Journal of Pest Science (2012) 85, 301-322

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Shlomo Navarro (2012)
The use of modified and controlled atmospheres for the disinfestation of stored products
Journal of Pest Science 85 (3), 301-322
Abstract: Storage insects are aerobic organisms requiring oxygen for their survival. Therefore, they respond to altered atmospheric gas compositions containing low O₂ or high CO₂. The lower the grain moisture content (m.c.) and the corresponding intergranular humidity, the higher the mortality-due to the desiccation effect on insects caused by low O₂ or elevated CO₂ concentrations. To achieve insect control, the temperature of the grain should be above 21 °C. Hermetic storage is based on the principle of generation of an oxygen-depleted, carbon dioxide-enriched interstitial atmosphere caused by the respiration of the living organisms in the ecological system of a sealed storage. A sufficiently low oxygen and elevated CO₂ atmosphere is created through a natural metabolic process based on insect respiration and, in cases where the commodity has sufficiently high moisture, the respiration of the microorganisms within a sealed storage system. An O₂ ingress rate of 0.05 %/day is sufficient to arrest the theoretical weight loss at a level of 0.018 % over 1-year storage period. At this ingress rate, the possibility of a residual surviving insect population is eliminated. This low O₂ ingress level could serve as a guideline for the sealing specifications of structures appropriate to the hermetic storage method. The applications for which hermetic technology has been most widely accepted are (a) for long-term storage of cereal grains, primarily rice, corn, barley, and wheat; (b) for long-term storage of a variety of seeds to preserve germination potential and vigor, and (c) for quality preservation of high-value commodities, such as dried fruits.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
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control - general

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