Higher Temps Put Stored Grain At Risk

Apr 21, 2014

Warmer weather is putting stored grain and oilseeds at risk of spoilage.

Due to last year's bumper crop and the resulting transportation challenges, there's much more of last year's crop still in storage on farms than normal for this time of year.

"There's a lot of canola still sitting in bins and some might be destined to stay there for summer, so you definitely want to be taking some precautionary measures when it starts to warm up outside," explains Angela Brackenreed, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada.

A large difference between the temperature of the canola in a bin and the air temperature outside will lead to moisture accumulation, she notes.

"You actually want to warm up that canola. Turn the fans on when you see about a 10 degree differential from the outside to the inside," says Brackenreed. "The first spot that you're likely going to see that accumulation is in the bottom central core."

Canola that was put into temporary grain bag storage last fall should be dealt with in the very near future, she notes.

"Bags are definitely not ideal for long term storage. Any canola in there now should be moved as soon as possible into a bin," says Brackenreed.

Source: SteinbachOnline

Video: LALEXPERT: Sclerotinia cycle and prophylactic methods

White rot, also known as sclerotinia, is a common agricultural fungal disease caused by various virulent species of Sclerotinia. It initially affects the root system (mycelium) before spreading to the aerial parts through the dissemination of spores.

Sclerotinia is undoubtedly a disease of major economic importance, and very damaging in the event of a heavy attack.

All these attacks come from the primary inoculum stored in the soil: sclerotia. These forms of resistance can survive in the soil for over 10 years, maintaining constant contamination of susceptible host crops, causing symptoms on the crop and replenishing the soil inoculum with new sclerotia.