As defined in the Federal Register, April 7, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 68, Page 18821- 18835), the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Risk Avoidance and Mitigation for Major Food Crop Systems Program (RAMP) is a long-term research, education, and extension program to develop reduced-risk pest management strategies. This is necessitated by the demand of global markets for high quality, competitively priced food and grain products. Additionally, growers face market demands, ever-increasing production costs, and unstable commodity prices. These constraints are further exacerbated by implementation of regulatory actions, because many of the pest management tools available to growers in the past may be severely restricted or eliminated. Growers face uncertainty regarding which pest management tactics will continue to be available and how to make use of new technologies, such as bio-engineered crop innovations and precision agriculture in their production systems. There is a critical need to devise pest management systems that consider all aspects of crop production.

   This proposal addresses replacements as a result of FQPA requirements for organophosphorous (OP) insecticides that are used directly on postharvest grain stored by farmers and grain elevators and loss of methyl bromide as a result of the Montreal Protocol in processing facilities. Additionally, several OPs are used for structural pest control in flour mills, food processing facilities, and warehouses holding finished food products destined for wholesale and retail distribution. Furthermore, replacements are needed for the fumigants phosphine, used for treatment of bulk-stored grain, and methyl bromide, used for disinfesting food-processing facilities. The use of both these fumigants may be limited in the future because of human safety and environmental concerns.

    Stored-product insects cause significant damage to the multi-billion dollar grain and food industries each year. These insects infest raw grain in storage, milled products, or packaged and processed finished goods. Some of the OPs used for stored products are applied directly to raw grain and residues of these OPs are found in grain marketed domestically (USDA 1998a, b). OP compounds are also applied to indoor floor and wall surfaces of flourmills, food plants, warehouses, and grocery stores to control stored product insects. EPA under the FQPA mandate will undertake a thorough risk assessment of all OP insecticides, because they either contribute to dietary or occupational exposure risk. We propose that effective non-OP and fumigant alternatives for postharvest grain and food uses can be expanded using existing products and technologies, or developed through research on new products and approaches.

    This project will address Objectives I and II of the RAMP program: develop methods of pest management that reduce or eliminate the risk from pesticide residues implement information intensive approaches to pest management based on a more complete understanding of crop and pest biology, their interactions and mutual impacts, and factors impacting the stability of pest management systems in major cropping systems.

    A Consortium for Integrated Management of Stored Product Insect Pests (CIMSPIP) is proposed as a collaboration between scientists at Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS), Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK), Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Grain Marketing and Production Research Center (USGMPRC) (Manhattan, KS), and industries involved in research and management of stored product pests. The CIMSPIP brings together entomologists, agricultural engineers, and agricultural economists with vast research and extension experiences in a "center without walls", focusing the talents and insights of a critical mass of outstanding scientific expertise to address significant pest problems in the post-harvest arena by using innovative approaches and cutting-edge methods to reduce reliance on pesticides, as mandated by FQPA. An advantage of such a Consortium is the sharing of critical resources and facilities, fostering collaborative partnerships to conduct world-class research, and integrating experience and expertise from academia, USDA laboratories, and industry.

    Within the United States, there are few federal or state facilities that are conducting research exclusively on insect pest management on raw grains or in food storage facilities. Biological Research Unit (BRU) at the GMPRC in Manhattan has 12 permanent Category 1 research scientists devoted exclusively to various aspects of research on stored-product insects. Combining the scientists in the BRU with the 5 permanent scientists in the Engineering Research Unit at the GMPRC, and with the entomologists at Kansas State with responsibilities for stored product insects yields one of the largest if not the largest concentration of stored-product researchers in the world located in Manhattan, KS. Of the land-grant universities in the United States, only

    The collaborative effort will examine the potential for materials currently registered for stored grain and other crops to be used in unique ways. Several are approaches that employ knowledge of insect genetics, behavior modifying chemicals, insect growth regulators, natural botanical or bacterial materials, naturally-occurring insecticidal desiccants, and extreme temperatures projects include an pest control operators and others with the help of the Association of Operative Millers, a American Feed Industry Association, and National Pest Control Association. Finally, we will expand our existing website (see below for details) to provide updated information to clientele throughout the United States and the world. We will solicit formal stakeholder reviews after the second field season and at the end of the project to evaluate project effectiveness.

    Thus, outcomes from the proposed Consortium include: new uses (labels) for registered, "safe" materials, production of scientific and extension publications, websites, CDs, and workshops and cutting-edge training of numerous undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral research associates, and end-users in stored product IPM.

    Why is managing stored product insects important? Stored product insects are adapted to infesting raw grains and cereal products, and present a constant threat to these commodities worldwide. These insect pests survive on dry, stored cereals and legumes in raw or processed form, and they are maintained year after year in storage systems by residual grain remaining in bins, poor sanitation in mills, food-processing facilities and warehouses, and storage, and immigration form natural (rodent caches, bird nests, wooded areas) and other infested sites. commonly and routinely used to eliminate active pest infestations.

    Several IPM-based methods are available to help manage insects in bulk grains (Hagstrum et al. 1999). insect-free structures), drying grain before loading into storage to maintain a low moisture content (12-13%), and using low-volume ambient air (aeration) to cool and maintain grain below 15.6°C (60F°), which is the lower temperature limit for survival, development and reproduction for stored-product insects. Grain can be treated with a protectant (OPs or alternatives, especially DE) as it is loaded into a bin. Once in storage, grain can monitored by removing grain samples or insect traps, and if pest populations are detected and estimated to exceed acceptable levels (>2 live insects/kg), alternative techniques such as grain turning, use of aeration, or properly timed fumigation with phosphine can prevent significant grain damage. However, there are still situations where non-chemical IPM strategies may not be feasible, and insecticides are required to prevent economic damage. Producers who store grain on-farm often use protectants if the grain is stored for six months or longer (Barak and Harein 1981, Kenkel et al. 1992, Martin et al. 1997). On-farm storage bins often are not equipped with aeration systems or temperature monitoring devices. In addition, many of these on-farm structures either cannot be fumigated with phosphine or producers cannot afford the cost of commercial treatment. Grain stored in large grain elevators within high-risk geographic zones (e.g., the southeastern U.S.) may also be treated with OP grain protectants. Finally, some domestic and foreign customers may require protectant application or fumigation as a condition of sale.