Farming News - AGROVISTA: Hemmy's Field Focus - Grain store cleaning and treatment
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AGROVISTA: Hemmy's Field Focus - Grain store cleaning and treatment
The earlier the store is prepared by thoroughly cleaning it out and monitoring for insect activity, the better. It gives growers more opportunity to get it right before the grain arrives and to treat, as necessary.
Thorough cleaning
If livestock buildings are intended for use as crop storage or temporary holding facilities they must be thoroughly cleaned, power-washed and sanitised with a combined food grade detergent/disinfectant and left to dry before use.
Repair any leaks in store – these will create problems.
Clean walls, floors and roof spaces, paying particular attention to ledges, corners, and areas where dust and debris accumulate. Remember also to clean ducts, driers, and grain handling equipment. Ensuring these spaces are free of residual grain and dust is an essential step to success.
Brushing alone will not suffice – use airlines and vacuum cleaners.
Burn all sweepings/vacuum contents, or dump well away from grain store. Do not leave vacuum cleaners within the store as pests can easily crawl out.
Cleaning two months ahead of harvest will give time to allow optimum control measures to be employed.
Controlling pests in empty stores?
If there has been a history of infestation, then routine treatment should be employed. Otherwise place pheromone traps every 5m in store and only spray if activity is detected.
Grain store structural treatments should ideally be made at least six weeks before any grain is loaded into store.
Ensure that the correct rate is applied with serviced and calibrated application equipment.
Details of all treatments should be documented.
Cleaning alone does not eliminate all pests in empty stores, nor will pesticide treatment. The key to safe storage of grain is to use an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to prevent, monitor/detect and control any issues.
Smoke generators are designed only to be used in addition to liquid structural treatments for treatment of grain stores. Their purpose is to improve the performance of insecticidal structural surface treatments by causing agitation of pests in accessible areas, encouraging their movement to treated areas.
Both products claim reduction of grain mites (particularly important now that we can no longer use chlorpyrifos methyl.
Strains of saw-toothed grain beetle and flour mite resistant to organophosphorus insecticides are widespread and resistant strains of rust-red flour beetle have also been found.
Finally, monitor empty store after cleaning using sticky traps +/- pheromones to check success of cleaning.
Qualifications required?
To use grain storage treatment using hand-held applicator growers require PA1 and PA6.
To use smoke generators growers require PA1 and PA9.