Training Manual: Maintaining Quality of Food and Feed Grain Through Trade and Processing

GOOD PRACTICES FOR ANIMAL FEED AND LIVESTOCK 2
training manual
MAINTAINING QUALITY OF
FOOD AND FEED GRAIN
THROUGH TRADE AND PROCESSING
GOOD PRACTICES FOR ANIMAL FEED AND LIVESTOCK 2
training manual
MAINTAINING QUALITY OF
FOOD AND FEED GRAIN
THROUGH TRADE AND PROCESSING
Peter Golob
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Rome, 2007
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do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO.
ISBN 978-92-5-000000-0
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iii
Contents
Preface v
Acknowledgements vii
Causes of deterioration 1
Loss of quality 1
Loss of quantity 2
Nutritional loss 2
Loss of seed viability 3
Commercial loss 3
factors affecting quality 5
creating an enabling environment 11

Good husbandry 11
Stock management 12
Stacks 12
Inspection 14
transportation 17
pest management 21
Control of insect pests 21
Fumigation 21
Contact insecticides 23
Control of rodents and birds 25
Control of moulds 29
summary of actions needed 33

Hygiene and store management 33
Stock management 33
Transport 33
Pest management 33
Appendix
Calculation for the application of contact insecticide to store walls 35

Preface
The grain produced by the farmer has a long journey to travel on its way to the consumer’s
plate or the animal’s feed trough; it may be processed into value-added foods or feeds for
consumption in urban or other areas that are remote from the site of production. There
may be a long chain through which the crop will be transported, stored and processed,
with accompanying losses in quality, quantity, nutrient content and monetary value at each
stage. If these losses are allowed to occur and build up, there will be a significant loss in
revenue for the producer and the end user. Therefore, no matter how many stages there
are in the marketing chain, it is important that grain quality is maintained throughout the
chain so that the end product fetches the best price possible, retains a high nutritive value,
and appears attractive to buyers.
This booklet describes the causes of these potential problems and illustrates actions
that should be undertaken to prevent or remedy them. Many of the solutions do not
require technical methods or equipment, but do rely on attention to detail, perseverance
and common sense. The booklet does not address problems that can, and do, occur on
the farm; a separate booklet addresses on-farm situations. This account assumes that
grain and grain products, including flour and animal feed, have reached the first point in
the marketing chain after leaving the farm. The first point may be a small-scale trader
who is buying directly from the farmer, or a middle-man. The situation of transit storage
and long-term storage, such as would occur in hospitals, prisons and boarding schools
is considered. Millers and feed compounders are also included. However, large-scale
storage such as by marketing boards and private exporters who use silos and warehouses
holding many thousands of tonnes of grain in central storage complexes is not included;
large scale operations require addressing in a very specific manner not appropriate to
smaller-scale organisations.
One of the problems in dealing with issues at this level of the marketing chain is that
no one specific group or organisation has responsibility for providing advice to traders
and millers. The booklet is not intended to be used solely by the ultimate beneficiaries
themselves, though it may well be. It is intended to be used by anyone who is involved
in providing practical advice to counteract the causes of deterioration of grain and grain
products along the marketing chain. These may be pest control suppliers, retailers and
wholesalers, extension personnel within and outside of government, staff of trading
organisations including marketing boards, and trade unions.
vii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the Natural Resources Institute UK for allowing me to reproduce
photographs from its collection. The information is largely in the public domain. I have in
particular referred to two text books for background material: ‘Crop Post-Harvest Science
and Technology. Volume 1: Principles and Practice’ edited by Golob, P., Farrell, G and
Orchard, J.E (2002), published by Blackwell Science, and World Food Programme Food
Storage Manal (2003) ed. Walker, D. and Farrel, G.

Causes of deterioration
Grain at the time of harvest may be damaged The main causes of deterioration of grain and
by field infestations of insect, bird and rodents grain products are:
pests; fungal, viral and bacterial infection; or • Physical factors: wetting, heating, breakage,
the ravages of flooding, high winds or drought. discoloration, contamination with foreign
In essence, it is impossible to ensure that any matter such as stones, rodent droppings,
harvested crop will be perfect. However, farmers string;
should always strive to obtain the best crop they • Biological factors: mould, insects, rodents,
can, because this will ensure the best possible birds, goats;
return on their investments and efforts. This • Human factors: theft, poor handling.
grain will then be used to feed the family or, as Physical factors affect food commodities par-
is increasingly the case, sold for processing into ticularly during transportation, although heat and
value-added foods or feeds for consumption in moisture can also influence deterioration during
urban or other areas that are remote from the site storage. Biological factors predominate during
of production. There may be a long chain through storage and human factors occur throughout the
which the crop will be transported, stored and marketing chain.
processed before it reaches the consumer’s plate Losses can be substantial and result in a
or in the animal’s feed trough, with accompanying significant mark down in value. The commodity
losses in quality, quantity, nutrient content and may be downgraded, deemed unfit for export,
monetary value at each stage. If these losses and thereby result in a significant loss of foreign
are allowed to occur and build up, there will be exchange earnings. There may be a physical loss
a significant loss in revenue for the producer of weight, loss of seed viability, and a decrease in
and the end user. Therefore, no matter how nutritive value - an important issue in much of
many stages there are in the marketing chain, the developing world where a large proportion of
it is important that grain quality is maintained the population is undernourished.
throughout the chain so that the end product
fetches the best price possible, retains a high Loss of quality
nutritive value, and appears attractive to buyers. Quality is difficult to define and to measure
This booklet describes processes by which grain objectively, except in terms of monetary value.
quality and quantity can be maintained throughout Traders and consumers purchasing or selling
this marketing chain. in the market place usually define quality in
Table 1 Grade definitions for maize in India
Grade no. Maximum limit of tolerance (%)

Foreign matter Other food grains Other varieties Damaged grain Immature grain Weeviled grain
I 1.5 1.0 10.0 1.0 2.0 1.0
II 2.5 2.0 15.0 2.0 4.0 3.0
III 4.0 4.0 20.0 3.0 6.0 5.0
IV 4.0 5.0 20.0 5.0 6.0 10.0
Note: The moisture content must not exceed 12%. The grain must have uniform shape and colour.
Maintaining quality of food and feed grain through trade and processing
subjective terms. However, objective parameters Figure 1 Rodent damaged maize

may be established by governments introducing
grading methods or by similar rules developed
by autonomous trading organisations such as
marketing boards, milling companies and grain
exporters. Grain quality is usually assessed and
grades assigned on the basis of appearance,
shape, size and colour, although smell and
uniformity will also be relevant. An example
of the Indian standard for maize is shown in
Table 1. Small scale traders and consumers will
Note: rodents feed on the germ and remove much of
often assess on the basis of fair average quality the protein and vitamins
(FAQ), which requires no quantitative measure
of parameters but is a subjective assessment of
whether the commodity meets a level which is Further along the marketing chain trading
generally acceptable to all. is carried out on the basis of weight. Then it is
Foreign matter content and contaminants are relatively easy to detect losses but these may not
also factors that affect quality. These may include necessarily be due to a loss in food value. The
rodent droppings and hair, insect fragments and loss may be due to a reduction in water content,
frass, weed seeds, parts of plants, soil, stones, which occurs during storage under conditions of
glass and string. Contaminants that cannot be low relative humidity; water is given up by rela-
readily removed include urine, oils, pesticides, tively wet grain to the drier air.
bacteria and viruses spread by rodents and Loss of food value is caused by pest damage,
mycotoxins. The higher the standard set by the insects, rodents and birds feeding on grain, or by
consumer the greater will be the potential for mould, yeast and bacterial infections. Pest attack
loss; for example, produce to be sold in urban will result in either whole grains being removed,
supermarkets will need to achieve a higher stan- as is frequently the case when rodents are preva-
dard than the same produce sold at a local rural lent, or parts of the grain being eaten in situ,
market. commonly the result of insect infestations. Infec-
tions by fungi and bacteria frequently make the
Loss of quantity grain unappealing and should result in grain
At primary selling points such as rural markets, being discarded but, in practice, mouldy grain is
grain is frequently sold by volume. This can often reserved for livestock or for brewing. It is
cause problems when the unit of sale is not stan- however dangerous for mouldy grain to be used
dardised. For example, in Southern Africa it is in this manner as often it contains mycotoxins
possible to fill a large jute sack with between 90 that can have severe deleterious effects on the
and 120 kg of grain depending on the sack’s age, health of livestock.
as older ones can be stretched more easily than
new ones, and therefore have greater capacity . Nutritional loss
Furthermore, very dry grain will have a tendency Weight loss is a reflection of the overall food
to shrink and so occupy less volume for a given loss. Nutrient loss may be proportionately larger
weight. It is also not unknown for sellers to add because of selective feeding by pests. Rodents
stones, dust and other extraneous matter to a and some insect moth larvae, e.g. Ephestia and
sack to make up the volume. Plodia, feed preferentially on the germ of the
Causes of deterioration
grain, removing a large percentage of the protein Commercial loss

