Grain Store treatment with Reldan 22

Mites, weevils and beetles are frequent problems in grain and grain stores and can be responsible for up to 10% of yield loss. To help insure against this, control measures should start up to one month before filling the store, through pre-harvest hygiene with the broad-spectrum insecticide and acaricide Reldan* 22.

Growers now have a much more limited choice of insecticides that they can use to treat grain stores. Some products cannot be used on all cereals, such as milling wheat, and others do not control mites, which are major and common pests in grain. Reldan 22 is fully registered for this use as well as on stored grain, and can be used in wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale stores. Reldan 22 controls all major pests of stored grain, including mites, weevils, beetles and moths. It also is accepted by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and Brewing Research International (BRI) for use on cereals for malting and brewing.

Up to 10% of grain yield can be lost to pest and mite damage after harvest. These pests also damage grain directly, leading to poorer grain quality, including taint and extraneous insect fragments, as well as reducing nutritional value. Pest activity can also cause over-heating in the grain heap, leading to the development of moulds. Stored grain is subject to a wide range of insect and mite infestations including common flour mite, cosmopolitan food mite, grain weevil, warehouse moth, saw-toothed grain beetle, red-rust flour beetle and merchant grain beetle, all of which are controlled by Reldan 22.

Empty grain stores need to be thoroughly cleaned and then treated with Reldan 22. When the grain store is empty and up to one month before filling it again, it should be cleaned out of old grain, dust and debris which may be harbouring insects. Any grain handling equipment should also be cleaned.

Reldan 22 should then be applied to all structural surfaces of the empty store and handling machinery, taking care to treat all cracks, crevices and joints. There are several options for application: by knapsack sprayer with fan spray nozzles, by motorised knapsack sprayer or tractor-operated spray lance. Reldan 22 is applied at 200 ml in 5 litres of water per 100 square metres of surface.

With yield prospects depressed by the drought but with higher grain prices, it is well worth making sure all grain is protected from any damage in store, particularly if harvest turns out to be wet.

Summary

• Controls all major pests of stored grain including mites
• Works by contact, ingestion and fumigant action
• Fast knockdown and long-term control
• Use for pre-harvest hygiene of grain stores
  - There is no grain-withholding period for pre-harvest hygiene treatment
• Use on stored cereal grain