Hand Warmer-Induced Hypoxia Accelerates Pest Control in Hermetic Storage.

Accelerating oxygen depletion during hermetic storage can minimize pest damage and preserve product quality. This study evaluated the effectiveness of hand warmers in accelerating hypoxia to control insect pests inside hermetic containers. We used one, two, or four hand warmers to deplete oxygen in a 4-gallon hermetic jar with 4 kg of cowpea and cowpea bruchids, alongside a non-hermetic control with cowpea bruchids and no hand warmers.

Hermetic Bags: A Short-Term Solution to Preserve High-Moisture Maize during Grain Drying.

Maintaining maize quality while drying during a rainy season is a major challenge for smallholder farmers in developing countries. We conducted a study to evaluate the impact of temporarily storing wet maize of 18, 21, and 24% moisture content (m.c.

Enhancing Airtight Storage with Germinating Cowpea Seeds: Impacts on Insect Mortality, Progeny and Grain Quality.

Millions of smallholder farmers use airtight (hermetic) storage to preserve stored commodities. However, relying on biological agents (i.e.

Effect of Temperature and Insect Infestation Levels on Oxygen Depletion in Hermetic Storage.

Hermetic storage methods are effective at protecting grain against insect pests. Biotic and abiotic factors influence oxygen depletion during hermetic storage. We investigated the dual effects of temperature and initial pest infestation level on oxygen depletion during airtight storage.

Short-Term Hermetic Storage of Wet Maize and Its Effect on Quality.

Maize is a major crop grown in many regions of the world for human consumption, starch production, and animal feed. After harvest, maize is dried to avoid spoilage caused by fungal growth. However, in the humid tropics, drying maize harvested during the rainy season poses challenges.

Hermetic bags maintain soybean seed quality under high relative humidity environments.

Soybean seed quality is affected by high relative humidity (r.h.) during storage in the humid tropics resulting in loss of germination.

Hermetic Bags Help Afghan Rural Women Preserve Wheat Flour during Winter.

On-farm preservation of wheat flour is a challenge due to insect pests and high relative humidity. This experiment was conducted to assess the effectiveness of hermetic bags in preserving wheat flour stored by women during the wintertime when relative humidity is high. Forty women (households) from two districts in Herat province, Afghanistan, stored their wheat flour for 6 months.

Effect of Hypoxia on the Lethal Mortality Time of Adult L.

is one of the most destructive pests of stored grains. It leads to significant quantitative and qualitative losses, resulting in food and income insecurity among farmers. Chemical pesticides are the most common methods used by farmers and other grain value chain actors to manage this pest.

Cost-benefit analysis of on-farm grain storage hermetic bags among small-scale maize growers in northwestern Ethiopia.

Farmers continue losing substantial quantities of grain during storage due to damages from pests including insects. Hermetic bags, being promoted in Ethiopia, could be viable alternatives to traditional methods and insecticides that are commonly used by farmers to store grain. However, the economics and determinants behind farmers' decisions to use different storage methods are poorly understood.

Groundnut Production and Storage in the Sahel: Challenges and Opportunities in the Maradi and Zinder Regions of Niger.

Groundnut (L.), is an important legume crop after cowpea (L. Walp) in Niger.

Postharvest Management Practices of Grains in the Eastern Region of Kenya.

Cereals and legumes play a major role in the production systems and diets of farmers in the semi-arid eastern region of Kenya. Efficient postharvest management can tremendously contribute to food security in these regions. A study was carried out in three counties in eastern Kenya to assess pre and postharvest management practices among farmers.

First report of Stemphylium leaf spot caused by on alfalfa () in Peru.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the most cultivated fodder crop in Peru with 172,000 ha cultivated (MINAM 2019), and Arequipa is the top producing region with 40% of the national production in 2015 (Santamaría et al. 2016). In January-April 2019 (av.

Postharvest practices, challenges and opportunities for grain producers in Arequipa, Peru.

Little is known about the major issues leading to postharvest losses in Peru, which are estimated to be 15-27%. We surveyed 503 farmers from the lowlands and Andean regions of Arequipa to learn more about the major grains produced and issues encountered during drying and storage. Rice, common bean, and quinoa were the most grown crops in the lowlands while starchy maize was the most cultivated crop in the highlands.

Comparative Study of Cowpea Storage Technologies in the Sahel Region of Niger.

Cowpea stored on smallholders' farms suffers serious losses to insect pests. A study conducted in Niger compared five postharvest technologies marketed in sub-Saharan Africa to protect stored grain. Naturally-infested cowpea stored for eight months showed adult (F.

