IPM FOR THE HAM MITE USING ALTERNATIVES TO METHYL BROMIDE

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1016329
• Grant No.: 2018-51102-28339
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $499,713.00
• Proposal No.: 2018-02352
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2018
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2021
• Grant Year: 2018
• Program Code: [112.C]- Methyl Bromide Transitions Program

Recipient Organization
KANSAS STATE UNIV
(N/A)
MANHATTAN,KS 66506

Performing Department
Entomology

Non Technical Summary
This is an Integrated Project for research to develop, test for efficacy and conduct pilot or smallscalefield trials of tools for integrated pest management (IPM) of southern dry cured hams with afocus on the ham mite. Southern dry cured hams, or country hams, represent a high-value specialtymeat product that is subject to infestation by a complex of pests, the most serious of which is theham mite. Methyl bromide is no longer available for the industry, which had relied on thisfumigant for decades. We will use laboratory methods and small-scale field trials to developtechniques for preventing mite infestations on aging hams with physical and chemical barriers,improve methods for detecting and monitoring pest mite populations, perform experiments onefficacy of three fumigants with potential as methyl bromide alternatives, and to develop IPMscenarios that can be adapted for different companies. This project will include a comprehensiveanalysis for the economics of costs and benefits of new IPM methods, and it will developeducational materials and deliver extension programs for producers and the pest control industry toimplement country ham IPM programs. This multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary work meetsthe goal for the MBT program to discover and help to implement practical pest managementalternatives to methyl bromide for the country ham industry.

Animal Health Component

40%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

40%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
216	3120	1060	100%

Knowledge Area
216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
3120 - Spiders, mites, ticks, and other arthropods;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Keywords

ipm

fumigation

hams

methyl bromide

mites

pest control

pesticides

risk analysis

traps

Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of the proposed research is to have a collection of tools that can be used in IPM programs for prevention, monitoring and mitigation of ham mite pest populations in the dry cured ham industry and in other commodities where the mite can be a problem such as aged cheeses and pet foods. MB is not an option for mite control in the US, so our extended long-term goal is to facilitate a "cultural shift" in ham companies to incorporate IPM into every-day practices to product quality and comply with meat quality regulations. The IPM tools for T. putrescentiae in these high-valued foods will include those developed in our prior MBT-funded research over the past years as well as additional tools developed in the research proposed here. Tools developed so far include and described in detail below: 1) pesticide sprays to non-food surfaces for preventing mite infestations near hams in buildings, 2) Ham nets coated with food-safe chemicals that inhibit mite infestation of an aging ham, 3) a low-cost trap to detect and monitor populations of mites and provide data for IPM decision-making, 4) information on mite mobility related to wavelength of light, 5) temperatures and exposure times for effective heat treatments to eliminate mite infestations, and 6) effective application of phosphine, freezing temperatures or controlled atmospheres for disinfesting hams in chambers. These results have inherent strengths and weakness for ham mite IPM and have led to the following six objectives for research proposed here.Objective 1: Evaluate safe, effective and low-risk methods to prevent mite infestation on hams and throughout buildings.Objective 2: Conduct pilot scale studies to validate trapping and sampling methods for ham mite populations that may be above or below action thresholds for decisions to fumigate.Objective 3: Evaluate alternative fumigants such as propylene oxide, ethyl formate and ethane dinitrile for toxicity against ham mites; evaluate feasibility of commercial scale heat treatments for disinfestation of aging rooms without hams present.Objective 4: Engage ham producers and pest control companies to develop one or more IPM scenarios that use one or more of the methods developed in our research.Objective 5: Conduct economic assessments of the IPM tools developed here that result in maximized value to finished food products with lowest costs.Objective 6: Produce educational media for the food and pest control industries that illustrate IPM tools for mites developed in this project

