On-Farm Evaluation of Hermetic Technology Against Maize Storage Pests in Kenya

Abstract

On-farm trial with a total of 32 farmers in eight villages of Naivasha and Nakuru areas of Kenya was conducted between December 2013 and September 2014 to evaluate hermetic grain storage technologies under farmers' management conditions. The storage technologies evaluated were metal silo and SuperGrain IV-R bag alongside the standard woven polypropylene bag with or without Actellic super dust. Moisture content, insect population, grain discoloration, and weight loss were analyzed 90, 180, and 270 d after storage. Grain moisture content remained stable over the storage period. Both metal silo and SuperGrain IV-R bag suppressed insect population, prevented grain loss and cross-infestation of insects from the surrounding environment. On the contrary, polypropylene bags allowed rapid build up of insect population and re-infestation from the surrounding environment. Grain weight losses were 1.5% in the metal silo and 1.8% in the SuperGrain IV-R bags compared to 32% in the polypropylene bags without Actellic Super dust, 270 d after storage. The present study, therefore, demonstrates that storing grains either in metal silo or SuperGrain IV-R bags would benefit farmers in reducing grain losses and improving quality. The study was of great interest to the farmers, grain storage scientists, and food security experts.

Evaluation of Purdue Improved Crop Storage Triple Layer Hermetic Storage Bag against Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) and Sitophilus zeamais (Motsch.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

“…The observed increase in insect population is consistent with previous studies [31,32]. A significant increase in live insect population occurred in polypropylene and jute bags, which was in accordance with earlier reports [10,13]. The widely used insecticide Actellic Super ® dust was ineffective against the storage insect pests 16 weeks after storage.…”

“…While improved maize production practices have resulted in increased yields, poor on-farm postharvest handling and storage [4,5,6,7] have resulted in high grain losses. In Kenya, estimates of postharvest losses of maize caused by major storage insect pests vary from 24 to 48.5% [8,9,10,11,12,13] for untreated grains after six to nine months. The major storage insect pests include the larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and angoumois grain moth Sitotroga cereallela (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) [7,14,15,16].…”

“…Use of hermetically sealed containers to control major insect pests works by limiting oxygen access to insects, fungi and other microorganisms living inside the stored grain [26]. PICS bags have shown to be effective in controlling pests of several crops including cowpeas and maize [11,12,13,27,28]. Most of these studies have looked at the effect of a single insect pest on stored grain.…”

Effectiveness of Improved Hermetic Storage Structures Against Maize Storage Insect Pests Sitophilus zeamais and Prostephanus truncatus

“…24) with a top loading inlet and a lateral unloading spout at the bottom (Likhayo et al, 2016) and hermetically sealed with rubber band. The Hermetic bag made of tougher polyethylene, inner liner, 78 mm thick, with good gas and water barrier, provided by MashAgric PLC, South Africa.…”

Efficacy of Combinations of Methoprene and Deltamethrin as Long-Term Commodity Protectants

“…This was possibly due to a potential capacity for greater progeny production on brown rice when compared to wheat. Other studies have also shown reduced effectiveness when stored product insects are exposed for short time intervals on grains treated with deltamethrin or exposed on packaging that have deltamethrin incorporated into the laminate layers of the packaging [22,23,24].…”