and vitamin content. Weevils feed mainly on the This may occur as a direct consequence of
endosperm and reduce the carbohydrate con- the above, or indirectly as the cost of remedial
tent. Many pests eat the bran of cereals, thereby measures required, for example the fumigation
reducing the vitamin content; book lice, Liposce- of insect damaged grain. Downgrading may be
lis spp., feed selectively on the germ and bran. required and this will reduce the price to the
High moisture content and the associated growth seller; grain may be then designated for animal
of micro-organisms also lead to changes in vita- feed rather than for human food. Commercial
min content of grain. Bruchids, such as the cow- losses may be expressed in terms of monetary
pea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus, feed on loss, a loss of goodwill, and loss due to legal
the cotyledons of pulses and the loss of protein action. Commercial losses may affect inter-
due to such infestation is serious, as up to 25% of country trade: for example, after an outbreak of
the dry bean matter may be crude protein. the destructive maize pest Prostephanus trun-
catus in Tanzania, Malawi and Somalia refused
Loss of seed viability to accept Tanzanian maize because of the risk of
A reduction in seed germination may be caused the insect spreading to their countries.
by changes in temperature, moisture content, These losses occur throughout the marketing
excessive respiration by kernels, light, insect chain. The following sections examine how and
infestation and by some methods of insect con- why they occur, and identify methods by which
trol. Attempts to control insects by subjecting they can be reduced and quality and value main-
grain to heat, either in a commercial dryer or tained.
over the kitchen fire in a farm may well affect
the germination capability. This will not matter
if the grain is designated for food or feed but
will if some of it is earmarked for seed. Insects
and rodents that selectively attack the germ will
cause a greater loss of germination potential.

Factors affecting quality

The maintenance of quality of food or feed com- be at risk from the lesser grain borer, Rhyzop-
modities depends upon the same principles ertha dominica. Flour beetles such as Tribolium
and practices whether the quantities be small, castaneum, the red flour beetle, infest flour and
perhaps a few tonnes, or whether national food grain products and are generally not associated
reserves are to be considered. The suggestions with entire grain unless it has sustained physical
and recommendations described will focus on damage and is cracked or split. Moths, including
quantities that might be stored by small to medi- Cadra cautella and Plodia and Ephestia species,
um traders or millers, lots of up to 100 tonnes, also cause problems to milled grain and grain
but will be applicable whatever quantities are products. Figure 2 illustrates some of the major
held. insect pests of stored grain and grain products
The following factors will influence actions that found in the tropics and sub-tropics.
might be necessary to take. Pulses, beans, cowpea, gram, lentils etc. are
• The type of material being stored, whether attacked by a group of insects known as bru-
it is cereal, pulse or oilseed; entire grain or chids. Unlike the cereal pests, which do not dis-
milled products; criminate between host type - the maize weevil
• The end use of the commodity, whether it will quite happily attack and develop on wheat
be for animal feed or food for human con- – bruchids are quite specific in their host range.
sumption; commodities for local or national Acanthoscelides obtectus, the bean beetle, will
consumption or for export; only develop on the common bean and other
• The duration of storage, i.e. transit, medi- members of the Phaseolus family. Callosobru-
um- or long-term; chus maculatus, the cowpea weevil, will develop
• The climatic conditions to which the com- on cowpea and some grams but not on beans.
modity was exposed before receipt; what Groundnuts in West Africa are at risk from Cary-
conditions are likely to occur whilst com- don serratus, the groundnut beetle but nowhere
modities are held in storage; else in the world.
• What pest management practices have been The varietal type will also influence qual-
put into place before receipt; the cost benefit ity maintenance. Some varieties are much more
of pest control; what pest control materials susceptible to insect pests than others. Many
and equipment are available; what training soft hybrid maize varieties are extremely sus-
in pest management have staff received; ceptible to insects and could lose up to 25% of
what pest control services are locally avail- their weight in just a few months in store if they
able and their cost. are not protected with insecticides. Other maize
The type of commodity will determine which varieties, especially those that originate through
insect pests are likely to be present. Whole lines grown traditionally by farmers may well be
cereal grains, such as maize, wheat, rice and relatively resistant to insect pests and only lose
sorghum will be at risk particularly from weevils, 1-2% by weight in a six-month period in store.
including Sitophilus zeamais and S. oryzae, the Furthermore, grain that is unthreshed, such
maize and rice weevil respectively, and in Africa as paddy rice and groundnut in shell, is much
and South America from the larger grain borer,
Prostephanus truncatus. Small grains will also
Figure 2 Some common tropical and sub-tropical storage insect pests of grain and grain products
Acanthoscelides obtectus Callosobruchus maculatus

bean beetle cowpea beetle
Sitophilus sp. weevils Trogoderma granarium

Khapra beetle, larva and adult
Tribolium castaneum Ephestia sp.

red flour beetle tropical warehouse moth
less susceptible to insects than threshed grain, aflatoxin B1, less than 1 mg/kg of the insecticide
white or brown rice and groundnut kernels or deltamethrin and less than 0.03 mg/kg of the
redskins. fungicide imazalil. Many countries will require
Milled commodities do not keep as well as imports to be accompanied by a phytosanitary
intact grain. Flours, which consist of relatively certificate, which guarantees that the commodity
finely divided particles, are able to absorb water is free of live insects, contains only a minimum
from the air much more readily than whole of foreign matter and has chemical residues
grains. They are then prone to infection by below specified limits. If these conditions are
Aspergillus and Penicillium moulds, which are not adhered to the consignment may be rejected
able to produce mycotoxins such as aflatoxin or the exporters may be forced to fumigate the
and ochratoxin. Furthermore, these finely divided consignment at their own expense. It is essen-
flour particles are much more easily oxidised by tial, therefore, that commodities designated for
oxygen in the air. This is particularly important export remain free from all contamination.
in feed that has a high fat content, such as fish Grain that is only in transit, perhaps in store
meal or cotton seed cake, as the fat is converted for up to a month or so, will not be subject to
into free fatty acids producing rancid and noxious the same infestation pressure as grain to be
odours. Therefore, to avoid these problems it is kept for six months or more. The duration of
important not to store finished flour and feed for storage will, therefore, influence the degrada-
long periods. tion of the commodity and what management
The end use of the commodity will also influ- practices will be needed to rectify any potential
ence how it is managed in store. Commodities problems. The life cycle of insect pest species in
that are designated for animal feed are generally the tropics and sub-tropics takes about a month.
of inferior quality to that used for human food. If the commodity is only to be stored for a short
This should not be the case as livestock thrives period and is uninfested or very lightly infested
on good quality feed although it can tolerate on intake, it would not be economic to under-
feed of poorer quality. However, frequently this take any pest control whilst it remains in transit.
attitude leads to livestock being given poor if However, in six months this very light infestation
not toxic feed, which may then suffer the conse- could become severe. Then it will be necessary
quences of disease and perhaps death. It is not to undertake fumigation and/or spraying with
uncommon, for example, for mouldy grain to be contact insecticide to restrict the damage.
down-graded for animal feed when it really ought Climate will play a very important role in deter-
to be discarded and destroyed; sometimes it is mining what happens to a commodity in store.
used in brewing. A classic example of animals In hot, humid conditions food commodities will
suffering from inferior feed was demonstrated in deteriorate rapidly. Moulds require the relative
the UK in the 1960s when thousands of turkeys humidity to be above 80% for optimum growth
died as a result of eating aflatoxin contaminated and for insects this is 70%. For both types of
groundnut meal. organisms, increases in temperature to 27-32°C
Commodities that are designated for export will enable the maximum rate of reproduction
require a higher level of management than those to be achieved and so maximise the damage
to be sold internally. Importing countries and that they can inflict. Good storage conditions in
organisations, such as the European Union, lay high humidities are very difficult to achieve and
down stringent restrictions on imported food to enable commodities to be kept for more than
commodities. For example, to export cereals to a month will require artificial aeration, ventila-
the EU the grain must have less than 2 µg/kg of tion systems or refrigeration, methods generally
unavailable or too expensive for small to medium free of pests. Even if this is the case it cannot
trader enterprises in the developing world. Simi- be guaranteed that even with continued good
larly, methods to reduce temperatures in stores management it will remain pest free without
are also difficult to put into practice. As a result, treatment.
in the tropics it is not possible to keep grain or It is therefore essential to apply the appropri-
grain products for very long in one location, and ate pest management initiatives to fit the cir-
the commodity must pass rapidly along the mar- cumstances. Disinfestation is best achieved by
keting chain so that the consumer has access to fumigation with phosphine gas. This treatment
a good quality product. has the advantage of requiring very little appli-
In areas where the relative humidity is less cation equipment but, to be effective and safe,
than 70% problems created by moulds and knowledge of the correct procedures is essential.
insects are not as severe, although some species Thus trained personnel only should be allowed to
are adapted to these less optimal conditions. For conduct fumigation.
example, the Khapra beetle, Trogoderma grana- Treatments to protect grain against infestation
rium, develops best at 35°C and is able to grow can be achieved with liquid contact insecticides.
at a relative humidity as low as 2%. This beetle However, these need to be applied to the grain
pest is particularly prevalent in the Middle East, with a sprayer and, once a sack has been filled,
Asia and Africa and is a proscribed, quarantin- are difficult to apply without emptying the sack.
able pest where found outside its normal range. Spray applications to sack surfaces are not rec-
It goes into diapause in adverse conditions and so ommended because insects can penetrate sack
is extremely difficult to control with insecticides. fabric very quickly and avoid picking up a lethal
Generally, it is possible to store grain for lon- dose of the protectant. Because of the awkward-
ger periods in dryer conditions without fear of ness of using liquid protectants the trader may
deterioration and it is possible for this period to chose, instead, to fumigate at regular intervals to
be extended for as long as two years with appro- keep the infestation pressure at negligible levels.
priate management. Nevertheless, pests are still This works where large quantities of grain or
able to operate in dryer, cooler climes so that grain products are to be stored for long periods,
good management needs to be maintained. but for short periods and with small quantities
At intake, grains will often be infested with this may be uneconomic.
insects or may even show signs of mould con- If the trader or miller does not have the exper-
tamination. Mouldy grain may need to be dried tise to carry out pest control operations, there
in order to prevent the mould from spreading. If are usually private sector companies available
insects are present then the grain may not have to fill this role. Using such expertise increases
been treated with insecticide, the effects of the the cost of storage and may not guarantee that
treatment may have worn off over time, or the good practice is implemented. There are many
treatment was ineffective (it may have been badly charlatans involved in the pest control industry
applied; it may have been old and under strength; and it is not uncommon for them to underdose,
it may have been fake). If insects are absent it is use the wrong chemicals, apply the chemicals
essential to know whether the commodity has with inappropriate equipment or even not treat
been treated before receipt so that duplication the grain at all. In southern Tanzania it has been
of treatment can be avoided. It may be that the know for a company to carry out a ‘fumigation’ by
consignment has not been treated but that previ- spraying only the outside surfaces of a stack of
ous good management has enabled it to be kept bags, and then the spray contained no insecticide
but just water!
It has been common practice to spray the walls in this way as they are not widely available and
and floor of stores with contact insecticides to they are not easy to apply.
provide residual protection against insects. How- Before applying pest control procedures the
ever, in most environments in the tropics and store owner must estimate the cost-benefit of
sub-tropics such treatments only persist for two the treatment. Decisions regarding treatment
weeks or so and would then have to be repeated. must take into account the equipment needed
This would not be cost effective and such prac- and the level of competence of the staff who
tices are no longer recommended. However, if would undertake the procedures. As a last resort,
the conventional insecticide is replaced with a if external contractors are employed they must
diatomaceous earth (DE), the persistency of the adhere rigidly to requirements and specifications
treatment is much longer and much more effec- established by the store or mill owner.
tive. It is still very uncommon for DEs to be used
11
Creating an enabling environment