Project Methods
New Net Treatments. We will perform laboratory trials for effects of C8910 and each of the component FAs individually on mite population increase using small surface-treated cubes of ham challenged with an infestation of 20 mites. Untreated ham cube will typically product several hundred mites, while successfully treated cubes will have only about 20-30 mites at the end of a trial. Any of the successful FA additives will then be formulated into nets with gels made with carrageenan and xanthan gum. Nets with new formulations of PG will also be produced and tested for efficacy to prevent mite infestation will be combined with propylene glycol alginate, carrageenan and xanthan gum in different treatment combinations and the nets. Xanthan gum will be solubilized at room temperature, and PGA and CG will be solubilized in boiling water until homogenous solutions are obtained. These C8910 and PG coatings will be used in nets, as well as in sprays to hams or to the ham aging environment (see below) to control mites. Mite challenge tests will be performed with treated whole hams hung on racks in the simulate aging rooms.Chemical and physical barriers. Sprays of C8910, individual short-chain FAs and PG in the formulations used in nets will also be evaluated as sprays to floor and sections of ham racks to determine if mites are inhibited from walking over such surfaces. All tests will be conducted in the KSU aging rooms with racks holding 6-12 aged hams each and with large mite populations created and supported by the aging hams and by adequate ham/food debris in the room. Sprayed surfaces to evaluate for mite traversal will be 1 sq. m poster boards that are sprayed with the test compound, placed flat on the floor of a ham room, and have a KSU mite trap placed in the center of the board. Untreated control boards will be sprayed with water and deployed with a trap and evaluated against up to three different treated boards randomly arranged in each room for 48 h, representing one experimental block. The numbers of mites in traps at the centers of treated boards will be the response to the space sprays being tested, with the exception being that successful repellent sprays will have very low numbers of mites trapped compared to higher number in the control traps. One idea for a simple physical barrier is to simply place the feet to the shelf legs into a small pan or bucket filled with propylene glycol or some other liquid (e.g. water with added soap to break surface tension) to prevent mites on the floor from crawling up the rack legs to the hams. Another barrier design to study insecticide-treated fabrics or nets under racks, wrapped around the rack legs, places in a border strip around the room perimeter, or covering the thresholds at doorways between rooms.Validate trapping and sampling methods. We propose to conduct pilot scale field validation studies of our sequential sampling plan for mites. We will use two 40-ft shipping containers deployed at our experimental farm north of campus, and will generate variable densities of infesting mite populations that are either increasing or decreasing over several as a function of our manipulations via controlled infestation densities over several months, replacing or washing hams, and prior to or following pilot testing of heat treatments or PPO fumigation as described below.Alternative fumigants. The alternative fumigants propylene oxide, PPO, ethyl formate, EF and ethanedinitrile, EDN will be evaluated for toxicity against ham mites. PPO and EF as registered in the US or elsewhere in the world for various food and non-food uses use on food products. Food chemistry parameters and taste panel quality effects will be investigated at MSU. If PPO is successful at controlling mites in laboratory studies, PPO residues will then be quantified in treated hams using gas chromatography-FID, and/or gas chromatography mass-spectrometry (MS). Propylene glycol will be analyzed using HPLC. If EF is successful at controlling mites, then EF residues will be determined in the hams using GC-MS or GC-FID. If ethane dinitrile is effective at controlling mites, GC analyses will be used to evaluate hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and ethane dinitrile (C2N2) concentrations in the headspace of the ham, prior to any taste evaluations.Engage companies to develop IPM. We have secured commitments of cooperation from four commercial ham companies, two industry organization with many more members in the country ham and aged meat industries, and three companies involved with fumigant applications or fumigant alternatives. We will engage all these cooperators in discussions about which MB alternatives may be feasible to use for pest management in hams. It is from this objective we hope to generate specific extension and outreach products described below. We are presently making plans with one ham producer for validation testing of our ham nets, and we are hopeful that additional demonstrations can be conducted on any new net formulations generated here. We are also confident we can have industry demonstrations of trapping and sample-counting mites on a routine basis. Also, ham plants can use a commercially available trap and we are hopeful that at least one company will allow a heat treatment to be applied to one room using portable heaters designed for pest control.Conduct economic assessments. The cost of each mite control method will be estimated using economic engineering methods in a partial-budgeting framework. Both treatment costs and costs of reduced quality if treatment is not done will be evaluated. Risk factors will also be incorporated into the analysis. Examples include risks associated with a mite infestation that was not controlled effectively because of improper application of a fumigant or unfavorable aging room conditions. There is also risk of injury to humans (workers as well as the ham facility contractors or customers), and risk of chemical residues on food products. We hope to present a detailed cost comparison of alternative pest management methods. The analysis proposed here will be applicable under a range of economic environments: as cost factors change, parameters in the model can be adjusted accordingly. Thus, even if an alternative is not currently economical, the model can predict the amount of changes in relative cost factors that would make it economical.Educational training media. The PIs will deliver extension programs each year to report results from the proposed work, along with findings from the past projects, to groups of country ham companies and other dried meat producers at conferences sponsored by the NCHA and AAMP and to pest control groups like the National Pest Management Association, NPMA. We will prepare written 2-4-page extension documents on topics such as "Know the Ham and Cheese Mite", "Protecting Aged Meats and Cheeses from Mites" or "Pesticide Options for Mites in Food Plants". We may also produce educational videos for on-line distribution that will explain mite biology and their pest potential, and another on ham mite IPM components of prevention, monitoring and control.

