DAQ466 - On-farm grain storage in the northern region - development, evaluation and implementation of best management practices.

Project Start Date 1 July 1999
Project End Date 30 June 2003
Supervisor Name Peter John Hughes
Organisation Queensland Department of Primary Industries
Contact name Peter Hughes
Region North
Summary

This extension project aimed to develop and promote Best Management Practices (BMP) for on-farm grain storage to meet market quality requirements, minimise costs and address safety issues.

BMP guidelines were developed and published as Department of Primary Industry (DPI) Notes. These are accessable via the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) website, the saleable publication 'Prime Notes' CD, a dedicated 'Stored Grain' CD also containing weblinked additional info. sources, and a 'Crop Management Notes' CD.

Direct training was also delivered targeting grain growers, grain exporters, rural merchandise retailers, advisers, agronomists,and post-graduate students at the University of New England.

Conclusions

This project (DAQ466) complemented and integrated the outputs of several other GRDC research and extension projects, e.g. DAQ530, Moisture problems in sealed silos; DAQ00004, Resistance Monitoring; DAQ00008, Grain Protectants; DAQ00009, Grain Disinfestants; DAQ00028, Drying aeration extension; DAQ00010, Fumigation in sealed farm silos, and DAQ518, Phosphine Awareness.

The grains industry is faced with several major challenges:

- An increasing risk of resistance to both protectant insecticides and phosphine fumigant. The phosphine resistance issue has been largely the result of inappropriate use of phosphine at farm level. Proper phosphine dose rates, concentration, temperature effects and exposure times must be understood and closely managed to ensure efficacy of this key means of storage insect control. This project resulted in greatly increased effort to improve user understanding and knowledge of phosphine usage. Through this research, local scientific findings were integrated with established best practice to strengthen the case for practice change in farm use of phosphine fumigant.

- Increasing buyer resistance to under-specification grain, particularly grain with insect infestations, chemical residues, etc. This project addressed these important issues as they apply at farm level by preparing and supplying practical, science-based BMP recommendations.

- Increased regulatory pressure for urgent upgrading of phosphine and protectant usage on stored grains. This project provided an understanding of these problems for grain growers and their advisers.

Information products were produced in a highly useful format on a broad range of stored grain issues. These have been actively distributed as part of planned, targeted training programs and in normal individual dealings with clients. Their existence has also been widely publicised and they are readily accessible via the internet.

Recommendations

(1) Growers, advisers and grain handlers need to be able to practically identify the major insect pests in grain storage in order to understand their management. This is necessary in light of increasing levels of insecticide and phosphine# fumigant resistances. Accurate identification of the insect will underpin decisions on the most appropriate control measures.This will result in effective withholding periods following treatment of grain and helps trace back the reasons for failures in control practices.

(2) Grain growers need to adopt an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to insect pest control in farm-stored grains. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the basic elements of their ecology and environmental requirements, particularly their responses to temperature and moisture. This better equips growers to effectively employ aeration technology in managing storage insects and to appreciate the importance of farm hygiene, effective use of phosphine, the benefits of sealed silos, the limitations of protectants for control of certain insect species, etc.

(3) There is no quick and effective treatment for infested stored grains for urgent delivery. Stored grains must be monitored regularly for insect infestations and moisture accumulation in order to maintain ready marketability. The current widely-used 'quick knockdown' phosphine-use practices are dangerous to personnel and livestock and ineffective against immature stages of insect life cycles. Although a 'quick' phosphine fumigation may kill some live adult insects, the infestation is simply passed along the supply chain without proper phosphine-use practices.

(4) Grain growers need an understanding of the principles of grain aeration in managing grain temperature and moisture. Recommendations for basic aeration system design parameters appropriate to cooling and drying were made and discussed, as were the benefits and limitations of automatic aeration controllers.

Project Outcomes

Economic Outcomes:
This project is resulting in more efficient use of phosphine# fumigant and insecticidal grain protectants in farm-stored grain. This is resulting in reduction of loss of grain in farm storages due to insects and moisture problems. It is also reducing the time required for effective fumigation of farm-stored grains while achieving better insect control. This has direct economic benefit right along the grains supply chain. More effective and efficient insect management at farm level reduces costs for the whole industry because pest infestations are not passed from farm to subsequent dealers, handlers and clients.

