BIOLOGY

INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

Identification of pests in stored food grains

- Deepesh .S
Vidyacharan .S
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our gratitude to our biology teacher Mrs. Barghavi for
giving us this wonderful opportunity to work on this project “Identification Of
Pests In Stored Grains.”.

We came to know about so many new and interesting things. We would also
like to thank our lab assistant Ms. Anitha who helped us in performing this
experiment within the limited time frame.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

i. Objective
ii. Introduction
iii. Conventional methods of insect detection
iv. Modern methods of insect detection

v. Insect detection
vi. Stored grain pests
vii. Management of stored pest grains
viii. Preventive measures
ix. Conclusion
OBJECTIVE
Early detection and monitoring of insects in the stored food grains become
necessary for applying corrective actions. Visual inspection, probe sampling,
insect trap, Berlese funnel, visual lures, pheromone devices etc., are some of the
popular methods largely used in commercial granaries or grain storage
establishments. Of late, electronic nose, solid phase micro-extraction, thermal
imaging, acoustic detection, etc. have been reported to be successful in
detecting insects. The capability of in-situ early detection, monitoring, cost,
reliability, and labour requirements are the major factors considered during for
selection of the method. Detection of hidden infestation, whose population may
be many times higher than the free-living insects, is an important concern to
mitigate the losses in bulk storage warehouses, so as to enable the early actions
for fumigation or to dispose off the grain.
INTRODUCTION
Stored grains are heavily damaged by insect pests. These pests cause damage to
stored grains resulting in both qualitative and quantitative losses. The main
reason behind the occurrence of stored grain pests is the presence of favourable
climates for their growth and survival. At various processing stages of grains,
i.e., during the process of development and maturation of seeds, processing in
threshing yards, during transmission of seeds, or storage large number of insect
pests gain access to stored grains. Some pests start damaging the seeds at the
ripening stage and continue during storage. Old bags, storage structures, old
containers are the major source of infestation. The dispersal and distribution of
stored grain pests are caused by the movement of grains from one area to
another area either by a passive or active flight of pests as some adult insects
possess strong flight. Almost one thousand species are stored grain pests of
different stored products all around the world. The majority of stored grain pests
belong to two orders, i.e., Coleoptera and Lepidoptera.

Stored grain pests possess a serious threat to dried, stored, durable and,
perishable agricultural products and non-food derivatives of agricultural
products worldwide. Stored grain pests cause serious post-harvest losses, almost
9% in developed countries to almost 20% or more in developing countries,
besides they also cause contamination of food products by the presence of
various live insects, insect products like chemical excretions or silk, dead
insects or some other storage structures. Almost 8–10%, i.e., 13 million tons of
grains lost due to insects and 100 million tons due to failure to store properly is
estimated in stored food products all around the world. Pests such as various
insects, pathogens, mites possess serious threats and cause severe damage to
grains by producing certain enterotoxins and mycotoxins. Approximately one-
third of the world’s production, which values almost $100 billion has been
destroyed by almost 20,000 species of field and stored grain pests. The majority
of stored grain pests belong to the order of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera that
accounting for almost 60 and 10% respectively. Stored grain pests generally
feed on grain, bore into the kernel and then destroy the germ portion, cause heat
and then cause deterioration in-stored grain products thus resulting in huge
losses mainly due to nutritional depletion and reduction in market value.
They also cause contamination by their excretory products, that can be
extremely hazardous to human health who process and infest the grains so the
loss caused by insect pests is not in terms of quantity but mostly in terms of
quality. Qualitative loss in stored grain is caused by chemical changes in
proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids which negatively affect the nutritional
value of grains.
Conventional methods of insect detection
Several conventional methods are used in grain storage establishments of which
visual inspection, probe sampling, and insect trap method are popular. These
methods are simple but time-consuming, labour-intensive and subjective.

Modern methods of insect detection

The approach of modern methods in stored food grains may offer an easy, rapid
solution to detect both internal and external infestation even of low density,
through less destruction of materials, so that decisive action can be taken as
early as possible. Some of the technologies use sensors, cameras, microscope,
radiation sources, volatiles, sound etc. as measures for insect detection. These
methods need comparatively less labour than the conventional methods.

