David Nicolai, Extension Educator - Institute for Ag Professionals Program Coordinator
Late summer and early fall is time ensure infested and spoiled grain in bins from previous harvests won’t cause more problems for this year’s harvest. Over the summer, insect infestations may have grown in grain bins, especially in areas where spoiled grain accumulated even after being mostly emptied (Fig. 1). Keeping good sanitation practices prior to putting the next harvest into storage will help break pest cycles and reduce the likelihood of issues with spoilage or price docking at the elevator. Once grain is in the bin, options to manage existing insects are very limited, especially grain that is going to be stored through the following spring or summer.
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| Figure 1. Insect feeding damage in spoiled corn. Photo: A. Hanson |
Integrated pest management for insects in stored grains is closely tied to sanitation to also prevent grain from spoiling and overheating. Clean bins and equipment, maintain temperatures that are not ideal for insect development as long as possible, and consider residual insecticides when insects have continued to be an issue in previous years.
Common insect species can include: saw-toothed grain beetle, grain weevils, and India meal moth. Many of these species are generalists, so they can infest corn, soybeans, wheat, and other grains. Direct feeding damage can be a more obvious symptom of insect issues with hollowed out seed and exit holes from beetles or webbing from moth larvae that causes grain to clump (Fig. 2). Immature stages of many of these species live within the seed and will not always be readily visible. This also offers them some protection from transport, augering, or bin stirators.
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| Figure 2. Moth feeding damage and webbing on stored soybeans. Cast skins from pupae before emerging as adults are also visible. Photo: A. Hanson |
Clean bins and other equipment
Reducing the amount of material insects can use as shelter
or to reproduce is key for stored grain pest management as small amounts of
infested or moldy material can infest clean incoming grain.
At least a few weeks before filling a bin, vacuum or sweep out
old material. Accumulations of chaff, fines, and broken kernels are preferred
habitat for stored grain insects. While a bin may appear clean, don’t forget
about areas where these materials may accumulate out of sight, such as
underneath slotted flooring.
Once a bin is cleaned out and checked for cracks or openings
where insects might gain entrance, check any harvest or transport equipment where old grain may not have been cleaned out last year. An unused
auger or corners of a grain truck that were not entirely cleaned out can harbor
insects over the summer that will reinfest your harvest and rebuild pest
populations.
Maintain cool temperatures
During summer and fall insects will be near the surface of the grain mass,
while in winter they will move to the center of the pile where infestation may
not be noticeable until temperatures rise. Insect feeding can cause
temperatures in a bin to rise to 110°F, which can cause issues both for
spoilage and make the grain mass even more ideal for insect development.
When grain temperatures are below 50°F, insect development
slows, and at 25°F, insect activity mostly stops. Some mortality can also occur
at colder temperatures, though this is highly dependent on species, the actual
temperature experienced in the grain, and the length of cold exposure. From
both a grain quality and insect management approach, it is important to take
advantage of cold Minnesota nights to run fans and move cold air across the
entirety of the grain mass.
Insecticides
Insecticides will not be effective if grain still has to be
dried. Running grain through augers and especially heat will degrade
insecticides, so this option should be reserved for final storage rather than a
drying bin. While fumigants are available for already filled and infested bins,
these can be difficult to use to ensure coverage across the entire grain mass. Instead,
prevention through sanitation and residual insecticides two to three weeks
before putting new grain in a bin will typically be the easier and less
expensive option.
Residual insecticides can be applied in a few different
manners as a protective strategy. Surfaces of bins can be treated to target
adult insects that do manage to enter through openings in the bin or remain
wandering the bin after food sources have been removed. These treatments need
to dry over at least 24 hours to be effective, and there should be at least a
two week period after application until the bin is filled. Other strategies
include treating the entire grain mass as it passes from the auger into the
bin, or a top dressing treatment to protect against insects entering from the
roof as long as the top layer is not disturbed. Always follow pesticide label
requirements and guidance for specific uses and insect species.
For more guidance on grain storage additional options to
prevent losses, and potential insecticide use, visit: https://extension.umn.edu/corn-harvest/managing-stored-grain-minimize-storage-losses
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