Outside fumigation, there is no need to seal a silo – in fact, sealing a silo for long periods increases the risk of grain degradation and silo damage
Download the GRDC Ground Cover Supplement on Grain Storage from Jan-Feb 2022.
Key points
– Successful pest control in storages depends on combining regular grain monitoring, good hygiene, aeration cooling and correct fumigation practices
– Fumigation results rely on a gas-tight sealable storage to achieve the required gas concentrations and exposure times (C x T) to kill all insect pest life stages
– In larger silos (150 to 2000 tonnes) recirculating gases using a small fan during the fumigation ensures rapid, uniform distribution of phosphine gas
Two GRDC GroundCover articles exploring the importance of sealed grain storage systems and research investigating grain storage performance, pest management, and effective storage practices.
Explore the latest grain storage research, fumigation practices, aeration systems, and on-farm storage innovations featured in the GroundCover Supplement: Grain Storage (Issue 156, Jan–Feb 2022). This edition highlights practical strategies helping Australian growers protect grain quality, manage phosphine resistance, improve storage efficiency, and maximise long-term profitability.
Resistance monitoring of key insect pests has shown that combined grain protectants are a valuable integrated pest management tool for stored grain. Up to 30 per cent of freshly harvested grain is treated with contact insecticides – or grain protectants – before being placed into storage.
Lentil storage study to bring cold, hard facts to hot issue of safeguarding grain quality. Storing lentils on-farm can help growers streamline logistics and target better prices. However, the impact of storage on important market traits such as colour, cooking quality and germination is still a bit of a mystery.
A new study sheds light on the efficacy of phosphine control of cowpea weevil, or bruchids, in mungbeans and chickpeas.
Using an alternate fumigation chemical to break the development of insect pest resistance will help protect the efficacy of phosphine fumigation
Resistant rusty grain beetles, one of the flat grain beetles, have been found throughout the grain supply chain, suggesting the need for adoption of area-wide integrated pest and resistance management.