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences contacted in this, our last year of the project, include the scientific community and members of the the country ham industry. Other scientists and relevant indusrty scientists wereinformed of our achievements with the submission and publication of several peer-reviewed journal articles as well as with presentations of our results at scientific conferences. Activites withthe country ham industry included attending a meeting of ham business representatives, and at a later time exchanginginformation and discussing plans with one leading company on how our results could be applied and adopted in practice forthe whole industry. We applied for and now have been approved for a US Patent on spefically treated nets to protect hams from mites. These nets will have impact on the country ham industry, but perhaps other food manufacturers who deal with infestations by the ham mite. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?See above. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Journal articles and one MS thesis listed in earlier sections are also shown here. Ramadan, G. R. M., S. A.M. Abdelgaleil, M. S. Shawir, A. S. El-bakary, P. A. Edde, T. W. Phillips. 2019. Residue analysis of the fumigant pesticide ethanedinitrile in different agricultural commodities using ether extraction and GC-MS. J. Stored Prod. Res. 83: 331-337. Maile, J. 2019.. Masters of Science Thesis: "Alternative Fumigants for Dissinfestation of the Ham Mite,Tyrophagus putrescentiae(Acarina:Acaridae) and the cigarette beetle,Lasioderma serricorne(Coleoptera: Anobiidae)." Hasan, M. M., M. J. Aikins, M. W. Schilling and T. W. Phillips. 2020. Comparison of methyl bromide and phosphine for fumigation ofNecrobia rufipes(Coleoptera: Cleridae) andTyrophagus putrescentiae(Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae), pests of high-value stored products. J. Econ. Entomol. 113: 1008-1014 Campbell, Y., Shao, W., Dinh, T., To, K., Rogers, W., Zhang, W., Phillips, T., Schilling, W. 2020. Use of nets treated with food grade coatings on controlling mold growth and mite infestation in dry-cured ham aging facilities. J. Stored Prod. Res. Vol.89,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2020.101716 Rogers, W., Campbell, Y. L., Zhang, X., Shao, W., White, S., Phillips, T. W., Schilling, M. W. 2020. The application of food grade short chain fatty acids to prevent infestation ofTyrophagus putrescentiaeon dry cured ham and the effects on sensory properties. Vol. 89, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2020.101684 Hasan, M. M., Athanassiou, C. G., Schilling, M. W., Phillips, T. W. 2020. Biology and management of the red-legged ham beetle,Necrobia rufipesDeGeer (Coleoptera: Cleridae). J. Stored Prod. Res. Vol. 88,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2020.101635 Hasan, M. M., Aikins , M. J., Schilling, M. W. and Phillips, T. W. 2021. Sulfuryl fluoride as a methyl bromide alternative for fumigation ofNecrobia rufipes(Coleoptera: Cleridae) andTyrophagus putrescentiae(Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae), major pests of animal-based stored products. J. Stored Prod Res. Vol 91 online https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2021.101769 Manu, N., Schilling, M. W. and Phillips, T. W. 2021. Natural and synthetic repellents for pest management of the storage miteTyrophagus putrescentiae(Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae). Insects. 12, 711.https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12080711 Hasan, M. M., Aikins, M. J., Mahroof, R. M. and Phillips, T. W. 2021. Effects of diet and temperature on the life history of the red-legged ham beetle,Necrobia rufipesDeGeer (Coleoptera: Cleridae). Environ. Entomol. 51(1), (2022), 278-285https://academic.oup.com/ee/article-abstract/51/1/278/6419898 Shao, W., Campbell, Y. L., Phillips, T. W., Freeman, C., Kundu, Crist, C. A., Williams, J. B. and Schilling. W. M.. 2021. The application of chitosan in food-grade coatings to controlTyrophagus putrescentiaeon dry-cured hams and the effects on sensory properties. J. Stored Prod. Res. 94:101899.