or buried in a pit to a depth of 1 m. Harvesting at optimum humidity, thorough cleaning of grain from weed seeds and other impurities, drying of grain to 13% humidity. storage of new crop grain separately from last year’s. Maintenance of temperature and humidity in storage facilities in accordance with technological requirements, instructions, and seasons. Detection of pest cells, which must be destroyed as a priority with the help of pheromone or glue traps.
Chemical disinfestation of grain continues to be the most radical exterminating measure against pests of grain stocks; wet, aerosol and gas (fumigation).
Wet and aerosol methods of combating collared pests are effective for processing vacant warehouses and adjacent areas. For this, organophosphorus and pyrethroid insecticides are used (Aktellik, Arrivo, Karate, Fastak, and others).
The rate of use of which is; for wet processing – 0.2 l/m.sq., for aerosol – 20 ml/m.kb. warehouse space. Among the chemical measures, gas fumigation is the most effective. It is performed using ethyl bromide gas, tablets based on magnesium phosphide (Degesh, Plates, Magtoxin), tablets based on aluminum phosphide (Alfos, Foscom, Fostoxin).
Works on preventive and disinfecting chemical processing are performed exclusively by specialized enterprises that have the appropriate state licenses to carry out the specified works. Fumigation is allowed to be carried out only by specially trained people, equipped with personal protective equipment and appropriate equipment, by teams of at least three workers. At the end of the exposure time provided by the instructions for a specific fumigant, the room is degassed using active or passive ventilation.
Leading specialist of the department of plant protection, phytosanitary diagnostics and forecasting, Hanna Masynets