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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #329103
Title: Field evaluation of the long-lasting treated storage bag, deltamethrin-incorporated (ZeroFly® Storage Bag) as a barrier to insect pest infestation

Author
item PAUDYAL, SULOCHANA - Oklahoma State University
item OPIT, GEORGE - Oklahoma State University
item OSEKRE, ENOCH - Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology
item Arthur, Franklin
item BINGHAM, GEORGINA - Vestergaard Frandsen Sa
item PAYTON, MARK - Pens Food Bank
item DANSO, JAMES - Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology
item MANU, NAOIMI - Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology
item NSIAH, EVANS - Pens Food Bank

Submitted to: Journal of Stored Products Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/23/2016
Publication Date: 1/1/2017
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5596167
Citation: Paudyal, S., Opit, G.P., Osekre, E.A., Arthur, F.H., Bingham, G.V., Payton, M.E., Danso, J.F., Manu, N., Nsiah, E.P. 2017. Field evaluation of the long-lasting treated storage bag, deltamethrin-incorporated (ZeroFly® Storage Bag) as a barrier to insect pest infestation. Journal of Stored Products Research. 70:44-52. doi:10.1016/j.jspr.2016.11.003.

Interpretive Summary: Stored-product insects infest bagged grain products in African countries and cause extensive product losses through direct damage and contamination. Vestergard Inc. has developed a storage bag (Zerofly storage) incorporated with the insecticide deltamethrin as a protective treatment against stored-product insects, but no tests have been conducted in actual field conditions. We conducted a study at several sites in Ghana by comparing insect pest population development in corn treated with the insecticide Betallic to untreated corn stored either in polypropylene bagging or in the Zerofly bag. Extensive pest populations developed in untreated corn stored in the polypropylene bags, with corresponding insect damage and weight loss. There was some population development in the untreated corn in the Zerofly bags after several months, which may have been caused by infestations in the corn prior to bagging. There was little population development in the insecticide-treated corn. Results show the new Zerofly bags will help limit insect pest populations during storage without the use of an insecticide, but for optimal results corn should be free of infestations prior to bagging. Managers can use the Zerofly bags to help reduce insect infestations, and may also reduce reliance on insecticide treatments without compromising food security.

Technical Abstract: The deltamethrin-incorporated polypropylene (PP) bag, ZeroFly® Storage Bag, is a new technology to reduce postharvest losses caused by stored-product insect pests. ZeroFly bags filled with untreated maize were compared to PP bags filled with maize treated with Betallic Super (80 g pirimiphos-methyl and 15 g permethrin per liter as an emulsifiable concentrate (EC), and PP bags filled with untreated maize (control). The experiment was conducted from February-August 2015, at four sites in different locations of the Middle Belt of Ghana. Moisture content (MC), number of live and dead insects, insect damaged kernels (IDK) and maize weight loss data were collected monthly. ZeroFly bags and Betallic treatment significantly reduced insect damage compared to the control treatment. ZeroFly bags were able to keep IDK levels below 5% for 4 mo, but the levels increased to 5.2 and 10.2% after 5 and 6 months, respectively. In the control, IDK increased significantly over time and reached 32% after 6 months. The ZeroFly bag was effective against Sitophilus, Tribolium and Cryptolestes species for 4 months. Mean weight loss of = 3.68% was recorded in ZeroFly bags during 6 months of storage whereas 11.88% weight loss occurred in the PP bags after 6 months. Based on our results, ZeroFly bags were found to have potential for use in the reduction of postharvest grain losses in bagged grains. Grains may have been infested when they were put in the bag, so ZeroFly bags were effective for short-term storage. However, greater benefits of using ZeroFly bags are realized if insect-free grains or legumes are stored in bags.