Detecting Insect Infestations in Grains

Rice and wheat are vulnerable during storage to insect pests that degrade quality and value. Because traditional methods of detection are expensive, can only analyze very small amounts of grain, and are time-consuming, they are not usually performed during grain storage or shipment. In a recent study, Brabec et al. modified a conductance mill developed for detection of insect-infested wheat to improve its ability to detect infestations in brown rice, quantified the detection accuracy of the modified mill for brown rice, and compared the results for infested wheat and rice to results for the original mill.