Insect detection
Several methods are available to detect the insect infestation in stored food
grains. Among conventional methods, visual inspection is a simple, direct and
inexpensive method but not suitable for bulk storage, detection of hidden and
low-density infestation; besides being time-consuming. Sampling probes and
traps can be effective but are time-consuming and tedious in nature and provide
only the temporal data and sometimes need destruction of samples. The visual
lure is a chemical-free method.
METHODS OF INSECT DETECTION
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful for investigating the morphology,
physiology, and host–parasite interaction of insects, but the drawbacks of MRI
for detecting infestation are the large size, heaviness and high costs of current
apparatuses along with the difficulties in maintaining operations. These are also
the obstacles preventing MRI from being used in the development of other
applications in agriculture and food research. In this regard, small, dedicated
MRI devices equipped with permanent magnets are thought to overcome a part
of this drawback. For instance, low-cost and low-field proton MRI sensors have
been recently developed, allowing the rapid sensing of internal monitoring in
whole fruit. The results indicated that it should be possible to use the MRI
sensor and conveyor system for online sorting of apples with internal browning
at conveyor speeds below 100 mm/s if precise control of the conveyor speed
and apple position at the time of interrogation can be maintained. Infestation of
harvested apple fruits by the peach fruit moth was studied using a dedicated
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus shown. Infected holes on the
three-dimensional images tracked ecological movements of peach fruit moth
larvae within the food fruits, and thus in their natural habitat. These results
indicate that the 0.2-T MRI apparatus can be used to distinguish sound fruits
from infected ones, and also as a means for plant protection and the preservation
of natural ecological systems in foreign trade.
X-ray imaging
Although x-ray scanners are widely used in human skeleton scanning and for
security inspection reasons, practical application of x-ray imaging in non-
destructive inspection of insect pests in fruits is still unavailable due to its costs,
the poor penetration of x-rays in materials with high water content and difficulty
in effectively differentiating normal and infected tissues. As a result, previous
x-ray studies in agricultural products mainly focused on x-ray irradiation
quarantine treatments and on dry or lower water-containing materials, e.g.
checking seed quality with soft x -ray radiography and for detecting hidden
infestation of crop plants. However, with the aid of digitized x-ray imaging
analysis, it is possible to examine internal injuries that produce differences from
the homogeneity of normal fruit. Since the gray level of x-ray images depends
on the density and thickness of the test samples, the relative contrast of
infestation site to the intact region inside a typical fruit varies with its position.
To accurately determine whether a fruit has signs of insect infestation, an
effective adaptive image segmentation algorithm based on the local pixels
intensities and unsupervised thresholding algorithm should be developed.
Gas chromatography
Gas chromatography (GC) has also been evaluated as a potential technology for
detection of hidden insect infestation, owing to the fact that insect herbivory can
elicit changes in host plant chemistry and so in volatile emissions. It also has
been well documented that these chemical changes can occur within host fruit
as a result of insect activities. Preliminary tests by Kendra et al. (2011)
indicated that these chemical signals, emitted from fruit with early stages of
infestation, were detectable and distinct from that of non-infested citrus. If
insect-infested commodities consistently release unique chemical emissions,
this specific signature can provide the basis for advanced pest detection. But,
the relatively high amount of time required for each test and also low sensitivity
of the method are two main drawbacks, thus further evaluation of the system is
needed to apply this technology toward the development of rapid and more
sensitive screening methods, e.g. electronic nose.
Stored grain pests

Some common stored grain pests found all over the world as described below:

(a)Weevils
Weevils are one of the hardest stored product pests to control and one of the
easiest to identify due to their distinct snout, as well as the iconic damage they
cause to grain. Creating a “shot hole” appearance, the adult weevil bores a small
hole on the surface of the grain kernel, lays an egg, then covers the egg with a
gelatinous fluid. This process makes control of immature weevils very difficult.
The immature weevils consume the kernel interior and within approximately 4
weeks, the immature changes into an adult weevil in the kernel interior. When
the adult weevil emerges from the kernel interior, a hollow kernel remains. An
adult weevil’s lifespan ranges from 7-8 months and females can lay between 50
to 250 eggs.

1. Rice Weevils
 Strong fliers and internal feeders, rice weevils possess four light-red-to-
yellow markings on their forewings and have a densely-pitted thorax.
Infesting stored grains as primary feeders, rice weevil infestations
typically start in the field. In storage, the weevil can easily move
throughout the storage facility destroying whole grain.