Good husbandry It is therefore absolutely essential that these
The essence of minimising losses is to ensure obstructions are removed from around the store
that the rail wagon, truck, store or mill are clean and from sidings where rail trucks are left. The
and in good condition. It is essential that good ground must be kept free of vegetation. Heaps of
hygiene is practised and ‘equipment’ well main- empty sacks should be removed from the main
tained. grain or feed store and kept in a separate area,
Dirt and dust help pests to survive. They pro- as should pesticides and tools. If sacks have to
vide food for insects and rodents, and because be stored in the main store they should be moved
they absorb moisture from the air they can frequently so that the area can be cleaned. Any
cause the moisture content of grain and feed to rubbish that collects must be removed and burnt,
increase and lead to mould and mycotoxin devel- buried or taken away for disposal.
opment. Dirt and dust will also interfere with the Cleanliness will be helped if the store is in
action of any pest control treatment and in par- good condition. A badly repaired and maintained
ticular, will reduce the effectiveness of any solid store or freight container will leak when it rains
formulations of insecticide that are applied. and may result in the grain becoming wet and
So the truck, container or store must be swept then mouldy. If rain entering a store comes into
regularly. But this is not enough. Pests hide in contact with aluminium phosphide tablets during
places that are difficult to access. They live in a fumigation it is quite possible that the tablets
heaps of empty sacks or in piles of old, disused will ignite and cause a fire. An accident of this
boxes and similar containers. Rats often hide in nature occurred in Mpanda in Tanzania in 1985
rubbish, which accumulates against the walls when half of the store building fabric (concrete)
of stores, either inside or outside the store (Fig- and many thousands of tons of maize and cas-
ure 3). They also hide at the back of grain stacks, sava that were being fumigated were destroyed.
especially if the sacks are leaning against or are Holes in the walls and doors will allow rodents
close to a wall. and birds to enter. Cracks and crevices in the
fabric of buildings will allow dust to accumulate
Figure 3 Sacks piled up against store make and will provide harbourages for insects. Walls
excellent harbourages for rodents and floors must be repaired or made good where
and insects
necessary. Trucks must not be permitted to be
driven inside a store if the floor has not been
designed to take the weight as it will crack and
break up.
Machinery in flour and feed mills must be
kept swept and brushed regularly and routinely.
At frequent intervals, areas in buildings must
be cleaned to remove waste from machinery,
especially where access is difficult. Flour beetles,
which feed especially on milled cereal products,
are able to hide and accumulate in and around
milling machinery, conveyors and hoppers that
12 Maintaining quality of food and feed grain through trade and processing
Figure 4 Badly broken floor allows dust and and should be fumigated, sprayed with a contact
insects to accumulate insecticide spray or boiled in water before use.
Boiling sacks is convenient when small numbers
are involved, perhaps an amount that would be
handled by a small trader. This method is cheap
and environmentally neutral – assuming there is
no shortage of water – but the sacks will need to
dry thoroughly before use.
stock management
Stacks
Store keepers must be able to make plans and
decisions regarding the management practices
to be introduced into the store, mill or godown. To
are not easily inspected and cleaned. Where this achieve this it is essential that the quality of the
is the case it may be necessary to shut down commodities be continually assessed by inspect-
the building for a period to carry out a whole ing them at regular intervals. Inspection will only
building fumigation. This will necessitate either be effective if there is access to as much of the
completely enclosing the building within a fumi- stock as is possible. Of course, it is not practical
gation sheet, possible if the building is small, or to break down stacks to scrutinise bags kept in
more commonly, sealing it so that it is gas tight. the middle of the stack, but it should be possible
Sealing doors, windows and ventilators to make to view the commodity at all sides of a stack and
the building gas tight is usually very difficult to in the uppermost layers.
achieve, especially in developing counties where Bag stacks should be built 1 m clear of all
the mill has not been purpose built. It is usually walls, buttresses and roof supports. If more than
more appropriate to clean the building as thor- one stack is built the gap between stacks should
oughly as possible and then to spray the fabric also be 1 m. The tops of stacks should be clear
with a synthetic contact insecticide; any com- of the roof and roof supports so that it is possible
modity, flour or feed, can then be treated quite for a person to pass easily around all sides and
separately. over the top of each stack. This space is essential
Open trucks and rail wagons should be cov- not only for inspection but also for fumigation or
ered with tarpaulins when carrying grain or grain other pest control work.
products to prevent wetting by rain, access by Grain and grain products in jute, hessian or
pests and theft. woven polypropylene sacks should not be stacked
New sacks are often reserved for high qual- directly on the floor. They should be stacked on a
ity products such as coffee and cocoa, whereas moisture-proof floor covering, such as polythene
second-hand sacks are used for carrying cereals, sheeting, or on dunnage such as wooden pal-
pulses and animal feed. Sacks may be reused lets, poles or timber. Stacks must be built in an
several times and with each occasion the fabric orderly manner that allows inspection. Badly
deteriorates further. Woven polypropylene sacks built stacks, or ones that are too high, may col-
are particularly vulnerable and should not be used lapse and injure people, causing damage to the
more than three times. Sacks should be repaired, commodity or to the fabric of the store (Figure 5).
and stitched as necessary between use. Empty Stacking against walls will prevent inspection
sacks can also provide hiding places for insects and may cause structural damage to the walls.
Creating an enabling environment 13
Figure 5 High stacks Figure 7 One type of continuous bonded stack

pattern
Layer I Layer II Layer III
TOO NARROW SIDE SIDE

NO BONDING BONDED AND SAFE
TOP VIEW
Choosing a stack pattern

Figure 8
Figure 6 Main factors in choosing a stacking

6-bag pattern 8-bag pattern 10-bag pattern
pattern
LENGTH: WIDTH
OF BAG
MATERIALS OF BAGS Layer I Layer I