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2021.101899 Yang, Xiangbing, Liu, Yong-Biao, Singh, Rippy, Phillips, Thomas W. 2022. Nitric oxide fumigation for control of ham mite,Tyrophagus putrescentiae(Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae). J. Econ. Entomol.https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac014 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Previous research determined that coatings with 7.5% propylene glycol (PG) in carrageenan (CG) and propylene glycol alginate (PGA), and a 15% PG coating in xanthan gum (XG) were the minimum effective doses at controlling T. putrescentiaeunder laboratory conditions with 100% inhibition of mite growth on coated hams. These food-grade coatings are moisture permeable, and therefore allow moisture loss and subsequent preservation during aging. These coatings were pressed into nets since commercial hams are aged in cotton or polyester nets. We demonstrated that mites would not orient to ham cubes or lay eggs on ham cubes when they were placed in coated nets with gum and 30-50% PG. Coated nets with 30% PG as the active component continued to work against mite and mold growth throughout 10 weeks of laboratory aging. One hundred hams were wrapped in nets coated with CG + PGA + 40% PG in each of three separate aging facilities from family-owned dry-cured ham producers, along with 100 hams in untreated nets. Treated nets inhibited mold growth (P<0.05) in the commercial facilities throughout the 90-day period, with no mites present on the hams. Per the owner, there were no mite on treated hams throughout the entire aging process, which spanned 18 months. There was no evidence of residual levels of PG in the finished aged ham product, as per gas chromatographic analyses. The tested nettings were approved for producers on Sept 23, 2020 (Food Safety and Inspection Service, Case Log No -18-NT-2175-N-C). Coating-related sensory tests and economic analyses was done with aged hams from commercial aging facilities. Whole hams from 5 different plants were spray-coated with 1% XG + 20% PG or 1% CG + 1% PGA + 20% PG (Campbell et al., 2017). Sprayed hams did not differ in flavor, texture, moistness, or characteristics when treated with a spray coating (Campbell et al., 2017) or wrapped with coated nets. This was a breakthrough for our research as nets are 41-50% less expensive than ham coatings. Our patent on the coated net technology opens the possibility of a sole licesing agreement with a key manufacturer. This could be cheaper for a potential licenser of the product since many netting and food companies already use PG in their plants. If coated nets continue to be effective at the plant level, they could be less costly to processors than using MB. Edwards (personal communication) stated that it costs approximately $4.00 per ham to fumigate when their company is producing a 24-month aged ham. Therefore, a 9 to 12-month aged ham would cost approximately $1.50-$2.00 per ham to fumigate. Ham mite infestations during the long aging process (18 month) of country ham may lead to product losses of $1.4 million a year or more for a facility when pest management is not in place. We screened 12 insecticides for toxicity against ham mites across a range of molecule types (e.g., botanicals, microbials and carbamates), and determined the best was Chlorfenapyr (trade-name Phantom®). When sprayed on different surfaces it gave 100% kill eight weeks after application. There are many EPA-registered acaricides we have not been evaluated. For fumigants we studied sulfuryl fluoride (SF; ProFume®) and killed all life stages of the red-legged ham beetle (RLHB), Necrobia rufipes, but could not kill all mite eggs, even at 3-times the label rate. Phosphine (PH3) easily killed all stages of these pests, but a commercial field trial resulted in serious and costly corrosion to HVAC and other key electric utilities. We cannot recommend PH3 for most uses in ham plants, however PH3 would be excellent for disinfesting hams moved to a gas-tight fumigation chamber on the ham company property at a safe distance from any people or buildings. Propylene oxide (PPO), a fumigant that is a liquid a room temperature and already labeled by EPA for pasteurization of almonds, kills