2. Granary Weevils
Typically, smaller than the rice weevil, the adult granary weevils do not
have wings or markings on forewings. Since these weevils do not fly,
infestations are linked to localized infestations at the storage site and
infested grain transportation systems, underscoring the need to treat
trucks and equipment for insects.
(b)Lesser Grain Borer
With its head tucked underneath its thorax, the lesser grain borer has strong
flying capabilities and like weevils, creates “shot holes” in the internal kernel of
grain. Lesser grain borers are known for how destructive they can be, leaving
piles of grain dust behind them as well as a sweet musty odor in grain. These
prolific breeders are able to lay up to 500 eggs during their life cycle of about 2
months.
(c) Saw-Toothed Grain Beetle
This pest gets its name from the distinct saw-toothed projections on
the sides of its thorax. Flightless with running legs similar to a
cockroach, saw-toothed grain beetles are secondary pests and can be
found infesting oats, wheat, barley and animal feeds. The adult
lifespan ranges from 6-10 months, and populations can build up
quickly with these primary feeders. Saw-toothed grain beetles
congregate in areas together and these congregations creates hot spots
in grain.
(d)Confused Flour Beetle
This reddish brown, flattened beetle is nearly identical to the red flour beetle.
Under magnification the antennae gradually increase in size from the base to the
tip. Confused flour beetles are flightless insects and typically live longer than 18
months. During feeding, confused flour beetles contaminate commodities with
shed skins, and faecal matter, which creates a foul odour and taste in
commodities. As a general feeder, confused flour beetles feed on grain dust,
broken kernels and milled grains in flour and cereal mills. These flightless pests
are often found on the floor and crawling on equipment.
(e)Red Flour Beetle
Unlike the confused flour beetle, red flour beetles are able to fly and have three
distinct clubs at the end of their antennae. A scavenger and secondary feeder,
these insects feed on broken or damaged grains, rather than attacking the kernel
of the grain. Because of their feeding habits, red flour beetles are usually found
in mills and warehouses that store grain products. These invaders can live up to
18 months and cause commodities to have a pungent odour, foul taste and even
a pink coloration, destroying profits.
(f)Indian Meal Moth
The Indian meal moth is a small brownish moth featuring a distinct reddish-
brown with copper luster on the outer portion of the forewing. The Indian meal
moth can be spotted flying near the grain bin, by their larvae climbing up walls
inside bins or by the dense webbing left on food fragments by larvae. Larvae are
typically top feeders, and will be found between four and six inches of the
surface. The immature stages typically last between 6-8 weeks, and the adults
typically die within a week of laying eggs.
Management of stored grain pests

Insects are notorious to cause enormous damage to grains, pulses, and many
other substances either directly or indirectly by consuming the seeds or seed
products or through the accretion of exuviae, cadavers, and webbing. Hence,
making the stored products unfit and unhygienic for human consumption due to
the accumulation of insect detritus. Stored grain pests can infest almost all
grains stored inside bins or containers as well as outside the fields and cause
extensive post-harvest damage and pose a great threat to the economy. Once an
infestation happens, a suitable environment is created for the attraction of other
invasive insects for further loss. The most consumed and the most common
stored food products are pulses and food grains in the tropical and sub-tropical
regions of the world. In villages, about 70% of grains produced are stored in
traditional objects such as earthen pots, steel drums, granaries, silos, gunny
bags, baskets, and wooden buckets, such types of storage methods may often
lead to loss of food grains and pulses. Controlling strategy without synthetic
pesticides requires an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach. The IPM
approach is not based on a single component instead it is based on various
components for the efficient management of insect pests. These components are
described here.
Preventive measures

Infestation can be entirely prevented when some precautionary measures should

be taken such as when harvesting crops should be as soon as ripe, dry, and then
placed in clean, and hygienic deep bins for long storage. Newly harvested small
grains are very much susceptible to infestation if stored unthreshed for longer
times. Fresh and clean grains should never be stored in uncleaned, old bins and
granaries containing waste grains, until they have been thoroughly cleaned,
freed from the accumulation of waste materials and other substances harbouring
grain pests. The best storage places are solid, steel, concrete bins or containers
for infestation-free and for longer storage. Traveling bags, bags used for
transportation of grains, and any other products should be kept far away from
the places where grains are stored.
Conclusion
About 70% of stored grains are stored in villages in traditional methods. This
creates an attractive atmosphere for the invasive pests to flourish. Especially
developing countries have suffered a lot due to insect infestation. Integrated pest
management is the best way to minimize the infestation status. Food supply to
all human population, inhabiting any region of the world, seems less possible
due to the alarming infestation rate of stored grains. IPM approach has many
merits as it is the only method with which the quality as well as the number of
stored products like grains, cereals, etc. are maintained to increase their
economic value, as well as to provide nutritious food to even starved people.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/
S0956713518303372#preview-section-abstract

https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/79822

https://www.bugfreegrains.com/blog/grain-insects/stored-grain-insect-
identification