Layer I
FIBRE PAPER WOVEN

PLASTIC
Layer II Layer II
Layer II
HEIGHT DISMANTLING
To be built safely, high stacks must have a suf-

ficiently large number of bags to be stacked; the
Stacks in contact with the roof may cause solar stack must be well bonded. The more bags there
heat to be transmitted to the commodity. are in a stacking pattern the better should be the
Stacks may be built up in many different pat- bonding and stability.
terns (Figure 6). Larger stacks, which are com- The main factors that influence the choice of a
pletely bonded, may utilise the basic 3 or 5 bag stacking pattern are:
design as shown in Figure 7. Smaller stacks are • Height of the stack
better constructed with a larger basic unit of 8 or • Ease of dismantling
10 bags as shown in Figure 8. The pattern used to • Ratio of length to width of bags
construct the stack will be determined by the size • Material the bags are made of (fibre, paper,
of the sacks themselves, especially the ratio of WPP)
length to width, the overall stability required and A stacking pattern with great stability is one
ease of dismantling (Figure 9). Stacks built with in which each bag in each layer is bonded into
a 3-bag basic unit will be quick to dismantle; one neighbouring bags so that there are no continu-
side can be removed whilst leaving the remainder ous vertical sacks or divisions between sacks.
intact, but are relatively unstable. The pattern chosen will be a compromise
Figure 9 Special stacking patterns ity whilst in store, and its shelf life. Inspection
must be accompanied by effective record keep-
Bags of 3:2 ratio For drying or cooling
5-bag pattern 4-bag pattern

ing so that the history of the commodity can be
followed. Record keeping will inform the store-
keeper of when the commodity was received and
what pest management practices have been car-
ried out. Record cards must be attached directly
Layer I Layer I
to the stack to avoid any possible ambiguity. It is
good practise to keep a record card even if only
one small stack is in store as this will enable the
owner to remember details about the commod-
Layer II Layer II ity. Figure 10 shows an example of a stack record
card and inspection report.
Inspections must be done regularly and not
less than once a week, irrespective of the size of
between safety and convenience in stacking and the store or of its contents. They should include
dismantling. To increase safety, patterns of 6, 8 a complete walk around the store both inside
or 10 bags can be used, but only if the ratio of bag and outside, around the stock, including food
length to width is 2:1. and non-food items. Where appropriate, a torch
If the ratio of the length to width of the bags is should be used to examine dark areas and those
3:2 (not 2:1) then the 5 – bag pattern can be used. in shadow, gaps between stacks and between
If the bag requires cooling or drying then the 4 bags.
– bag pattern will be better. The inspector must look carefully for:
Paper and polypropylene sacks are more dif- • signs of pest infestation, including live
ficult to stack properly than jute sacks because insects, rodent droppings, rodent urine
there is less friction between them. Corners are trails;
the least stable areas of stacks and care must • dampness;
be taken to ensure they are safe. It is better not • mould damage;
to have vertical sides but rather to have sides • spillage;
sloping inwards from the base upwards, this • contamination of sacks by foreign matter
improves stability. Such a design will also facili- such as oil, fertiliser, pesticide;
tate access to the top of the stack.
If space allows, it is better to keep commodi- Figure 10 Stack record card
ties separated in different stacks, as it is to keep
different types of sacks or containers separated. Stack No.:
Commodity:
Inspection
Date In Out Balance Signature
The purpose of inspection is to gather informa-

tion about the store and its contents so that deci-
sions can be made regarding procedures needed On reverse side
Date Treatment given By whom

for quality maintenance. In essence, inspecting
will allow the storekeeper to decide if and when
to carry out pest control. It will also make the
manager aware of the progress of the commod-
Creating an enabling environment 15
• roof leaks and other structural faults; safe routes when moving around so that they
• theft or other security problems. repeatedly run across the same ground com-
Insects accumulate in cracks and crevices, pacting it and leaving it dust-free. As they move
along sack stitching and where sack surfaces rodents leave behind greasy smears from their
make contact. If the presence of insects is fur as they brush against surfaces. The damage
suspected in a sack this can be confirmed by caused by biting can also be easily recognised;
agitating the bag, when adults will move to the rodents tend to remove the germ from maize
upper surfaces. If the storekeeper has access so creating a half-moon shaped cavity in maize
to a sampling spear, this can be used to col- grain. Similarly, burrows or holes are also indica-
lect samples from a number of sacks to check tive of rodents gaining access to particular areas.
whether insects are present. The condition of Rodent urine can be often spotted when it forms
pest control measures such as rodent bait traps pillars as the animals frequently urinate on
and proofing which might be disturbed by load- the same spot. The presence of rodents can be
ing and unloading, should be noted and rectified detected by footprints left in a fine sprinkling of
if necessary. Assessments of fumigation and/or flour over the sack surfaces. Perhaps the most
contact insecticide application should be made. reliable and simplest way to detect their pres-
Any structural damage should be made good as ence is to look for droppings. Figure 11 illustrates
soon as possible. some of the signs to look for when inspecting for
Rodents can leave many different signs of their rodents.
presence. Many species prefer to use familiar,
Figure 11 Signs of the presence of rodents
droppings damaged box
urine pillars
damaged sack
footprints damage to structures
damage to cable
17
Transportation
Losses that arise during transportation occur Figure 12 Woman with head load of maize
mainly due to damage to the packaging, such cobs on the way to market
as tears or rips in woven polypropylene sacking,
resulting in spillage. For longer haul carriage, for
example by rail or lorry to distant markets, other
problems may occur including: water penetration
or wetting and subsequent mould damage and
mycotoxin contamination; insect or rodent pest
infestation; changes due to the micro-climate as
a result of moving grain from cool, high altitude
to lowland, humid altitude; accidental contami-
nation.
Care of grain must be of paramount impor-
tance no matter what type of transport system
is used. Even the largest and most sophisticated
means of transport, such as a ship bulk carrier,
will require human intervention to make sure
that grain quality does not suffer during the voy-
age or journey.
The most basic method of transport from
farm to market is the head load. Women regu-
larly carry water, fuel and grain on their heads. Figure 13 Ox cart (a) and (b) motor
Although grain may well be exposed to the ele- driven cart
ments during carriage, the short duration of
journeys means that little if any change in qual-
ity is experienced. However, if this head load is
interspersed with travel on a bus or train then
problems may occur particularly due to spillage.
Less arduous methods of delivering grain from
the farm use animal or motor driven carts or
more. Oxen are used in many parts of the world (a)
to pull carts, which may contain 2 tonnes or
more of grain in sacks. Replacing the oxen with a
motor driven vehicle such as a tractor will enable
the load to be increased. However, both types of
transport are relatively slow and only allow short
journeys to be undertaken.
The short journeys made in the transport so
far described do not allow time for biological (b)
deterioration to take place. However, once trucks
are used to transport grain, journeys can be Figure 15 Overturned truck