all life stages of the mites and ham beetles. However, ham pieces added to fumigation jars lowered PPO concentrations by sorption, resulting in a poor kill. Subsequent work with higher doses of PPO overcame the problem with sorption by hams, and good toxicity against mites was achieved. Propylene oxide is currently registered by EPA as a sterilant under the commercial name Propoxide-892 https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/ppls/047870-00003-20140819.pdf . Another so-called "liquid" fumigant is ethyl formate (EF). Studies with EF under this project had very good control of ham mites and red-legged ham beetles. This chemical is registered for store grain and food use in Australia under the trade name Vapormate https://www.linde-gas.com/en/products_and_supply/fumigants/vapormate/index.html . Work with registered acaricides and active ingredients for other acaricides agains T. putrescentia in this project found that Acequinocyl, Amitraz, Pyrethrins + PBO and Cyfluthrin were highly toxic with good residual activity on three different surfaces. Our results suggest that application of these acaricides to cracks and crevices, doorways, and under legs of ham racks could be good in preventive control of mites crawling in surfaces in ham aging rooms. For fumigants we studied sulfuryl fluoride (SF; ProFume®) and killed all life stages of the red-legged ham beetle (RLHB),Necrobia rufipes. However, although we could easily kill mobile stages of mite, we could not kill all mite eggs in multiple studies, even at 3-times the EPA-approved label rate. Phosphine (PH3) easily killed all stages of these pests, but PH3 is known to be seriously corrosive to copper and other metals. One commercial field trial for which most electrical system were protected by the fumigator, resulted in serious and costly corrosion. We cannot recommend PH3for most uses in ham plants. Propylene oxide (PPO) kills all life stages of the mites and ham beetles. However, ham pieces added to fumigation jars lowered PPO concentrations by sorption, resulting in a poor kill.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Hasan, M. M., Aikins , M. J., Schilling, M. W. and Phillips, T. W. 2021. Sulfuryl fluoride as a methyl bromide alternative for fumigation of Necrobia rufipes (Coleoptera: Cleridae) and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae), major pests of animal-based stored products. J. Stored Prod Res. Vol 91 online https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2021.101769
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Manu, N., Schilling, M. W. and Phillips, T. W. 2021. Natural and synthetic repellents for pest management of the storage mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae). Insects. 12, 711. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12080711
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Hasan, M. M., Aikins, M. J., Mahroof, R. M. and Phillips, T. W. 2021. Effects of diet and temperature on the life history of the red-legged ham beetle, Necrobia rufipes DeGeer (Coleoptera: Cleridae). Environ. Entomol. 51(1), (2022), 278285 https://academic.oup.com/ee/article-abstract/51/1/278/6419898
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Shao, W., Campbell, Y. L., Phillips, T. W., Freeman, C., Kundu, Crist, C. A., Williams, J. B. and Schilling. W. M.. 2021. The application of chitosan in food-grade coatings to control Tyrophagus putrescentiae on dry-cured hams and the effects on sensory properties. J. Stored Prod. Res. 94:101899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2021.101899
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Yang, Xiangbing, Liu, Yong-Biao, Singh, Rippy, Phillips, Thomas W. 2022. Nitric oxide fumigation for control of ham mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae). J. Econ. Entomol. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac014
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Maille,J. 2019 M.S. thesis : Alternative Fumigants for Dissinfestation of the Ham Mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acarina:Acaridae) and the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (Coleoptera: Anobiidae). Kansas State University.

