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- AgCenter hosts meeting on stored-grain pests
(03/10/17) CROWLEY, La. – Industry representatives from Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas attended a stored-grain insect pest workshop on March 8 hosted by the LSU AgCenter.
Entomologists, rice mill personnel and farmers met at the AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station to discuss control measures of insects that feed on grain stored in bins, dryers and mills. The group also met in Texas and Arkansas the same week and will gather in California the first week of April.
Mike Stout, head of the LSU Department of Entomology, said the workshop was helpful for mill operators, who complain that controlling insects in rice is a challenge.
“They said it’s a significant problem for them. It’s not trivial,” he said.
Mills must make sure their product is insect-free before it can be sold domestically and overseas, he said.
Farmers also have to deal with insects after harvest. “It is a problem for farmers when they have to do on-farm storage,” Stout said.
The group began meeting across the U.S. after a push to phase out the use of methyl bromide. Currently the chemical phosphine is used heavily to control insects in stored grain, and other practices such as sanitation and aeration can help.
Some insects have developed resistance to phosphine; however, its effectiveness can be increased by making sure the correct concentration is used for an adequate amount of time in a storage system that is properly sealed, said Frank Arthur of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Insects are not active in stored grains when temperatures are lower than 60 degrees, and a ventilation system to cool grain can be used, Arthur said.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture