CRC for Plant Biosecurity - sampling strategies

Review and gap analysis of stored grain sampling strategies

CRICHTONA — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:06:25 +0000

Review and gap analysis of stored grain sampling strategies

Improved Sampling Strategies

CRICHTONA — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:10:22 +0000

Sharing and learning in the United States

VANMEURSA — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 04:19:37 +0000

Dr Grant Hamilton visited Kansas State University from 19 - 26 August 2010. He was hosted by Professor Bhadriraju Subramanyam, an internationally recognised grains researcher who has published extensively on grains sampling.

Apart from several discussions with Professor Subramanyam about grains sampling, Dr Hamilton met with a number of people involved in detection and sampling of pests in grain bulks and processing facilities. His initial meeting was with Dr Jim Campbell (United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA, ARS)). During this meeting the two scientists discussed Dr Campbell’s recent research, examining the interaction of pests within and outside food processing facilities. They also discussed the difficulties in interpreting trap catches of red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and the environmental influences that affected this interpretation.

Dr Hamilton then met with Professor Paul Flinn (USDA, ARS) and discussed his current projects including the biological control of stored grains pest using parasitoid wasps and experiments designed to parameterise an agent-based model for simulating red flour beetle movement. After Professor Flinn shared data with Dr Hamilton from extensive sampling of grain elevators, both scientists could see the benefit of future collaborations (together with Professor Subramanyam) due to similarities in their research. Professor Flinn also showed Dr Hamilton around the research facilities, including experimental grain silos, the grain elevator and various sampling equipment that they have used during experiments. This proved very useful and will lead to changes in the way that the research on Dr Hamilton’s current project, CRC30086: Stored Grains Sampling Strategies, is carried out.

Discussing his work with prominent plant biosecurity researchers was very useful for Dr Hamilton. Meetings with Professor David Hagstrum (retired), who has published extensively in grains sampling was especially useful in discovering different approaches for comparisons on existing grains models. Dr Hamilton then met with Dr Frank Arthur (USDA, ARS) to discuss his recent experiments involving aeration (comparison of top down or bottom up) and temperature profiles within grain. Dr Arthur is interested in sharing his data once it is complete.

At the University of Kansas Dr Hamilton met with a number of researchers in various fields including:

Professor John Leslie (Professor and Head, Department of Plant Pathology) and discussed his extensive research effort on fusarium wilt
Professor Tom Phillips (Head, Department of Entomology)
Professor Jim Stack (Director of the Biosecurity Research Institute) and Dr. Karen Garett to discuss invasion modelling, and
Professor Subramanyam also gave Dr Hamilton tours if KSU’s new bioprocessing facility and flour mill.

From this visit Dr Hamilton gained a broader understanding of the differences between the environment in which previous sampling research was conducted, and the research currently being conducted in Australia.

Dr Hamilton says “This trip has been important in contextualising different problems, and ultimately will lead to more targeted sampling management recommendations from my project [CRC30086: Stored Grains Sampling Strategies]. In addition to making myself and the project known to leading researchers in Biosecurity in Kansas, there are firm commitments from several researchers for future collaborations.”

Dr Hamilton and his team are already examining the data shared by Professor Flinn with a view to a collaborative paper. In addition, touring research facilities has given him ideas for possible future research.

Grains sampling strategy goes overseas

K.Scott — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:21:44 +0000

The Australian grain industry is worth around $6 billion annually. Australia aims for a high quality export product, and since export markets have a ‘nil tolerance’ for live insects, the cost of not detecting pests when they are present is high. The additional costs that we sometimes forget about are the possible direct costs and indirect side effects of treating grain as if there are insects present when they are not. This not only costs money, but in the longer term can lead to insect resistance.

The aim of the Stored Grains Sampling Strategies project is to maximise the detection of pests in grain when they are present, and demonstrate freedom from infestation of an area when pests are absent. As part of this Dr David Elmouttie (CRC postdoctoral fellow), Dr Andreas Kiermeier (SARDI) and myself developed a statistical model that has recently been published in Pest Management Science.

Using this model and field trials, we have demonstrated that it is possible to improve on the current sampling systems typically used in Australia. This will be advantageous to growers and bulk handlers who want to ensure that their grain is pest free. As the problem of phosphine resistance becomes more prominent, this will also assist with making decisions as to when to treat grain rather than simply treating on a calendar basis.

I was invited to present this model recently at the 10th International Working Conference on Stored Product Protection in Estoril, Portugal. The model was presented both as a poster and during an interactive workshop organised by Dr Fuji Jian (University of Manitoba) and Professor Paul Flinn (USDA). The feedback from these presentations was constructive, with researchers interested to understand the way that we had incorporated the ecology of pest species into the statistical model in order to improve the probability of detection.

Improving the probability of detection was the focus a presentation by Dr David Elmouttie at the International Statistical Ecology Conference held this year at the University of Canterbury in Kent. David demonstrated the statistical workings of the model and showed that this approach can be applied in a number of different fields in additional to stored products sampling.

To keep up to date with developments overseas and to communicate our recent findings, I have recently visited Kansas State University where I was generously hosted by Professor Bhadriraju Subramanyam, an internationally respected grains researcher who has published extensively on grains sampling. This was a highly productive visit. I also met a number of internationally established researchers at KSU, including Professor Tom Phillips (Head of the Department of Entomology), Professor Jim Stack (Director of the Great Plains Diagnostic Network) and Professor John Leslie (Head of Plant Pathology Department). In addition to KSU researchers, I was able to visit the nearby Centre for Grain and Animal Health Research to meet Professor Paul Flinn, Dr Frank Arthur and Dr Jim Campbell.

This visit enabled me to inspect the cutting edge research facilities available to these researchers, including experimental grain silos, controlled temperature rooms, a functional full scale grain elevator and new flour mill. Collaborations are now underway and with plans for future research.

Photo caption: CRC postdoc Dr David Elmouttie taking grain samples

Image courtesy of Dr David Elmouttie

Article written by Dr Grant Hamilton

CRC30086: Stored Grains Sampling Strategies

K.Scott — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:06:20 +0000

Program

Surveillance