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences contacted this year include the scientific community and the country ham industry. Other scientists were informed of our achievements with the submission and publication of several peer-reviewed journal articles. Activites with the country ham industy included attending a meeting of ham business representatives, and at a later time exchanging information and discussing plans with one leading company on how our results could be applied and adopted in practice for the whole industry. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated experimental information to communities of other scintists by publication of journal articles. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Studies with propylene glycol, ethyl formate and ethane dinitrie will be completed and reported in journal papers. Safe coatings and acaracides are now being studied and those experiments will continue. At leasst one report will be presented in an extension program attaneded by thepestcontrol and food industries.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. We developed the safe and low-risk methdods of heat treatments to control mites in aging and processing buildings. We also detemined the temperatures and hold times for using cold or freezing temepratures to conrol mites on hams. 2. Pilot scal trials of trapping and sampling mite populations were conducted in a previous year. 3. We are now completing experiments on using the fumigants propylene oxide, ethyl formate and ethane dinitrile to control mites as alternatives to methyl bromide. All were very effective and we are now writing these results for publilcation. 4. We are now writing an extension paper on IPM in the ham industry for pests of hams. 5. Economic analyses are still in progress. 6. Educational materials sfor the food and pest contorl industries is still being developed.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Hasan, M. M., M. J. Aikins, M. W. Schilling and T. W. Phillips. 2019. Comparison of methyl bromide and phosphine for fumigation of Necrobia rufipes (Coleoptera: Cleridae) and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae), pests of high-value stored products. Online doi: 10.1093/jee/toz319 Ramadan, G. R. M., S. A.M. Abdelgaleil, M. S. Shawir, A. S. El-bakary, P. A. Edde, T. W. Phillips. 2019. Residue analysis of the fumigant pesticide ethanedinitrile in different agricultural commodities using ether extraction and GC-MS. J. Stored Prod. Res. 83: 331-337. Nayak, M. K., G. J. Daglish, T. W. Phillips and P. R. Ebert. 2020. Resistance to the fumigant phosphine and its management in insect pests of stored products: a global perspective. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 65: 333-350. Campbell, Y., Shao, W., Dinh, T., To, K., Rogers, W., Zhang, W., Phillips, T., Schilling, W. 2020. Use of nets treated with food grade coatings on controlling mold growth and mite infestation in dry-cured ham aging facilities. J. Stored Prod. Res. Vol.89, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2020.101716