There has been pressure on the grains industry from authorities to 'use phosphine properly or lose it'. Phosphine is a highly effective, very cheap, 'easy to use' fumigant for grain grower use. This project has provided many key advisers and users in the industry with the latest knowledge and understanding to enable adoption of best practice at farm level.

Environmental Outcomes:
Adoption of proper phosphine fumigation practices on-farm results in less reliance on residual insecticides, lower phosphine and solid phosphine tablet residues in the environment and in grains. Importantly, it also means insect resistances are better managed, ensuring more sustainable use of phosphine and residual insecticides into the future. An IPM approach has been taken towards farm-stored grain insect management in this extension project. All information and training products and activities have been designed to improve client understanding of all insect management options and of the insect pests themselves. This is resulting in more effective and minimal use of chemical and fumigant options.

Social Outcomes:
Commercial agronomists, farm supplies retailers, grain handlers, agents and exporters are now the main conduit for practical technological information to the grain growing community. This project has resulted in targeted training on a wide range of issues related directly to on-farm grain storage for personnel in these sectors of the grains industry. Training by this project team has in many cases been delivered at the clients' request agronomist accreditation courses, several major and minor farm supply retailers (over 100 individuals from 30 retail establishments now trained or updated), University of New England post-graduation 'Grains' course organizers trained approx. 10 professional grains industry people from bulk handling authorities, state agricultural departments and major farm supply retailers. This approach recognises the key roles played by those organisations and their people in servicing the technical needs of grain growers.
Proper use of phosphine and protectant insecticides also means Workplace Health and Safety and consumer safety issues are better addressed.

Achievement/Benefits

Background to the importance of the issues this project was designed to address:
The aims of this project address recommendations and resolutions from two GRDC supported, industry-based conferences: (1) 'Farm grain storage workshop', University of Queensland (UQ) Gatton Campus, July 1991 - recommended 'integrated extension programs' as a high priority research and development (R&D) issue
(2) Stored grain in Australia: Australian Postharvest Technical Conference, Canberra 26-29 May 1998 - resolved that 'Recognizing the need to follow best practice in grain storage, this conference supported additional extension activity throughout Australia to promote good grain storage practices'.
Many grain growers now store more grain on-farm for longer periods to exploit market opportunities. Quality management strategies used by most growers for on-farm grain storage (Annis 1995, Bullen et al. 1991, White et al. 1991) include various levels of attention to hygiene, in combination with one or more of:
- Disinfestation prior to sale or use by fumigation with phosphine# or spraying with dichlorvos# , at a cost of about $0.20/tonne;
- Aeration, usually without any form of controller, at a depreciated capital cost of $0.35-3.50/t (White et al. 1991) and running costs of $0.05/t/month.
- Fumigation with phosphine as necessary throughout the storage period, usually in unsealed storages, at a cost of about $0.20/t.
- Spraying with residual insecticides at costs of $1-2/t.The costs exclude capital costs of storages and handling equipment.
Markets are becoming more sensitive to residues resulting from some of these treatments, so growers have moved away from use of residual insecticides. Poor hygiene and fumigation result in repeated infestation and increased retreatment costs in residue free grain. A total of 60% of growers experienced insect pest problems in grain stored more than three months, and 13% of growers had deliveries rejected during 1989-91 (Bullen et al. 1991). The current frequency of problems is much higher (based on personal discussion with growers and B.Bridgeman, ex GRAINCORP). Costs of downgrading and/or imposed treatment and/or increased transport vary from $5 up to $35/t at point of sale (Bullen et al. 1991). It is assumed that currently 20% of growers experience downgrading and or imposed treatment and or increased transport costs of $15/t on an average of 40t or $600 for each of those growers. As market requirements become more stringent, the frequency of rejection of deliveries due to failure to meet quality specifications is expected to increase. Infestation problems will increase substantially as resistance to phosphine develops. Rejection of deliveries for failing to meet quality specifications could double in three years, and could increase 10-fold in 10 years. As well as increasing frequency of rejections, the costs of downgrading could significantly increase. Growers will have to invest in improved storage technology if they are to meet market requirements. The practices used by many growers are of dubious acceptability, risking lives and health and placing markets at risk because of residues. The consequences of these risks could be industry wide and cost millions of dollars.

Major achievements of this project:
This project has enabled the production and extension to the grains industry of a grain storage BMP package. This package clarifies and cements recommended practices for farm grain storage management aimed at satisfying profitability and market criteria.

