Airtight Granary for Use by Subsistence Farmers
A.G.Ferizli¹*, S.Navarro², J.E.Donahaye², M.Rindner² and A.Azrieli²
¹Dept. of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ankara, 06110 Ankara, Turkey [*e-mail:ferzili@agri.ankara.edu.tr]
²Dept. of Stored Products, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50-250, Israel
Abstract: An airtight flexible plastic granary of 600-kg nominal capacity was tested for on-farm storage of grain. The granary was designed to provide food security for rural communities. It has the advantage of sealed storage that obviates the need of employing residual insecticides and fumigants.
To test the efficacy of the granary, an artificial infestation composed of adults of the rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae (L.), of the lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) and of the flour beetle and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (6 insects/kg) were added from laboratory cultures to maize at average moisture content of 12.6%. Insect survival, gas composition, and temperature of the maize were recorded. Maize temperatures were within the range of 34°C to 23°C. Oxygen concentrations dropped to 0.2% within 13 days and carbon dioxide rose to 12%. For the following 50 days, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations remained stable. A moist pocket of maize at the top of the granary was found to be at moisture content of 14.6% that contributed to maintain this atmosphere. In spite of favorable temperatures for development of insects, at the end of two months storage, the initial insect populations of S. oryzae, R. dominica and T. castaneum were successfully controlled without the use of pesticides.
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