06.05.2019 USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ars.usda.gov), the leading Ag research institute for post-harvest science, used and validated Centaur’s The Internet-of-Crops® platform and wireless sensors at their Manhattan, Kansas research facility. A recently published article presents the study which focuses on digital monitoring of fumigation on wheat grain, stored in metal bins. Centaur is pleased to be part of this important work which marks a significant application of the Internet-of-Things in stored crop protection.
The conclusions reached are presented in a detailed article, published on April 27, 2019. For access to the article, you may follow this link.
Abstract
Fumigation of grain bins with phosphine tablets is one method of insect control for stored products. Monitoring toxic gas concentration at many locations over several days for a given structure or container can be challenging. In this study, a commercially-available system that wirelessly measures phosphine was evaluated in small and large-scale tests. Measurement accuracy and repeatability was tested in lab environment with phosphine concentrations up to 700 ppm. The system was also evaluated during full scale fumigations in 120 metric ton steel grain bins. As a reference, monitoring lines were distributed at several positions and depths in the bin in order to sample phosphine gas concentrations. The wireless devices collected local phosphine concentrations and temperatures every two hours without assistance from personnel. Although the fumigation trials were significantly different in terms of patterns in gas concentration over time, the two sampling methods gave similar trendlines. However, the automated data provided a more detailed picture of the fumigation process. This information may help fumigation managers to better evaluate fumigations and assure successful insect control.
You can obtain the full article here: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/10/5/121