much longer and the effects of pests and dis-
eases may become evident when the commodity
is inspected on arrival.
Trucks transporting any grain or other food
commodities must be clean. They must be swept
free of dust and debris. Insects must be elimi-
nated to ensure the new consignment is not
subjected to infestation from residual popula-
tions. Bodies of trucks should be sprayed with
a synthetic contact insecticide such as Actellic
emulsifiable concentrate or wettable powder.
Loading the truck must be done with enough
care to avoid damaging sacks. Woven polypropyl- larly when grain has to be moved into and out of
ene and paper sacks should not be handled with areas of quarantine. For example, in Tanzania,
hooks as these easily damage the fabric resulting an outbreak of the larger grain borer, a major
in spillage; it is not good practice to handle any pest of stored maize, resulted in several areas of
type of sack with a hook. Loading should be done the country being quarantined, so that all move-
manually or using a small conveyor (Figure 14) ments of maize into or out of these areas were
Trucks must be loaded only to their stated capac- restricted. However, other crops that were not
ity as overloading will make the truck unstable affected by this pest had to be treated with insec-
and likely to tip over, a not uncommon occur- ticide or fumigated, and proof of their being so
rence (Figure 15). was demanded at check points established along
All commodities should be accompanied by roads leading to the quarantined areas (Figure
documentation, which records the origin of the 16). Trucks approaching these checkpoints with
consignment and any pest management treat- documentation were stopped from entering or
ment that has been applied. This documentation exiting, causing substantial financial penalties to
will be especially needed where a consignment the owners of both the commodity and the truck.
is to cross an international border; it is likely that In some cases the consignments were tempo-
phytosanitary and fumigation certificates will be
required. However, this certification may also be
required for internal grain movements, particu- Figure 16 Checkpoints for stop and search,
may require examination
of documents
Figure 14 Loading a truck
Transportation 19
Figure 17 Freight containers can be fumigated on the temperature, during which time access
if they can be made gas tight. to the commodity will not be possible. Fumiga-
Sealing end ventilators on this
container will be difficult
tion can also be undertaken when the container
is empty to disinfest the fabric, although this is
generally unnecessary; it is however useful to
disinfest bales of empty, used sacks placed in the
unloaded container.
Grain carried in freight containers can also be
fumigated whether transported by road, rail or
sea. This is a practice that is becoming increas-
ingly common, although the treatment frequently
fails. Failures are due to the leakage of gas out of
the container so that the concentration inside is
insufficient to kill insect pests. Most containers,
like rail wagons, have ventilation openings. These
rarily confiscated and fumigated by government may be located at the top of the walls, sometimes
inspectors before being released back to the in the roof, and more often in the floor. For a suc-
owner who bore the cost of treatment. cessful fumigation these ventilators have to be
Open rail wagons should be treated in the same sealed to prevent gas leakage. This may be dif-
way as road trucks. Freight wagons that can be ficult to achieve, especially if the ventilators are
closed off can be fumigated if they can be made difficult to access, either because the container
air tight (Figure 17). When empty, freight wagons is full or because their position under the floor
must be thoroughly cleaned. Once the commodity makes them inaccessible. If the container cannot
has been loaded, preferably on pallets, tablets of be adequately sealed, fumigation should not be
aluminium phosphide, which release phosphine attempted as to do so would be dangerous - per-
gas on exposure to air, should be placed under sonnel would be at risk from escaping gas – and
the pallets and the container then sealed. A ineffective because insects would not receive a
fumigation will take 7 days or longer depending fatal dose.
21
Pest management
Preventing losses from occurring is always bet- Figure 18 Example of a badly managed store in
ter than having to introduce remedial measures which it is impossible to undertake
pest management procedures
afterwards. However, the trader or storekeeper
must decide whether it is cost-effective to under-
take precautionary measures. This will depend
on the type of commodity to be stored, its intrin-
sic value, and the period for which it will remain
in store. However, even though a grain consign-
ment might only be in transit and in storage for a
few weeks, successive deliveries and despatches
of grain may well require prophylactic treatments
be undertaken to ensure that none of the con-
signment is put at risk. In areas of high humidity,
such as in much of South East Asia, insect devel-
opment can be very rapid and it is not uncommon
for overwhelming populations of Psochidea or
book lice to appear in a matter of a few weeks. Fumigation is achieved by the action of a gas,
Good hygiene and store maintenance are pre- phosphine, which is released from aluminium
requisites for employing measures to prevent phosphide or magnesium phosphide when these
losses from occurring. Pest control measures come into contact with moisture in the air. Phos-
will fail if the store is dirty or in poor condition phine is extremely poisonous to insects, man
(Figure 18). Another essential is to ensure a high and animals, and so very great care must be
level of store and stock management. In a clean, taken when it is used. Fumigation must only be
well-managed store pest control practices can undertaken by trained personnel.
be easily employed. This is very often not the case Fumigation must take place inside a gas-tight
if the stock is not well stacked; if bicycles are container or enclosure. This can be a metal or
repaired in the store; if metal drums, old sacks plastic structure such as a 20 or 40 tonne freight
and pesticide containers are left haphazardly; if container, a 3-4 tonne high density polytank, or
spilt grain is not swept up; if the store is used as a sealable 200 litre oil drum. Most commonly,
a meeting place or café. fumigations are carried out in food stores under
a non-porous fumigation sheet, which is held
Control of insect pests down onto the floor with ‘sand snakes’, long nar-
Fumigation row tubes of cotton cloth or similar material filled
Grain and grain products can be protected against with sand. The weight of the sand snakes keeps
storage insect pest damage by eliminating exist- the sheet flat on the floor and prevents gas leak-
ing populations, i.e. by disinfestation, or by pre- age (Figure 19).
venting infestation occurring in the first place. If the container or enclosure is not gas-tight
Fumigant gases are used for disinfestation and phosphine will escape into the environment and
contact insecticides are used as protectants to be a hazard to people and livestock in the vicin-
prevent infestations. ity. Gas leakage will also result in an ineffective
Figure 19 Measuring phosphine gas application rate is 3-5 tablets for every tonne of
concentration in stack covered grain or cubic metre of store volume (Table 3). It
with thick polythene sheeting and
anchored to ground with sand
is easier calculating the dosage on the weight of
snakes grain to be treated if the stack is under a sheet.
If the grain is in a polytank or metal container the
dosage should be calculated on the volume to be
treated, it should be the same whether the tank
is completely full, half full or nearly empty.
Fumigation with phosphine takes a minimum
of seven days to complete whatever type of
container or enclosure is used (Table 4). If the
fumigation is ended after a shorter period it is
very likely that some insects will survive, the
treatment will be a failure and will probably need
to be repeated.
fumigation as phosphine will not be in sufficient Once a fumigation is complete the stack or
concentration long enough to kill all the insects container must be fully aired to blow off any
in the commodity. If insects survive they may remaining gas before the trader can take the
become resistant to the gas so that in future, produce away. Airing is a short process that can
even when good quality fumigations are under- be completed in 2–8 hours depending on the size
taken, they may not be fully effective. of the stack. By the end of the fumigation, the
Some of the commercial formulations of phos- aluminium phosphide tablets will have degraded
phine are shown in Table 2 below. Of these, tab- leaving a grey powder, aluminium hydroxide. This
lets of aluminium phosphide, which release 1 g of powder must be stirred into a bucket of water
phosphine, are in most common use in grain and and then poured away.
feed stores in the tropics and sub-tropics. Pellets Individual 50 kg lots of grain or feed can be
are useful for disinfecting individual sacks. separately fumigated when placed inside a suit-
Once a bag stack has been properly covered able sack. The sack must have an inner poly-
with a fumigation sheet the tablets are introduced thene liner of at least 500µm and a second outer
under the sheet, which is then resealed. Tablets layer of jute, hessian or woven polypropylene to
can be put inside a small paper envelope or piece protect the liner. Ideally, once a pellet is placed
of cotton cloth. They must be spread out around inside the sack the polythene should be heat
the stack, no more than six tablets in one lot. The sealed. However, it is acceptable to twist and
Table 2 Formulations appropriate for small to medium scale use
Formulation Unit weight (g) Phosphine released (g)

Pellets 0.6 0.2
Tablets 3.0 1.0
Mini bags 9.0 3.0
Bag (sachet) 34.0 11.3
Bag (sachet) with strings
or chains 340.0 113.0
Blanket 3,400.0 1,130.0
Plates 117.0 33.0
Pest management 23
Table 3 Recommended dosage rates for phosphine
Type of fumigation Recommended dosagea

g PH3 per tonne g PH3 per m3
Bulk fumigation in gas-tight silos 2 to 4 1.5 to 3.0
Bagged commodities under gas-proof sheets 3 to 5 2 to 3.5
In-bag fumigations 0.2 g per bagb
Space fumigations, e.g. empty store 1.0
turn the mouth of the polythene on itself and tie insects that might be lurking in cracks in con-
it off with string. Pellets of aluminium phosphide, crete or in concealed places around machinery.
releasing 0.2 g phosphine were designed to be This treatment is designed to kill at the time of
used in this manner. application, not to provide residual protection.
It is always advisable to clean and spray an
Contact insecticides empty store immediately before a new stock is
Inspection will indicate the need for pest control to be received. This will disinfest the building of
measures. In many storage complexes insect any over-wintering insect pests, which otherwise
control is conducted on a routine calendar basis. could attack the incoming commodity. It is usu-
Fumigation may be carried out every three months ally not necessary to spray the roof fabric as it
and spraying the store walls every two months, generally becomes too hot during the daytime to
regardless of real need. This is a costly and support insect development. However, if there is
inefficient way to control insect pests because a ceiling present below the eaves this should be
frequently, the fumigation will be applied to a treated.
commodity with no pests or because the spray Hand-operated sprayers are convenient for
application may only be effective for one or two small to medium sized stores. These may be
weeks. It is therefore important to undertake of two types, continuously pumped or pre-pres-
pest control operations only when needed and surised. The former have to be pumped by the
this will be indicated by inspection. operator throughout the procedure (Figure 20a)
Before any control operations are undertaken but pressurised sprayers do not, and therefore
the store or mill areas to be treated must be require only one hand to operate. Pressurised
cleaned. Walls, floor and machinery must be sprayers should be fitted with a self-regulating
swept with brooms and the sweepings removed. valve and operated at about 4 bar (4 kg/cm2).
Immediately prior to fumigation, the internal Larger areas can be covered with sprayers oper-
store fabric and any machinery should be treated ated with petrol engines (Figure 20b), including
with a contact insecticide spray to kill off any motorised knapsack sprayers. These last tend to
be very wasteful of liquid as much of the spray is
Table 4 Minimum exposure periods recommended
using phosphine
lost into the airspace.
Temperature (ºC) Exposure period
Sprays are best applied with a nozzle produc-
(days after application of the fumigant) ing a flat fan pattern, although cone patterns are
below 15 do not use also acceptable. The nozzle head should be kept
15 to 25 10 about 15 cm from the wall to provide adequate
above 25 7
cover, but to prevent too much bounce and back
Figure 20 Hand operated pneumatic sprayer
(a) (b)
spray. Sprays should be applied until run off ticides and other pesticides. Depending on the
occurs, as this will allow the liquid to penetrate chemical used, between 0.1-1.0 g of active ingre-
into cracks and crevices where insects may be dient must be applied per m2, and usually the
hiding. application rate of the diluted solution to cement
Only sufficient spray solution should be pre- surfaces is 5 l/100 m2. The appendix provides
pared to treat the areas to be covered. Inevitably, an example of how to calculate the dilution of a
some dilute spray solution may remain once the contact insecticide to be applied to the walls of
operation is completed. If this happens the rem- a store.
nants of the solution should simply be applied to Freight wagons and containers should be
the walls or floor until the sprayer is emptied. treated in the same way except that less diluted
After completing the operation the sprayer must solution needs to be applied as the metal sur-
be washed out thoroughly with water. faces do not absorb any of the solution; a rate of
Contact insecticides are sold in several dif- 2 l/100 m2 is usually sufficient.
ferent formulations. Those that are appropriate There are several commercially-available
for treating surfaces include wettable powders insecticides that can be used for this purpose.
(wp: solids which are dispersed in water), emul- These are broadly classified into two groups,
sifiable concentrates (ec: liquids which are dis- organophosphates (OP) and pyrethroids (P) (see
persed in water to form an emulsion) and soluble Box 1). Each chemical is known by a common
concentrates (sc: liquids diluted in a solvent such name and a commercial name. Although com-
as oil to form a true solution). Ecs tend to be mon names remain constant the commercial
the most commonly available and are the most name changes depending on which company is
convenient to use in hand operated sprayers. marketing the product.
Insecticide concentrates generally contain 20- Some of these chemicals, such as dichlorvos,
40% (some deltamethrin formulations only con- are highly volatile and give off a lot of chemical
tain 2.5%) active ingredient and must be diluted vapour. These are particularly useful for flushing
before use. insects out of cracks and are also used for spray-
Manufacturers’ recommendations on the label ing or fogging the air space in stores to kill flying
must be adhered to when applying contact insec- insects especially adult moths. OP and P chemi-
cals are often used together to control different
Pest management 25
BOX 1 Insecticides available for Figure 21 A space sprayer in position