Performance of Five Postharvest Storage Methods for Maize Preservation in Northern Benin.

Several postharvest technologies are currently being commercialized to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa reduce grain storage losses. We carried out a study in Northern Benin to compare the effectiveness of five technologies being sold to protect stored grain. Maize that had been naturally infested by insects was stored in four hermetic storage technologies (SuperGrainbag™, AgroZ bag, EVAL™, and Purdue Improved Crop Storage-PICS™ bags), an insecticide impregnated bag (ZeroFly), and a regular polypropylene (PP) woven bag as control.

Effects of PICS bags on insect pests of sorghum during long-term storage in Burkina Faso.

The PICS bags, originally developed for cowpea storage, were evaluated for sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) preservation. Batches of 25 kg of sorghum grain were stored in 50 kg PICS or polypropylene (PP) bags under ambient conditions for 12 months and assessed for the presence of insect pests and their damage, seed viability and, oxygen and carbon dioxide variations. The grain was incubated for 35 days to assess whether any insects would emerge.

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

Hermetic technologies are being promoted in Africa as safer and more effective methods of grain storage on smallholder farms. However, farmers and policy makers lack knowledge of their efficacy in controlling major stored grain pests. An on-station study was conducted to evaluate the triple layer Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) airtight bags against two major storage insect pests.

Effects of Hypoxia on Acoustic Activity of Two Stored-Product Pests, Adult Emergence, and Grain Quality.

Modified atmospheres such as hermetic storage are widely used for the control of stored grain insect pests. To improve their effectiveness, there is need to better understand insect responses to low-oxygen environments. Adult Callosobruchus maculatus F.

A time-saving method for sealing Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags.

Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags were designed to reduce grain storage losses on smallholder farms. The bag consists of three layers: two high-density polyethylene liners fitted inside a woven polypropylene bag. Recently, farmer groups, development relief programs, and government food security agencies have shown interest in PICS bags for large-scale use.

Cumulative oxygen consumption during development of two postharvest insect pests: Fabricius and Hübner.

Insect pests such as Fabricius and Hübner cause substantial losses to grain during postharvest storage. In the last few years, hermetic storage technologies have been successfully used by smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia to protect their harvested grain against insect pests. Hermetic technologies owe much of their effectiveness to restricting oxygen availability to insects confined in the containers.

Oxygen Consumption and Acoustic Activity of Adult (F.) (Coleoptera: : Bruchinae) during Hermetic Storage.

Acoustic monitoring was applied to consider hermetic exposure durations and oxygen levels required to stop adult activity and economic damage on cowpea. A 15-d study was conducted with six treatments of 25, 50, and 100 adults in 500 and 1000 mL jars using acoustic probes inserted through stoppers sealing the jars. Acoustic activity as a result of locomotion, mating, and egg-laying was measured by identifying sound impulses with frequency spectra representative of known insect sounds, and counting trains (bursts) of impulses separated by intervals of <200 ms, that typically are produced only by insects.

Performance of PICS bags under extreme conditions in the sahel zone of Niger.

Experiments in Niger assessed whether extreme environmental conditions including sunlight exposure affect the performance of triple-layer PICS bags in protecting cowpea grain against bruchids. Sets of PICS bags and woven polypropylene bags as controls containing 50 kg of naturally infested cowpea grain were held in the laboratory or outside with sun exposure for four and one-half months. PICS bags held either inside or outside exhibited no significant increase in insect damage and no loss in weight after 4.

Hermetic storage of wheat and maize flour protects against red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum Herbst).

Hermetic storage is used to protect grain against insect pests, but its utility is not limited to whole grains. We evaluated hermetically-sealed, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for preserving wheat and maize flour against red flour beetle (RFB, Tribolium castaneum, Herbst) population growth. Flours infested with RFB and kept in sealed PET bottles experienced much less weight loss over a three-month storage period than infested flour kept in unsealed bottles.

Storage of Maize in Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) Bags.

Interest in using hermetic technologies as a pest management solution for stored grain has risen in recent years. One hermetic approach, Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags, has proven successful in controlling the postharvest pests of cowpea. This success encouraged farmers to use of PICS bags for storing other crops including maize.

Impact of opening hermetic storage bags on grain quality, fungal growth and aflatoxin accumulation.

Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags are used by farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa for pest management of stored grains and products, including maize. These bags hermetically seal the products, preventing exchange with external moisture and gases. Biological respiration within the bags create an environment that is unsuitable for insect development and fungal growth.