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Research articles were published in peer-reviewed journals that are read by entomologists and meat scientists. Presentations were made a conferences. Members of the pest control and food industries benefitted from the information generated in this work. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications--Refereed Journal Articles in 2018-19 Campbell, Y. L., X. Zhang, W. Shao, J. B. Williams, T. Kim, J. Goddard, S. Abbar , T. W. Phillips, M.W. Schilling. 2018. Use of nets treated with food-grade coatings on dry-cured ham to control Tyrophagus putrescentiae infestations without impacting sensory properties. J. Stored Prod. Res. 76: 30-36 Hendrix, J. D., Zhang, X., Campbell, Y. L., Zhang, L., Siberio, L., Cord, C. L., Silva, J. L., Goddard, J., Kim, T., Phillips, T. W., Schilling, M. W. 2018. Effects of temperature, relative humidity, and protective netting on Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) infestation, fungal growth, and product quality of dry cured hams . J. Stored Prod. Res. 77: 211-218. Zhang, X., M. D. Byron, J.Goddard, T. W. Phillips, and M. W. Schilling. 2018. Use of lard, food grade propylene glycol, and polysaccharides in infused nets to control Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank; Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) infestation on dry cured hams. Meat and Muscle Biology 2:36-45. doi:10.22175/mmb2017.09.0044 Zhang, X., J. D. Hendrix, Y. L. Campbell, T. W. Phillips, J. Goddard, W.-H. Cheng, T. Kim, T.-L. Wu, M. W. Schilling. 2018. Biology and integrated pest management of Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) infesting dry cured hams. J. Stored Prod. Res. 79: 16-28 Scientific Presentations-Submitted Hendrix, J. D., X. Zhang, Y. L. Campbell, M. D. Byron, C. L. Cord, J. L. Silva, J. Goddard, T. Kim, T Phillips and W. Schilling. 2018. Effects of temperature, relative humidity, and protective netting on ham mite infestation and fungal growth on dry cured hams. American Meat Science Association. Oral presentation. March 7, 2018. Washington, D.C. Krishnan, K., To, K.V., Lima, G., Byron, M.D., Zhang, X., Hendrix, J.D., Campbell, Y.L., Shao, W., Cord, C.L., Crist, C.A., Phillips, T.W., Schilling, M.W. 2018. Relative humidity and temperature effects on mite infestations on Cheddar cheese. Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emission Reduction, Orlando, Fl; November 2018. Maille, J., M. W. Schilling, S. Abbar, M. J. Aikins and T. Phillips. Fumigant toxicity of ethyl formate and propylene oxide to control Tyrophagus putrescentiae . Oral presentation at the ESA North Central Branch meeting in Madison, WI. March 19, 2018 Maille, J., M. W. Schilling, P. Edde and T Phillips. Alternative fumigants for key stored product pests: screening and efficacy studies. ESA National Conference, Oral presentation, November 11, 2018. Manu, N. M. W. Schilling, J. Maille and T. Phillips. .Developing integrated pest management strategies to control mold mites Tyrophagus putrescentiae(Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) MS Oral presentation. ESA National Conference. November 11, 2018. Nguyen, V., F. Arthur, T. Phillips, M. Bakker, S. McCormick and E. Scully. Susceptibility of stored product pests to the fungal mycotoxindeoxynivalenol ESA National Conference. Poster presentation. November 12, 2018 Scientific Presentations-Invited Hendrix, J.D., Zhang, X., Campbell, Y.L., Zhang, L., Siberio, L., Cord, C.L., Silva, J.L., Goddard, J., Kim, T., Phillips, T.W., Schilling, M.W. 2018. The effect of controlling temperature and relative humidity on Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) infestations on dry cured hams treated in food grade ingredient infused nets. National Country Ham Association Annual Meeting. April 21. 2018 Invited Presentation. Phillips, T. W. Fumigation: Challenges and Opportunities. Invited presentation to the 13th Fumigants and Pheromones Conference, Indianapolis, IN, June 13, 2018. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Complete acaracide trials 2. Conduct studeis of physical controls 3. Complete experiemtns with liquid fumigants.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Pesticide usage is effective at protecting most stored product commodities for a long period over the years. In a previous study deltamethrin plus chlorpyrifos - methyl, chlorphenapyr and malathion showed promising results for contact toxicity against ham mites with chlorphenapyr was highly effective at very low concentrations. Contact toxicity is mostly used in research for pesticides application and this was also the case for this research. However with this research EPA-approved acaricides and commercial pesticides were of interest. The problem of most acaricides and the commercial pesticides are their persistence in stored product commodities and surfaces that they were applied on. Several studies have been done in this regards with food processing commercial application and results vary across species susceptibility, life stage of insect and the influence of a given surface area. Screening different potential chemicals will give us baseline information as to the kind of pesticides to use for these surface treatments and the type of surface that will be effective for those chemicals. The objective of this experiment was to assess the efficacy of some selected commercially available acaricides and to evaluate