The Vital Role of Deltamethrin in Grain Protection
In the agricultural sector, grain storage plays a key role in maintaining food security by preserving harvested crops. However, this process is not without its challenges, in particular, the risk of pest infestation. One tool is essential in the fight against these pests: Deltamethrin. This article explores its importance in grain protection, how it works and why it outperforms alternatives.
What is Deltamethrin and how does it work?
Deltamethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid, an insecticide that imitates the insecticidal properties of natural pyrethrins found in chrysanthemum flowers.
Due to its chemical composition, exposure to Deltamethrin disrupts an insect’s nervous system, leading to its death. This active ingredient is remarkably persistent, providing long-lasting protection against a wide range of pests.
Deltamethrin vs. Permethrin
Although Deltamethrin and Permethrin are in the same class of insecticides, they have different levels of potency and persistence. Deltamethrin has superior residual activity, making it ideal for extended protection in long-term grain storage.
Permethrin, on the other hand, is effective but has a shorter residual life. This means it has to be reapplied more often. For long-term grain protection, Deltamethrin is the clear choice.
Why is Deltamethrin essential to grain protection?
Deltamethrin plays an integral role in protecting stored grain from pests. With its long-lasting residual activity, broad-spectrum efficacy and compatibility with synergists like PBO, Deltamethrin is an indispensable tool for silo owners. Without it, grain pest control would be compromised, resulting in significant losses and food safety risks.
As silo owners strive to maintain grain quality and mitigate economic losses, the inclusion of Deltamethrin in their pest management protocols is becoming a non-negotiable.
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“Without a doubt the active ingredient Deltamethrin, utilised in K-Obiol®, is the most effective compound for tackling stored grain insects. With many compounds now withdrawn from use, it’s the only compound that remains for grain, which says a lot for the reliable nature of Deltamethrin.”
Dr. Stefan Endepols, Biologist and grain protection expert at Envu |
Key benefits of including Deltamethrin in your protocols
Long-lasting Residual Activity
Deltamethrin adheres to surfaces and remains effective for long periods of time. Unlike the other chemical pest control application, which can require frequent reapplication, it provides continuous pest control, reducing the need for reapplication and lowering operating costs for silo owners.
Broad-spectrum Efficacy
Whether it’s beetles, moths or weevils, Deltamethrin provides complete protection against all types of pests. When it comes to preserving grain quality and preventing losses during storage, this versatility is crucial.
Resistance Management
Silo owners can rotate or combine Deltamethrin with other chemicals to reduce the emergence of resistant pest populations and maintain the effectiveness of pest control measures over the long term.
Safety and Environmental Considerations
Deltamethrin is popular not only because of its efficacy. It also has excellent safety properties and minimal environmental impact. Unlike older generation pesticides, Deltamethrin has a low level of toxicity to non-target organisms.
Regulatory Compliance and Quality Assurance
By incorporating Deltamethrin into their pest management practices, silo owners demonstrate their commitment to maintaining the highest levels of grain quality and safety, in line with ever-changing regulatory standards for food safety and storage. This increases consumer confidence in their products and helps to improve their marketability.
Deltamethrin and PBO: a perfect match
An effective way to increase the efficacy of Deltamethrin is to use synergistic combinations, particularly with piperonyl butoxide (PBO). Extracted from a plant (the Sassafras), PBO is a semi-synthetic that acts as a synergist. Rather than targeting insects directly, it works by enhancing the effectiveness of other active ingredients in the insecticide. It does this by inhibiting the enzymes responsible for detoxifying insecticides in pests. K-Obiol® combines PBO with Deltamethrin for maximum insecticidal activity, effectively overcoming metabolic resistance activity and increasing the overall efficacy of grain protection measures.
In short, the addition of piperonyl butoxide (a compound that enhances the action of insecticides) helps to reduce the amount of active ingredient in the product while retaining its effectiveness.
Which product to choose?
Deltamethrin is fundamental in grain protection strategies. Its unrivalled efficacy, together with synergistic enhancements, provides a robust defence against pest infestations in silos.
K-Obiol® is formulated with ultra-low levels of Deltamethrin, making it particularly suitable for the food industry. With the addition of PBO, it also provides long-lasting effectiveness in grain pest control. Want to know more about this product?