spraying surfaces on the roof lintel
Common name Commercial name
Organophosphate (OP)
Pirimiphos-methyl Actellic
Chlorpyrifos-methyl Reldan
Fenitrothion Folithion; Sumithion;
Accothion
Dichlorvos Nuvan; Vapona
Malathion Cythion; MLT; Agrothion
Pyrethroid (P)
Permethrin Ambush; Talcord; Eksmin
Deltamethrin K-Othrine; Decis
Fenvalerate Sumicidin; Fenkill; Figure 22 Fogging a store
Sumitox
Bioresmethrin Isathrine
insects; the former are particularly effective in

controlling weevils whilst the latter are better at
dealing with borers, especially the larger grain
borer. Diatomaceous earths (DE) are not suit-
able for treating store fabric in this way prior to
fumigation as their rate of activity is too slow to
ensure rapid kill; but they can be used to provide
persistent, residual protection.
These chemicals, especially the organophos-
phates, have high or moderately high mamma-
lian toxicity, so great care must be taken when
they are handled. Gloves must always be worn
when handling concentrates as should other
protective clothing, such as overalls and boots,
during spraying. During any spraying operation
a bucket of water must be close to hand to pour
over affected areas that become contaminated Control of rodents and birds
accidentally. Spraying should never be undertak- Stored grain and grain products must also be
en by a single person, a second individual must protected against rodents and birds. This may
be present to ensure remedial measures are put be almost impossible to achieve if doors are
into place in case of accidents. A summary of left open. Even when closed, rodents may still
safety considerations is given in Box 2. gain access if there are gaps between doors and
walls, if ventilators are left open, through gaps in
the roofing and through entry points for cabling
BOX 2 Safe use of contact insecticides
• Always read the pesticide label and follow the • Always wash after handling insecticides
instructions • Destroy heavily contaminated clothing; after
• Wear clean and appropriate clothing; gloves spraying wash clothing and protective gear
are essential; a face mask is advisable but if • If spills occur wash the area immediately; wash
not available a clean piece of cloth should be off any dribbles that might have contaminated
tied over the mouth; boots should be worn, the outside of the insecticide container and any
trousers should be worn outside the boots; a vessel used for dilution
face shield is useful to protect eyes • Nobody except those involved in the insecticide
• Always keep insecticides under lock and application should be allowed in the store
key and when in use, never leave bottles whilst spraying is in progress; nobody should
unattended be allowed to handle insecticide containers
• Never transfer insecticides to other containers, except authorised personnel
particularly soft drink bottles • Workers should be made to cover their feet to
• Never reuse insecticide containers for other prevent contamination from the floor
purposes; dispose of empty containers, ensure • The electricity supply should be turned off
they cannot be reused before spraying begins
• When working with insecticides do not eat or • Excess spray solution should be applied to the
drink, do not rub your eyes, do not smoke walls or floor
• Keep food and drink away from insecticides
• Have plenty of soap and water available, and a
change of clothing
and ducting. Similarly, birds are able to enter Figure 23 Screening a drain pipe to prevent
through ventilators and doorways. To prevent rodent entry
entry, all gaps should either be filled in with
cement or fitted with wire netting. If doors have
to be left open they should be fitted with a metal
kick plate which will prevent rodents from gain-
ing access; a flexible curtain will keep out birds.
Thus it is important to manipulate the environ-
ment to restrict access by these pests. Water
and food are essential for rodents and birds
so that by restricting availability the pests will
look elsewhere. This of course is very difficult
to achieve around buildings holding grain and
grain products. However, it is possible to restrict
access by proofing, which prevents pests from
accessing the food in the store or mill. This has
to be undertaken by manipulating the surround- All holes in the fabric of the building must
ings outside of the store as well as managing be blocked up, either with cement or with wire
conditions inside. netting; the netting must be fine enough (5mm
Pest management 27
or less) to prevent small mice gaining access will quickly recover. Acute poisons may be of use
if these are known to be present in the vicinity. in rapidly reducing a population so long as mass
Doors must not have gaps larger than 5 mm and baiting is done. These chemicals are cheap,
if a kick plate is fitted it should be a least 1 m high widely available and commonly used.
to prevent rats jumping over. The ends of rainwa- All rodenticides must be offered in the form
ter pipes should be fitted with mesh, and down of a bait. It is generally useful to lay down
pipes, for rainwater and electrical cables, should bait before adding the rodenticide to allow the
be fitted with metal baffles to prevent rodents rodents to familiarise themselves with something
climbing. Debris and vegetation must be cleared new in their environment. Many rodent species,
away from the sides of buildings. A trench 30 especially the house mouse, are neophobic,
cm depth and 20 cm wide should be dug around suspicious of and avoiding new objects, so they
the exterior walls and filled with fine gravel. To must be allowed to become used to objects. Even
prevent rodents tunnelling, a concrete layer 10 when they begin to eat bait, they may only nibble
cm thick and extending 60 cm below ground, at it and consume a sub-lethal dose. The acute
with the base turned out to form an L shape poison will cause unpleasant feelings that will
for 50 cm should be laid. Food spillage must be prevent further feeding in the future, the rodent
immediately removed and sources of water either becoming ‘bait shy’. Pre-baiting will allow the
proofed, turned off or removed. rodent to become familiar with the bait but may
It may not be feasible, because of the design of take several days and even weeks with house
the premises or their location, to put into prac- mice. Even so, it remains difficult to achieve com-
tice all of the requirements to make a building plete mortality with acute poisons.
rodent proof. Nevertheless, it is important to try There are some compounds, sub-acute poi-
as far as possible to achieve this aim. If the store sons, which are similar to acute poisons but
is adjacent to other storage buildings, such as where the symptoms are slower to appear. A
in a market, it is essential that all the stores be lethal dose may therefore be consumed in sev-
treated together because if one is left unproofed eral feedings rather than in a single meal. Death
it will become a magnet for pests and will facili- may be delayed for several days.
tate access to all the other stores. Chronic poisons are all anticoagulants. Death
Cleanliness inside the store, the separation of may occur in 2-3 days but more usually in
stacks and the removal of non-food items will 7- 8 days. The discomfort felt by the rodent is
assist in keeping rodents out. However, this may much less than with acute poisons so that feed-
not be sufficient to prevent losses and it may be ing will continue unabated, until death occurs.
necessary to use rodenticides. However, it is necessary to ensure that the bait
Unlike insecticides, which work simply on con- is placed correctly so that it is consumed by
tact, rodenticides must be ingested to exert their the rodents regularly. Therefore, care must be
effect. Rodenticides fall into two main groups, taken to ensure that rodents are given the best
acute and chronic poisons. Acute poisons have opportunity to feed; the bait must be sited opti-
been in use for very many years. They kill the mally. When rodents regularly feed nest partners,
target very rapidly, perhaps in a matter of min- young and adults will be encouraged to feed in
utes or hours. The effect can be very dramatic the same location. Furthermore, rats like hoard-
as the rodent dies out in the open and is visible. ing and often take bait back to the nest to eat in
However, many individuals will not be affected familiar surroundings, where others may share.
so that damage and nuisance levels will remain In this way, it is possible to achieve 100% kill in a
significant, especially as the rodent population target population.
Warfarin was the first chronic poison to be taken doing this as concentrates are themselves
marketed some 50 years ago. Others quickly highly toxic. Rodents are mammals like man,
followed but there is now widespread resistance and any chemical toxic to rodents will also be
to most of these early, first generation chronic toxic to man.
rodenticides. More toxic, second generation com- Baits can be laid directly on rodent pathways
pounds have largely superseded earlier chemi- either loosely or placed on trays, in bait boxes
cals but there is increasing evidence that rodents or containers. The use of a closed container
are becoming resistant to these as well. It is will prevent bait being disturbed in public areas,
therefore important to ensure that the applica- where people work, such as in stores or mills.
tion of rodenticides is as efficient as possible and In these locations it may be useful to provide a
is carried out by a trained pest control operator. source of water next to the bait as an attraction
There are a number of ready-made edible baits to rodents.
