2nd Edition of Agriculture, Forestry, and Horticulture World Conference 2026

Abstract

The target objects of protection against pests of grain stocks are grain, granaries, grain processing enterprises. More than 30 species of insects and mites damage grain during storage. Harmful insect species are represented by the orders Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Among them, Sitophilus oryzae, S. granarius, Rhizopertha dominica, Sitotroga cerealella and members of the Bruchidae family develop inside the grains and form a latent form of infection. Insects of other species and Acaridae bread mites develop in the intergranular space. An integrated system of measures to combat pests of grain stocks, including preventive and exterminating measures, has been created and is being implemented in the country.

Prevention is carried out by preparing storage facilities and grain for storage. Preparation of storage facilities includes their repair, compaction and cleaning, destruction of weeds and disinsection. Grain preparation includes cleaning, drying and cooling, as well as preservation with insecticides. Insects and mites are constantly monitored in batches of grain by sampling and sifting medium samples of grain weighing 2 kg each. Extermination measures involve the use of physical and chemical methods. Separation, heating and freezing of grain are used as physical methods. In some cases, radiation disinsection with electron accelerators is used. However, chemical methods are the most common for the extermination of pests.

Sometimes grain is treated in a stream with liquid organophosphorus and pyrethroid insecticides, as well as powdered insecticides based on silicon dioxide. More often, grain fumigation with phosphine is used using tablet forms of aluminum or magnesium phosphides. At the same time, the features of the storage facility determine the fumigation technology. In reinforced concrete elevators, tablets are injected into the grain, which is transported by a conveyor belt to an empty silo. In warehouses, tablets are immersed in grain using special probes.

In metal silos and in the holds of large-capacity vessels, the phosphine-air mixture is recirculated through the grain mass. In wagons and small-tonnage vessels, tablets mixed with grain are placed in special Gas permeable capsules, which are injected into the grain to a depth of 2 m using special rods. Calculations made on the basis of a survey of 817 batches of grain weighing more than 2 million tons and experimental studies of insect voracity showed that pests annually eat 5-7 million tons, which is about 5.7-7.8% of the grain stored in the country.