Recent Advances in Stored Product Protection

This book aims to assess, evaluate and critically analyze the methods that are currently available for a judicious pest management in durable food. It presents and analyzes a vast amount of methods that are already in use in “real world” industrial applications.

After the phase-out of methyl bromide, but also the withdrawal of several insecticides and the continuously updated food safety regulations, there is a significant knowledge gap on the use of risk-reduced, ecologically-compatible control methods that can be used with success against stored-product insect species and related arthropods.

The importance of integrated pest management (IPM) is growing, but the concept as practiced for stored products might differ from IPM as historically developed for field crops. This book discusses a wide variety of control strategies used for stored product management and describes some of the IPM components. The editors included chemical and non-chemical methods, as both are essential in IPM. They set the scene for more information regarding emerging issues in stored product protection, such as emerging, alien and invasive species as threats for global food security, as well as the importance of stored-product arthropods for human health. Finally, the analysis of the economics of stored product protection is presented, from theory to practice.

Dr. Christos G. Athanassiou, earned his Ph.D. in Entomology from the Agricultural University of Athens and currently serves as a Professor of Entomology at the University of Thessaly, Greece. His research is focused on chemical and non-chemical control of stored product pests in raw and processed agricultural commodities, and also to integrated and biological control of pests in crop protection. Research includes testing of novel insecticides, evaluation of resistance, control of insects and mites with entomopathogens, predators and parasitoids, systematics and phylogenetic analysis, designing sampling and trapping methods and techniques and study of biology and ecology of key pests. Dr. Athanassiou has published more than 200 papers in academic peer-reviewed journals, and more than 100 papers in Conference Proceedings, book chapters and popular articles. He has more than 20 years of experience in entomology and crop protection.

Dr. Franklin (Frank) H. Arthur earned his M. S. and Ph.D. in Entomology from North Carolina State University. He conducts research focused on pest management in raw grain and in milling and processing facilities. Research includes assessments of new reduced-risk insecticides for insect pest management, refinement of aeration for cooling stored grains, evaluation and determinations of factors that affect efficacy of aerosols and contact insecticides, and integrating individual components of pest management into comprehensive management strategies. Dr. Arthur has published more than 220 papers in academic peer-reviewed journals, another 20 papers in Conference Proceedings, and has authored or co-authored 12 book chapters. He has given presentations at more than 200 scientific meetings and training sessions sponsored by private industry or University extension. Dr. Arthur has over 31 years of experience as a researcher in stored product entomology.