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DVD on phosphine resistant grain storage insects for GRDC

Darryl Anderson
by Darryl Anderson
18th May 2012

A world first gave Anvil Media a compelling story for a recent episode of Groundcover TV, a DVD series produced by Anvil for the Grains Research & Development Corporation.

It began with a tale familiar to grain growers and storage facilitators around the globe, insect contamination. In this case, one of the major pests of stored grain in Australia, the Rust Red Flour Beetle.

Anvil’s supervising producer of Ground Cover TV Tony Crowley travelled to WA to shoot interviews with the story’s main players.

In the seven minute video that was produced and distributed to grain growers around Australia, Tony interviewed three key people from WA’s Department of Agriculture and Food, a senior entomologist, a technical field-specialist and a lab technician dedicated to phosphine resistance monitoring.

“We also included footage of the silos and laboratory showing the researchers at work,” he said. “Graphical elements such as maps and animation were used to demonstrate the seriousness and extent of the problem.”

The video told the world first story of how insects that were previously resistant to phosphine were successfully eradicated – remarkably, by using phosphine.

Senior technical officer Chris Newman explained how the insects had built up their resistance.

“The farmer had been fumigating incorrectly for about 11 years. Simply punching holes in phosphine containers and hanging them in the head space means that the gas is released exceptionally slowly and there was a very high selection pressure in the head-space of the silo.”

What led to that discovery was solid field work by the national phosphine resistance monitoring team which collects samples of contaminated grain complete with live insects. In a Perth laboratory the identity of those insects is confirmed and their level of resistance tested so that the necessary action can be taken.

As senior entomologist Rob Emery explained, this particular sample confirmed full and urgent action was needed.

“We’d been expecting strong resistance to develop for sometime because it had been found in the eastern states,” he said. “We noticed in Western Australia through our monitoring that weak resistance gradually increasing, and we know that when weak resistance becomes common, strong resistance soon arrives.”

It was what resulted from the fumigation procedure that Chris Newman applied to the contaminated grain silo that was so remarkable.

“By using the normal recommended fumigation protocol but doing so rigidly and for a number of applications, the Rust Red Flour beetles were eliminated”, says Tony and added, “It was remarkable because it showed phosphine was still a reliable fumigant.”

Being able to document this story for Groundcover TV was not only satisfying from a storyteller’s point of view, it’s an important record for the grains industry and the national phosphine monitoring program.

“While the actual story unfolded over a number of years, what we were able to do was construct a simple account of events enhanced with good graphic content produced here at Anvil to make a good yarn”, said Tony.

Chris Newman was also very pleased with how the video production turned out.

“Thanks – this is a first class presentation!” he wrote. “Putting it on YouTube was also a great idea and will give the project good exposure.”

Contact Anvil Media today for information about our DVD production capabilities.

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