available including loose cereals and other foods, Untreated baits can also be used in rodent
pellets, wax blocks, gels and pastes. Soluble traps. There are two types of trap, those that kill
forms of rodenticide may be added to water, and those that capture. Kill traps are ‘break back’
useful in food stores where free water supply is traps (Figure 24) in which a spring, released by
usually absent. Loose baits are perhaps the most the activity of the rodent, is released and drives
effective but have to be used with care especially down a metal bar, breaking the back of the
in food storage and preparation premises. It is rodent. Live traps entice the rodent into a cage
probably most efficient to buy the rodenticide from which it cannot leave (Figure 25). There
concentrate and mix it in with whatever food is are many designs but all are passive, depend-
locally available and cheap. Great care must be ing entirely on the behaviour of the rodent. Many
rodents are ‘trap shy’. Traps may play a part
BOX 3 Rodenticides in controlling the population in a store but it is
likely they will lose their appeal over time; traps
Acute should be moved to different locations to counter
Alphachloralose the learning capability of rodents. Their main
Mono sodium fluoroacetate advantage is that they are non-toxic and will not
Fluoroacetamide contaminate the food store.
Red squill (extract of plant Drimia maritima) Birds enter stores and mills to gain access
or purified as Silmurin to food. Their main deterrent is to ensure that
Thallium sulphate no food is available. It is vital, therefore, that all
Zinc phosphide spillage of grain, flour or feed be swept up as
Sub-acute soon as possible and taken out of the building for
Bromethalin disposal. However, birds can easily make holes in
Calciferol sacks of grain, flour or feed and action must be
Chronic (2nd generation) taken to deprive them of the opportunity of doing
Defenacoum so. For most small to medium sized stores the
Bromodialone most effective way of preventing damage by birds
Brodifacoum is to exclude them from the premises by fixing
Floucamfen wire netting over entry points, for example, ven-
Difethialone tilation openings. Plastic or metal curtains can
also be affixed to doorways to prohibit bird entry,
Pest management 29
Figure 24 Rat being enticed to a break back recognised as mould growth. Spores germinate
trap by loose groundnuts and moulds grow because the water activity
of the host is sufficient to allow development.
In humid conditions mould growth will occur
quickly, less so in dryer climates. Flour and feed
readily pick up moisture from the air, much more
easily than grain, and thus provide an excellent
substrate for moulds. Flour will go mouldy much
more quickly than grain so it is imperative that
flour is not stored too long, unless it is packaged
in a non-porous container, such as a plastic bin
or in polythene lined sacks. However, flour must
have a water activity below 0.7 so that it does
not release water to condense on the inside of
the container. It is generally recommended that
particularly useful where the door has to remain flour or feed are stored for no longer than two
open for long periods. weeks in moderately hot and humid conditions
and even shorter where the relative humidity
Control of moulds exceeds 80%.
Fungi gain access to grain through openings cre- The most common way to prevent mould is to
ated by damage due to poor handling. They gain dry grain down to a ‘safe’ moisture content. At
easier access to flour and feed as the ‘openings’ 27°C, the lower limit of water activity that will
are purposely produced by the milling process; permit mould growth is 0.7. This is equivalent to
finely divided foods are relatively easily invaded an equilibrium relative humidity in the air of 70%.
by fungal spores. For cereal grains this is a moisture content of
Physical damage usually occurs in the field 13-14%, for pulses 11-13% and for oilseeds such
just before or during harvesting, then during as groundnuts 7%. If grain is found to be wet at
threshing and winnowing. By the time the grain the point of purchase it is usually rejected. If the
enters the store it may well be infected with fun- grain takes up moisture during storage then it
gal spores or even by fungal mycelia, which are must be dried artificially by the store owner.
However, mould growth can also be prevented
Figure 25 Rats in a live trap by reducing the temperature of the grain. This
can be achieved during storage by ventilating the
stock, either using natural aeration or by forcing
air through the commodity using a fan. Although
this can be achieved in temperate climates
– maize can be stored for a year at 15% moisture
at 15°C – it is not so easily achieved in tropical
countries; at 15% and 30°C maize would only
last three months. A system for aerating a bag
stack is illustrated in Figure 26. Drying depends
on the moisture content of the air in the store
as the system is dependent on aeration alone,
there is no artificial drying. Drying bags is dif-
ficult because the air tends not to pass through where hot, dry air first makes contact with the
the intergranular spaces but rather between the grain. Grain towards the outside, where the air
sacks, the line of least airflow resistance. How- leaving the grain, is cooler and wetter. Trans-
ever, the system is convenient because the grain portable dryers can be rented out for occasional
can remain in sacks. For artificial drying grain use; this makes drying affordable for even small-
must be unloaded from sacks, placed in the dryer scale farmers who do not have sufficient capital
and then put back into sacks after drying. Even to purchase a dryer of their own.
grain stored in bulk must be shifted to a dryer. Continuous flow dryers: These are designed
There are many types of artificial dryer each to remove moisture from the grain rapidly by
designed for different throughput rates. A detailed blowing or sucking hot air through the grain as
description of all the types is beyond the scope of it passes through the system from top to bottom.
this booklet but a summary of the main types is The simpler designs of continuous flow dryers
given below. have a holding bin on top of the tall drying sec-
Tray dryers: Tray dryers, sometimes called flat tion. A final cooling section, where air at ambient
bed dryers are the simplest of the batch dryers. temperature is blown through the grain is usually
Grain is loaded onto mesh trays within the dryer incorporated at the base of the dryer to avoid
to a depth of 600 to 700 mm and warm, dry air is conveying hot grain into the rest of the system.
blown through the trays until the grain has been The bed of grain may be vertical, horizontal or
dried sufficiently. inclined. Grain may be moved by vibration, scrap-
Radial dryers: The basic design of the radial ers, conveyors, or by gravity. The degree of drying
drying bin consists of two vertical metal mesh is determined by the rate of grain flow through
cylinders, one inside the other (Figure 27). Grain the dryer, and is usually controlled by varying
is loaded into the space between the two cylin- the speed of outlet conveyors or the size of the
ders and air is blown into the inner cylinder, from outlet itself.
there, it passes through the mesh wall and the Tower (mixed-flow) dryers: These dryers
bed of grain, and out of the outer mesh wall. Air resemble tall rectangular storage bins, fitted with
can be sucked out of the central cylinder, revers- a large number of horizontal, triangular shaped
ing the air flow through the grain. These dryers ducts across the width of the dryer. Approxi-
are popular, but there is a risk that grain nearest mately half of these ducts introduce warm, dry
to the inner cylinder can be over-dried as this is air into the grain whilst the others remove the
cooled, damp air. Grain is fed in at the top and
passes down, around the ducts, by gravity. With
Figure 26 Ventilation of conventional bag stack the dryer full of grain, the grain moves slowly
down through the dryer, first through the drying
section and then a final cooling section using
Fan
Po lyth en e sh eeting ambient air.
Louvered-bed dryer: This dryer is similar in
design to the tray batch dryer except that the
Pallets to im p ro ve airflow
across th e top of th e stack grain is dried as it passes over louvered-beds
B A G ST A C K through which heated air is blown rather than
being dried in situ. The depth and speed of the
moving bed of grain is controlled to determine
the degree of drying. There are two basic designs,
D unn ag e
the cascade dryer and conveyor dryer.
Pest management 31
Figure 27 Operating principle of simple radial drying bins
Central air tube Extraction fan
Expanded
PVC sleeve
metal wall
Walded mesh and

hessian wall
Airswept floor
Grain outlet
Air doors Air duct
The cascade dryer is a gravity fed cross-flow blown, but grain flow through the dryer is by a
dryer with grain depth controlled by a series of variable speed, heavy duty, roller chain conveyor.
roller dams along the length of the louvered- These dryers may be single-directional, two-
bed. The degree of drying is controlled by the directional or multi-directional. The changes in
speed of the output elevator. To avoid excessively direction of grain flow mixes the grain, allows
long lengths, larger dryers may involve several some of the dried waste material to be blown
changes in direction of grain flow. from the grain and reduces the overall size of
In conveyor dryers grain is also supported on the machine.
an inclined louvered-bed through which air is
Figure 28 Operating principle of a single direction cascade dryer
Wet grain inlet

