Identification tool helps rid stored grain of pests

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

by MATT MCINTOSH

A new, free-to-use online identification tool from the Canadian Grain Commission could help farmers deal with pests in stored grain more effectively.

Available from the commission's website, the insect identification key relies on images and word descriptions to help producers narrow down what pest, or pests, are currently infesting their stored grain.

Determining what pests are present in their grain, the commission says, helps producers make better and more appropriate management decisions.

The pest identification tool has been available online since October 2, but Brent Elliott, infestation control and sanitation officer at the commission, says it has been in the works for some time.

"An identification tool is something that is very common in the scientific world," says Elliott. And we thought that grain farmers might be able to use that kind of thing too."

The tool works by comparing two images and their respective descriptions. The user chooses which picture and description best matches the pest they have, then the process repeats with more specific information. This continues until an answer is found.

According to Elliot, the key was designed to be user friendly in order to help alleviate some of the difficulties associated with pest identification.

"Many of the pests in the database are extremely small, so identification can be quite difficult without a bit of magnification," says Elliot. "The rusty grain beetle, for instance, makes up about 90 per cent of the pests we see, but they're only about two millimeters long."

According to commission's website, properly identifying pests is much easier if the user has some knowledge of insect body structure. BF