Early detection of stored-product pest insects in grain storage and in the field in Germany

Abstract

A successful early detection of storage pests already begins in the field and represents a future and important way of plant protection against insect pests. Currently, however, there are few data on the occurrence and distribution of stored-product pest insects in Germany and on the damage they cause to postharvest plant products. Not only established, but also species newly introduced by trade and tourism or expanding naturally due to warming in the course of climate change pose a threat. The objective of this pilot study was to test concepts and methods for collecting data on the incidence of stored-product pests. To this end, a monitoring was carried out from 2020-22 on four farms, three of which were organic. Various semiochemical-baited traps were set up inside and outside grain stores, which were checked monthly and evaluated in the laboratory. The results show that in addition to a large number of pest species inside storages (e.g. sawtoothed grain beetle Oryzaephilus surinamensis or Indianmeal moth Plodia interpunctella), some insects, including different moth species and the lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica, were caught in traps outside, near the adjacent grain fields. The findings obtained here form the basis for the three-year research project AVoiD (Abwehr von Vorratsschädlingen in Deutschland – preventing stored product pests in Germany), which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) as part of the German Climate Protection Programme 2022 and started in November 2022. In this project, among other things, locations throughout Germany will be sampled and the knowledge published here implemented.