Roller dams
Moist air outlet Variable speed elevator
Fan and furnace
Dry grain outlet
Cooling fan
Hot air
Coll air
33
Summary of actions needed

Hygiene and store management • Use cards attached to stacks to record the
• Clean all areas where stock may be kept in history and performance of the commodity;
stores, mills, around machinery; sweep at use record cards/sheets to record pest con-
least once a week; trol procedures and inspections
• Remove from store and dispose of sweep-
ings and other rubbish; Transport
• Remove from store all empty sacks and • Make sure truck or cart is clean and well
pesticides where other space is available; swept;
otherwise keep non-food items separated • Spray the fabric of the transport with contact
from grain and other food stock; insecticide;
• Keep store well maintained and in good • Ensure that all paperwork related to the load
repair; repair cracks and crevices, make is in order;
good where the floor has broken up, fill in • Do not use hooks to load and unload sacks,
holes in structure; make sure ventilators can rather use man handling or a conveyor;
be open and closed; • Do not overload;
• Fit wire mesh to openings to stop rodent and • If transport can be made airtight, fumigate if
bird entry; fill in holes in doors, floor and pests are present.
walls;
• Spray the fabric of the building, freight Pest management
container or truck with contact insecticide • Fumigation should only be undertaken by
solution to kill off insect pests in the empty trained personnel;
store; • Only fumigate in airtight enclosures or where
• Make sure that any sacks that are reused are it can be made airtight;
free of pests. • Fumigation should last at least 7 days,
before aeration begins;
Stock management • Aerate thoroughly;
• Build stacks using an appropriate stacking • Dispose of spent fumigation tablets by tip-
pattern so that they are stable but easy to ping residue in water;
dismantle; • Spray store with contact insecticide to kill
• Leave a gap of 1 m between stacks, from the off insects present before fumigation takes
walls and beneath the roof eaves; ensure place; do not use insecticides to provide
that it is possible to gain access easily to all residual protection;
exposed surfaces, including the top; • Only trained personnel should handle and
• Build the stack on dunnage of pallets or apply contact insecticides;
poles, or on a polythene sheet if floor is • Never work alone;
level; • Ensure a supply of clean water is to hand;
• Inspect the stock and the store itself at least • Wash off spillages from the body or from
once a week; check for the presence of pests other surfaces immediately;
and to confirm the effectiveness of pest con-
trol procedures that had been carried out;
• Accidents should be immediately reported • Take care when handling synthetic rodenti-
and details of the chemicals used should cides; ensure bait is placed appropriately;
always be made known to the doctor; • Make sure stock is dry at intake; use appro-
• Wash equipment thoroughly after each use priate drier if it gains moisture during period
or at he end of each day; in store;
• Use a clean change of clothes each day. • Ensure that all non-essential people are not
• Always have warning notices posted for allowed access to the store.
fumigation and pest control taking place.
35
Appendix
Calculation for the application of contact
insecticide to store walls
There are three steps: Thus we will use 175 ml of the insecticide in
• Calculate the area to be treated a water based solution. This solution has to be
• Calculate the amount of insecticide solution applied at a rate of 5 l/100 m2. To treat 350 m2 we
needed will need: 350/100 * 5 l = 17.5 l.
• Calculate the amount of diluted solution Therefore to spray the store fabric we will
needed take 175 ml of 20% Actellic and dilute it with just
The store is empty. The area to be treated under 18 l of water (it is impractical to try to mea-
will be the area of four walls and the floor (the sure out the water more accurately).
roof will not be sprayed, there is no ceiling). The If the store had three bag stacks in place we
dimensions of the two short walls are 5 x 5 m. would need to calculate the floor space occupied
and of the two long walls 20 x 5 m. The floor by the stacks and subtract it from the total store
dimensions are 20 x 5 m. area before calculating the amount of insecticide
The total surface area of each short wall is 5 needed. This is because we cannot spray the
x 5 = 25 m2. floor occupied by the stacks.
The total area of both short walls is 25 x 2 = If the three stacks were of equal dimensions:
50 m2. 3 x 4 m, then each would occupy 12 m2, and the
The total surface area of each long wall is 20 total occupied by the three would then be: 3 x 12
x 5 = 100 m2. = 36 m2.
The total area of both long walls is 100 x 2 = As the total floor area is 100 m2 (from above),
200 m2. the actual floor area we can spray will only be:
The surface area of the floor to be treated is 20 100 – 36 m2 = 64 m2. Then the total surface to be
x 5 = 100 m2. treated will be:
Therefore, the total surface area of the store to 50 + 200 + 64 m2 = 314 m2.
be treated is: 50 + 200 + 100 = 350 m2. We want to apply the chemical at a rate of 1.0
The insecticide to be used is 20% Actellic g a.i./10 m2 of surface. As we need to treat a total
emulsifiable concentrate (e.c.) volume/volume of 314 m2, we will need: 314/10 * 1 ml of a.i. =
(v/v). This solution therefore contains 20 ml of 31.4 ml a.i.
active ingredient (a.i.) per 100 ml of solution. However, the insecticide is only 20%. Therefore
We want to apply the chemical at a rate of 1.0 100 ml contains only 20 g of a.i.
g a.i./10 m2 of surface. As we need to treat a total 1 g a.i. is contained in 1/20 * 100 ml = 5 ml.
of 350 m2, we will need: 350/10 * 1 ml of a.i. = 35 Therefore 31.4 ml a.i. is contained in 31.4/1 * 5
ml a.i. = 157 ml of 20% Actellic.
However, the insecticide is only 20%. Therefore If we do not have an accurate measure for the
100 ml contains only 20 g of a.i. 1 g a.i. is con- Actellic, we can measure out 160 ml.
tained in 1/20 * 100 ml = 5 ml. We will also need less of the diluted solution:
Therefore 35 ml a.i. is contained in 35/1 * 5 = 314/100 *5 l = 15.7 l or, less precisely, 16 l.
175 ml of 20% Actellic.
The food produced by the farmer has a long journey to travel
on its way to the consumer’s plate or the animal’s feed trough.
There may be a long chain through which the crop will be
transported, stored and processed, with accompanying losses in
quality, quantity, nutrient content and monetary value. These
losses can be substantial, and if they are allowed to occur and
build up, will result in a significant loss in revenue for the
farmer and the end user.
This booklet describes the causes of these potential losses and

illustrates actions that should be undertaken to prevent or
remedy them. It assumes that grain and grain products,
including flour and animal feed, have reached the first point in
the marketing chain after leaving the farm. The situation of
transit storage and long-term storage is considered, and millers,
traders and feed compounders are also included.
The booklet is not intended to be used solely by the ultimate

beneficiaries themselves, though it may well be. It is intended to
be used by anyone who is involved in providing practical advice
to counteract the causes of deterioration of grain and grain
products along the marketing chain. These may be pest control
suppliers, retailers and wholesalers, extension personnel within
and outside of government, staff of trading organisations
including marketing boards, and trade unions.

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GOOD PRACTICES FOR ANIMAL FEED AND LIVESTOCK 2

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

factors affecting quality 5

creating an enabling environment 11

summary of actions needed 33

Table 1 Grade definitions for maize in India

Grade no. Maximum limit of tolerance (%)

subjective terms. However, objective parameters Figure 1 Rodent damaged maize

grain, removing a large percentage of the protein Commercial loss

Factors affecting quality

Acanthoscelides obtectus Callosobruchus maculatus

Sitophilus sp. weevils Trogoderma granarium

Tribolium castaneum Ephestia sp.

Creating an enabling environment

Figure 5 High stacks Figure 7 One type of continuous bonded stack

Layer I Layer II Layer III

TOO NARROW SIDE SIDE

Choosing a stack pattern

Figure 6 Main factors in choosing a stacking

MATERIALS OF BAGS Layer I Layer I

FIBRE PAPER WOVEN

To be built safely, high stacks must have a suf-

5-bag pattern 4-bag pattern

The purpose of inspection is to gather informa-

Date Treatment given By whom

Figure 11 Signs of the presence of rodents

droppings damaged box

footprints damage to structures

are used to transport grain, journeys can be Figure 15 Overturned truck

Table 2 Formulations appropriate for small to medium scale use

Formulation Unit weight (g) Phosphine released (g)

Table 3 Recommended dosage rates for phosphine

Type of fumigation Recommended dosagea

Figure 20 Hand operated pneumatic sprayer

BOX 1 Insecticides available for Figure 21 A space sprayer in position

Common name Commercial name

insects; the former are particularly effective in

BOX 2 Safe use of contact insecticides

Figure 27 Operating principle of simple radial drying bins

Central air tube Extraction fan

Walded mesh and

Air doors Air duct

Figure 28 Operating principle of a single direction cascade dryer

Wet grain inlet

Moist air outlet Variable speed elevator

Fan and furnace

Dry grain outlet

Summary of actions needed

This booklet describes the causes of these potential losses and

The booklet is not intended to be used solely by the ultimate

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