Institut für Strategien und Folgenabschätzung
The lack of detailed information and robust figures on pest occurrence and infestation, as well as on current losses of stored goods, makes it difficult to improve existing and develop new methods for the prevention, early detection and control of pests in integrated stored-product protection. Not only native or established species, but also new pests that migrate naturally or are introduced through trade and tourism pose a threat. Due to higher mean annual temperatures as a result of climate change, there will be a shift in the development conditions for stored-product pests towards the optimum and thus infestations will occur more often already in the field. Furthermore, there is a possibility that heat-loving pest species may increasingly become established in Germany. To prevent serious damage caused by the introduction of insects infesting stored products from the field, targeted defense measures are required during storage. Preventive measures in cultivation and trade to protect plant health with the aid of comprehensive surveys can detect infestations and the possible emergence of new storage pests at an early stage and combat them effectively. This could prevent spread, additional infestation and consequently higher postharvest losses in good time and thus, in the longer term, reduce the use of environmentally and climate-damaging plant protection products. In stored-product protection, in addition to thorough cleaning and drying, climate-optimized (hermetic) storage can prevent insects and their very small breeding stages (e.g. egg larvae) from immigrating from outside. True gas-tightness creates an oxygen-free atmosphere by respiration of atmospheric oxygen, which preserves the germination capacity and quality of the grain, but suppresses harmful arthropods and fungi. Hermetic storage has attracted repeated interest in science and practice in recent times. In work package 1 ("ClimatOptiStorage"), the project is investigating how best to achieve the advantages of underground hermetic storage (passive cooling, no temperature fluctuations, pestproofing, lack of oxygen, and preservation of grain quality). Particularly in organic farming, where pest infestations cannot be controlled chemically, this form of storage improves storage and helps to avoid losses. From the standpoint of structural design, food and occupational safety, abrasion resistance, gas tightness, sustainability, and cost effectiveness, optimized underground or aboveground storage structures should be developed. In old, free-standing elevated silos, the quality preservation of stored grain suffers from solar radiation and temperature fluctuations in the day/night rhythm. Leaky joints of individual corrugated metal sections, missing or porous seals, leaks in the grain outlet and ventilation slits under the silo roof allow warm, moist air to get out, but also insects to get in. In work package 2 ("Early detection"), the project is concerned with the investigation and (further) development of new concepts and methods for collecting data on the occurrence of insects harmful to stored plant products in Germany. In addition to collecting current figures on already established pests and the influence of regional differences on their distribution, a special focus is on investigating the occurrence of new pest species in order to be able to prevent their spread in Germany at an early stage. The overall objective is to develop strategies for the early detection of stored-product pest insects inside and especially outside stores in the field. These will be tested at several selected locations in Germany. In order to record the extent to which organic farming affects the occurrence of insects that are harmful to stocks, three of the participating farms are organic farms or store organic products. An expansion to 5 organic farms is planned for 2024. Furthermore, existing and new monitoring systems (attractants and traps) will be reviewed and expanded. Reducing post-harvest losses through optimized storage and effective early detection of pest infestations would therefore be doubly effective, relieving the burden on the food production value chain and supporting climate protection.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
