13th February 2007

Have a look at your stores for mite infection

The very warm conditions that oilseed rape went into store last harvest together with the mild autumn/winter has resulted in some high infestations of mites in stored rape. Useful time could be spent now inspecting stores and deciding whether to use the diatomaceous earth product, Silico-Sec, to control these mites, advises Dr. Reuben Morris, Technical Manager for Cropwise.

“Silico-Sec is one of the few products that we are able to use in oilseed rape for preventing or eradicating pest problems arising from the warm conditions throughout storage period. It can also be used in wheat and barley and offers a useful non-toxic method of controlling insect storage pests. Product choice has been severely limited in this area recently, so Silico-Sec is a very useful option to have,” says Dr. Morris.

“Silico-Sec can be used on stored crops for the management of a wide range of insect pests and mites, with no issues of resistance, residues or restrictions associated with chemical-based treatments. Being a non-chemical treatment, relying on a biophysical approach, it is considered to be inert and is exempt from registration under the UK’s Control of Pesticides Regulations. Nor can it leave any chemical residues. Cereal and oilseed rape growers at the start of the food-chain can use “non-pesticidal” pest control which is highly acceptable to processors and consumers,” points out Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager for Interfarm UK Ltd.

As a treatment to stored grain, Silico-Sec is applied to the grain surface, either as a low cost preventative treatment at a rate of 200g/m² or as a localised curative application at the rate of 600g/m², depending on the extent of the problem. It should be applied to the surface of stored grains after the heat and moisture content have been reduced within the HGCA guidelines and then worked into the top 30 cms with a rake.

“Silico-Sec consists of micronised specific amorphous silica derived from diatomaceous earth. It is the absorbent silica in the product that controls the insects and mites, by abrading the outside of the pests, removing the water-proofing wax in their cuticles and resulting in desiccation and death. As a biophysical product, it is a natural alternative to OP treatments and is able to be used in both conventional and organic farming systems.”

“If evidence of mite or insect infestation is found in store, growers are advised to look further as the problem will inevitably be found in other parts of the grain pile. Most infestations are found in the surface layers of grain piles for reasons of ease of movement and also for oxygen availability. Surface layer treatments, therefore, can be highly effective in both prevention and cure. Silico-Sec should be used as part of an integrated strategy for grain store management, together with temperature and moisture,” says Dr. Stormonth.

Silico-Sec contains up to 96% inert silicon dioxide as a diatomaceous earth powder between 13-15 microns. It can be used on stored feed wheat, barley and oilseed rape (and is under review by NABIM for use on milling wheat) for the prevention of invertebrate pests, such as grain weevil, saw-toothed grain beetle, red-rust flour beetle, cosmopolitan food mite, flour mite and larvae of the cosmopolitan flour moth, as part of an integrated storage management strategy. It is both protectant and curative. It is packed in 15-kg bags and is available exclusively via Interfarm distributors.

For further comment and information, please contact Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager, Interfarm (UK) Ltd. on 01354 741414 or 07818 036506 (mobile).