Journal of Economic Entomology (2020) 113, 1008-1014
Md. Mahbub Hasan, M. Jamie Aikins, M. Wesley Schilling and Thomas W. Phillips (2020)
Comparison of methyl bromide and phosphine for fumigation of Necrobia rufipes (Coleoptera: Cleridae) and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae), pests of high-value stored products
Journal of Economic Entomology 113 (2), 1008-1014
Abstract: Fumigation with methyl bromide has been a long established and effective method for controlling many pests of stored products, including the key major pests that infest dry-cured hams, aged cheese, and other value-added durable stored products. Methyl bromide had been widely used for the disinfestation of dry-cured ham facilities in the United States, but is now phased out of use since it is an ozone-depleting substance. This paper reports laboratory studies to evaluate the efficacies of methyl bromide and phosphine for controlling two of the key arthropod pests of dry-cured hams and aged cheeses. Larvae of the red-legged ham beetle, Necrobia rufipes (Fabricius), were the most tolerant life stages when treated with either phosphine or methyl bromide for 48 h exposure at 23°C, whereas eggs of the mold mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank), were slightly more tolerant than mobile stages for both compounds. Under laboratory conditions, complete control was achieved for the both species with concentrations of 0.85 and 4.0 g/m3 of phosphine and methyl bromide, respectively, at 48 h exposure. The results give new information for judicious use of the existing stocks of methyl bromide, whether for pest mitigation or to help in developing a quarantine treatment schedule with that gas. Phosphine shows good potential as an effective alternative to methyl bromide, but if it was to be adopted as a fumigant in the dry-cured ham industry, methods to prevent metal corrosion would need to be designed and effectively implemented.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Thomas W. Phillips, Md. Mahbub Hasan
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Necrobia rufipes | ||||
| Tyrophagus putrescentiae |
