title: On-Farm Evaluation of Hermetic Technology Against Maize Storage Pests in Kenya.
abstract: On-farm trial with a total of 32 farmers in eight villages of Naivasha and Nakuru areas of Kenya was conducted between December 2013 and September 2014 to evaluate hermetic grain storage technologies under farmers' management conditions. The storage technologies evaluated were metal silo and SuperGrain IV-R bag alongside the standard woven polypropylene bag with or without Actellic super dust. Moisture content, insect population, grain discoloration, and weight loss were analyzed 90, 180, and 270 d after storage. Grain moisture content remained stable over the storage period. Both metal silo and SuperGrain IV-R bag suppressed insect population, prevented grain loss and cross-infestation of insects from the surrounding environment. On the contrary, polypropylene bags allowed rapid build up of insect population and re-infestation from the surrounding environment. Grain weight losses were 1.5% in the metal silo and 1.8% in the SuperGrain IV-R bags compared to 32% in the polypropylene bags without Actellic Super dust, 270 d after storage. The present study, therefore, demonstrates that storing grains either in metal silo or SuperGrain IV-R bags would benefit farmers in reducing grain losses and improving quality. The study was of great interest to the farmers, grain storage scientists, and food security experts.
authors.affiliation: Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), PO Box 14733 - 00800, Nairobi, Kenya (paddy.likhayo@kalro.org; mutambukikimo@yahoo.com) Kenyatta University (KU), Department of Zoological Sciences, PO Box 43844 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya (mueke.jones@ku.ac.ke) paddy.likhayo@kalro.org.
authors.forename: Paddy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Likhayo
authors.affiliation: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), PO Box 1041 - 00621, Nairobi, Kenya (A.Bruce@cgiar.org), and.
authors.forename: Anani Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.affiliation: Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), PO Box 14733 - 00800, Nairobi, Kenya (paddy.likhayo@kalro.org; mutambukikimo@yahoo.com).
authors.forename: Kimondo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mutambuki
authors.affiliation: International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), ILRI Campus, PO Box 5689, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia (ttefera@icipe.org).
authors.forename: Tadele
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tefera
authors.affiliation: Kenyatta University (KU), Department of Zoological Sciences, PO Box 43844 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya (mueke.jones@ku.ac.ke).
authors.forename: Jones
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mueke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002523:Edible Grain; D000072480:Farms; D061353:Food Storage / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D007313:Insecta; D007630:Kenya; D003313:Zea mays
keywords: Prostephanus truncatus; Sitophilus zeamais; maize; metal silo; on-farm storage