Alessandro N. Vargas
I
This page presents the device constructed at UTFPR to help us advance the knowledge of how the construction of a grain silo prototype can be used to increase the mortality rate of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.). The silo prototype is a bin of small dimensions, adequate for labora-tory environments, equipped with controlled temperature for the mass of wheat stored therein. Adjusting the temperature and the time of exposure in the bin may be an effective tool to eliminate R. dominica.
Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) is the main pest found in stored products in Brazil. Some species of insects (e.g. lesser and larger grain borer) that attack the kernel of the grain find appropriate environmental conditions for intense reproduction. The presence of these insects weakens the quality of the stored grains and is respon-sible for an expressive amount of grain losses each year. To take one account, the Brazilian govern-ment estimated a grain harvest of 185 million tons at the 2012/2013 season, and 10% of it may have become inadequate for consumption due to the action of insects.
This work aims to understand how Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) spreads in silo structures.
Published paper. Vargas, Alessandro N.; Denis W. F. De Souza, ; FREITAS, A. M. ; LORINI, I. ; João Bosco Ribeiro do Val . A silo for suppressing the population of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae) in stored wheat. Cogent Food & Agriculture, v. 2, p. 1-9, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2016.1262983