Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Richard Petcher

Regional Extension Agent

Agronomic Crops

May 26, 2009

Small Grain Harvest and Storage:  Dr. Kathy Flanders, AU Grain Entomologist and Richard Petcher

Wheat and Oat Harvest is well under way.  There are between 30 and 40,000 acres to be harvested in Southwest Alabama.  The crop looks good even for having such a wet winter and dry April and now wet May.   Successfully storing the grain this past year has been a challenge for many.  The most likely problem according to Dr. Kathy Flanders, AU Grain Crop Entomologist is that our insects have become resistant to Malathion, which used to give residual control of many insects in grain bins.  Many growers, I think would agree.  The 2009 Stored Grain IPM Guide would be helpful.  The web site is:  http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0500-A/VOL1-2009/stgrain.pdf

A goal for our growers is to not rely on fumigants to control insects in stored grain.

This is possible as growers take the right steps in storing their grain. 

A few very important steps to successful Grain Storage are:

(1)Clean and spray equipment before using it to harvest and handle your grain.  Clean and treat empty grain bins with a residual insecticide. Treat the bins inside and outside and treat the pad for a five foot area around the bin. It is important to spray the entire surface area of the bin, as far up as can be reached with the spray.  There are many residual insecticides to choose from.  Tempo 20 WP and Tempo SC Ultra are a good choice to start with.  The Tempo SC Ultra is a little easier to handle than the Tempo 20 WP. 

(2) Wheat should be at 12 % moisture if storing for up to six months and 11 % if storing for 6 to 12 months.  Corn should be at 13 % moisture to be stored 6-12 months.  Soybeans should be 12 % to be stored 6-12 months. 

(3)Treat the entire grain mass as it is loaded into the bin.  For wheat a good treatment is Storicide II.  Another good choice is Pyronyl Crop Spray in combo with Diacon II.  For corn Actellic 5 EC alone,  or Pyronyl Crop Spray in combo with Diacon II is a good choice.  Storicide II is not labeled for corn. 

(4) Level off the grain at the top of the bin. 

(5) Bins should be checked twice a month for mold and insects until temperatures drop.   And then check, once a month.  A grain bin probe is very helpful for this.  A good one is around $300.  Many growers have improvised probes.  Inexpensive probe traps placed in five evenly spaced locations in the top layer of grain to monitor insects can be used also.  The important thing is to use the probes or traps to check for insects below the surface of the grain.  By the time you see insects on the top of the grain, your infestation level is already very high.  

(6) Start aerating the bins when night temperatures cool down below 70 degrees F or so.   It takes at least twelve hours of continuous aeration to force enough air through a bin to cool the grain to ambient temperature.   With less powerful aeration fans it could take as long as 48 hours.  When the night temperatures cool to less than 60 degrees F, aerate again until the grain temperature finally reaches 60 degrees F or lower.  Insects are cold blooded, and stored grain insects stop growing when it is below this temperature.  

If insect levels get too high it may be necessary to use a grain fumigant.  When using a fumigant it is extremely important to have bins air tight before and while treating.  There are many trade names for the most practical EPA approved fumigant, aluminum phosphide to choose from.  Extreme caution should be used when applying the fumigant.    See ANR-1154, Fumigating Agricultural Commodities with Phosphine, for more information.   The web site is http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1154/ANR-1154.pdf.

Again this is a very short version on storing grain.  There are many more products to choose from that are possibly equally as good, but difficult to list in a short article. 

Email address: rpetcher@aces.edu

Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5611, 928-0860, ext. 2222

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.