The BMP recommendations have been widely promulgated throughout the grains industry, particularly in the northern grains region. This project has enabled relevant, practical and background information supported by local scientific findings to be brought together in a highly useable package designed to assist grain growers to upgrade on-farm grain storage management

How these achievements will benefit the grains industry:
By directly working with grain growers or indirectly through their advisers, agronomists or grain marketers, this trial has been able to provide the production sector of the grains industry with very accessible guidelines to BMP in farm grain storage management.
Growers have been increasingly relying on their agronomists, advisers and farm supply retailers for advice on a broad range of production issues. This project has better equipped those off-farm information providers to handle the requirements of modern up-to-date grain producers.

Regulatory authorities in Australia have indicated a strong need for phosphine# usage to be 'tightened-up' or the fumigant will eventually require use restrictions, due to health and safety concerns, client rejection of grain due to solid or gaseous phosphine residues. With increased phosphine resistance being detected in key grain growing regions, there is an urgent need for proper use and understanding of the benefits of sealed storages in obtain greater efficacy from phosphine on-farm. Increased protectant resistance in these districts requires a better understanding of the need for an IPM approach to stored grain pest management.

An IPM approach towards grain storage insect management is expected to ensure existing relatively inexpensive control options remain effective in the longer term. Important issues addressed by this project are understanding the insects and therefore understanding how management of their environment, principally, the effects of temperature and moisture, can be used on-farm in an IPM program approach. This project emphasized insect identification, insect biology and management of grain temperatures and moisture content (MC) using aeration technology for grain cooling and drying.

The whole industry will benefit due to lower cost of production and improved grain marketability, as a result of GRDC's investment in this project.

Other Research

(1) There is a need to maintain this training effort throughout the grain districts of Australia. We have found strong support and demand for this training from farm supply retailers, agronomists, advisers, grower representative associations. Time and distance have limited the geographical extent of the training component of this project, however it is now well positioned to be continued within other extension projects.

(2) R&D opportunities exist in the area of rapid grain quality assessment (especially for immature insect infestation). All links in the grains supply chain can be expected to benefit from more assured grain quality if practical and reliable rapid insect detection systems were employed from farm storages onwards. This would allow the introduction of incentive payments to grain suppliers for insect free high quality grains (or alternatively, penalty impositions for infested grains).

(3) Bruchid management in pulse grains is a vital issue for the pulse industry. Cowpea bruchid, soybean bruchid and possibly other bruchid species are now widespread. Concentrated R&D work on these pests is now urgently required.

(4) There is a need for R&D into methods of achieving more even, more rapid phosphine# distribution in large grain storages, (say > 300t capacity silos). It is expected that recirculation systems and methods of phosphine tablet administration to silos at ground level would feature strongly in such a project.

(5) Due to the scarcity of new protectant and fumigant compounds available for insect management in stored grains there is a need for R&D alternatives, e.g., biological insecticides.

Additional Information

A total of 14 DPI Notes were published (see www.dpi.qld.gov.au/broadacre field crops/grain storage)
1. GS - Shortcuts for Insect Control
2. Organic Grain Storage
3. GS - Resistance to Protectants
4. GS - Psocids and Mites
5. Steel Mesh Silos for On-farm GS
6. GS - Identification of Insect Pests
7. GS - Resistance to phosphine
8. Temp. Storage of Grain
9. Underground Pit Storage
10. Insect Control in Farm-Stored Grain
11. Bruchids in Mungbeans
12. Early Harvest for Quality and Profit
13. GS - Aeration for Cooling & Drying
14. GS - Why Install Aeration?

Appendix

A total of 14 DPI Notes as below were published (see www.dpi.qld.gov.au/broadacre field crops/grain storage)
1. GS - Shortcuts for Insect Control; 2. Organic Grain Storage; 3. GS - Resistance to Protectants; 4. GS - Psocids and Mites;
5. Steel Mesh Silos for On-farm GS; 6. GS - Identification of Insect Pests; 7. GS - Resistance to phosphine#; 8. Temp. Storage of Grain; 9. Underground Pit Storage; 10. Insect Control in Farm-Stored Grain; 11. Bruchids in Mungbeans; 12. Early Harvest for Quality and Profit; 13. GS - Aeration for Cooling & Drying; 14. GS - Why Install Aeration?.

Published Date 30 May 2018
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