MANHATTAN, KAN. — Kansas State University (KSU) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have launched a $799,976 project to improve biosecurity against the khapra beetle and the larger grain borer, which infest grain after harvest and value-added foods from grain.
Tom Phillips, professor of entomology at KSU, said the university will lead the project, which is funded by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project aims to upgrade monitoring devices by using automated, remote trapping devices. Researchers also will test novel fumigants for their effectiveness against these two pests.
In the early 1950s, the United States spent $125 million to eradicate the khapra beetle in three Southwestern states. The larger grain borer has been found crossing the southern border from its normal distribution in South and Central America…