Bayer warns of the importance of preventive management in stored grains

Brazil has been reaching super harvest levels in recent years: off-season corn, which previously recorded lower production, today represents the largest volume of crop grains produced by Brazilian agriculture. With each cycle the producer has reached new records and, in 2020, the second corn harvest in the Center-South region, which is heading towards the end of the harvest in August, should reach a new level - estimated at 73,5 million tons, growth of 0,5% over 2018/19 production, according to data from the National Supply Company (Conab).

In this context, with the good results of the off-season, it is also important for the farmer to be careful with the post-harvest grains: preventive management during storage is essential to ensure that the crop maintains its quality and does not depreciate until it is shipped to the external and internal markets.

"Post-harvest grain care must be as rigorous as the treatments during the harvest, since some pests remain in the corn from the field until storage. Having a healthy grain with market value depends on the correct application of inputs in all stages. Therefore, the producer must carry out integrated pest management", comments the specialist and Product Development manager at the Environmental Science unit at Bayer Brazil and Latin America, Fernando Bernardin.

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Factors such as fungal contamination, presence of insect fragments and inadequate storage can contribute to grain infestation, causing serious losses - up to around 10% to 15% loss of the stored harvest. Among the producer's concerns, at this stage, woodworm is one of the main ones.

"These insects are capable of moving through small spaces between the grains, including in the deepest areas of the silos, and infecting the inputs. Among the damages caused by this pest are: loss in grain weight, increased humidity, dissemination of microtoxins through through fungi and difficulties in exporting and selling products", adds Fernando.

According to the expert, the first appropriate management action is to sanitize the storage unit, removing residue, in addition to checking the grains that arrived from the farm. After this step, Fernando explains that there are two main control methods that prevent grains from weevils: chemical insecticides (preventive treatment) and purging - a gas with aluminum phosphide (phosphine) that protects the silo only at the time of application.

"If storage lasts for more than a month, grains and seeds can be treated preventively to obtain protection against pest attack, with insecticides when storing in silos. Bayer has products for post-harvest insect control , which can be used to maintain the health and quality of the harvest. Furthermore, we have a Protection Program, a partnership with professional controllers selected to offer the best service to the producer", concludes Fernando.