their toxicity against ham mites in standard assays. Subsequent tests on various storage rooms and racks' surfaces will also be evaluated. Materials and Methods Selected commercial acaricides approved by the EPA were screened to determine their toxicity against ham mites. Some of the acaricides used in this experiment included pure compounds of acequinocyl, flumethrin, hexythiazox, clofentezine, etoxazole, amitraz, and diflubenzuron. Others were commercial products with active ingredients of interest such as cyfluthrin, bifenthrin, methoprene, deltamethrin and many more were also evaluated. In order to evaluate the fast acting effect of test acaricides, change in mite movement in a dry film contact condition was observed with microscope at short intervals for 3 hours. Fifty µl of mixed solution of acetone and test acaricide per the recommended rate was placed in a glass vial (made in USA by Fisherbrand vial, shell) with inside surface area of 11.80 cm2. The vials were rotated and turned to smear the acaricide content on all the surface of the vial. After which they were left on the rotary drier for about an hour to completely dry out leaving a film of the test acaricides in the vial. Twenty live mobile mites of mixed sexes were placed in the vials without food and moisture and the lid were tightly closed with clean parafilm, mite nets and perforated vial lid for ventilation. The vials were then placed in a desiccator with temperature and RH of 25.2 ± 2 0C and 75 ± 5 %, respectively. After 24 hr, mites in the treated vials were transferred to a new vial with 5 mm3 pieces of ham for a recovery period of 72 hours. Mites are then brought out of the vials onto Petri-dishes and poked with a single tip of a brush. Dead and live mites were counted and percent mortality computed afterwards. Results and Discussion Different concentrations of the pure compounds in acetone which were 0.0001, 0.001 and 0.05mg /cm2 were prepared. With this group of acaricides, the ones with the highest percent mortality included flumethrin, acequinocyl and amitraz with toxicity percentage of 97.5 ± 5.0, 98.68 ± 2.6, 92.61 ± 5.4 %, respectively. These compounds are from different pesticide groups and hence may perform differently in the killing of ham mites. Depending on the chemical composition some of the chemicals were more effective than others. With the second group of chemicals, which were mainly commercial formulations, they were screened based on the recommended rate on the label. After using that, only few of the chemicals had percent mortality above 90% hence double the recommended rate were calculated and used for the screening. Novalrun/pyriproxyfen, methoprene and cyfluthrin had a 100 % kill at concentrations double the recommended rates. The variation in toxicity of these compounds in research may be due to many factors amongst which are formulation of chemical, the method used for the bioassay, the type of insect species or strains. The screening of these compounds provide good information for further work such as the residual pesticides studies which could be adopted as preventive measure to control and keep mite populations low in dry-cured ham aging room. Hence, the information from these experiments provides a baseline on which other exclusion programs will be built on to control ham mites in aging rooms.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hendrix, J. D., Zhang, X., Campbell, Y. L., Zhang, L., Siberio, L., Cord, C. L., Silva, J. L., Goddard, J., Kim, T., Phillips, T. W., Schilling, M. W. 2018. Effects of temperature, relative humidity, and protective netting on Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) infestation, fungal growth, and product quality of dry cured hams . J. Stored Prod. Res. 77: 211-218. Zhang, X., M. D. Byron, J.Goddard, T. W. Phillips, and M. W. Schilling. 2018. Use of lard, food grade propylene glycol, and polysaccharides in infused nets to control Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank; Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) infestation on dry cured hams. Meat and Muscle Biology 2:36-45. doi:10.22175/mmb2017.09.0044 Zhang, X., J. D. Hendrix, Y. L. Campbell, T. W. Phillips, J. Goddard, W.-H. Cheng, T. Kim, T.-L. Wu, M. W. Schilling. 2018. Biology and integrated pest management of Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) infesting dry cured hams. J. Stored Prod. Res. 79: 16-28 Athanassiou, C. G., T. W. Phillips, and W.Wakil. 2019. Biology and Control of the Khapra Beetle, Trogoderma granarium, a Major Quarantine Threat to Global Food Security. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 64:13148. Cordeiro, E. M. G. Campbell, Phillips, Akhuno. 2019. Isolation by distance, source-sink population dynamics and dispersal facilitation by trade routes: impact on population genetic structure of a stored grain pest. In press. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics Nayak, M. K., R. Kaur , R. Jagadeesan, H. Pavic, T.W. Phillips and G. J. Daglish. 2019. Development of a quick knock down test for diagnosing resistance to phosphine in rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae, a major pest of stored product. J. Econ. Entomol. 112: 1975-1982 Cordeiro, E. M. G., J. F. Campbell, and T. Phillips. 2019. Differences in orientation behavior and female attraction by Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) in a homogeneous resource patch. Environ. Entomol. 48: 784-791..