Stored Products Research and Education Center
About SPREC
The Stored Products Research and Education Center of Oklahoma State University helps
faculty, staff and collaborators for generate and disseminate information about protection,
management and marketing of a variety of agricultural bulk commodities and value added
products.
SPREC is located three miles west of the Stillwater Agronomy Research Station and
1/4 mile north of Highway 51 on Range Road. The site consists of a 60x80-foot building
containing an office, conference room, environmental laboratory, research laboratory
and multipurpose room. Total grain storage capacity is 42,350 bushels and includes
one 18,000-bushel bin, one 8,000-bushel bin, 12 450-bushel bins, 16 500-bushel bins,
12 170-bushel bins, and 16 57-bushel bins.
SPREC Research
Research Focus
Researchers at this station include faculty, staff and students from the Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Plant and Soil Sciences, and Agricultural Economics. Examples of projects include:
- Insecticide trials on stored grain
- Fumigation studies
- Managing grain temperature with aeration
- Using automated traps for sampling insects
- Storing winter canola
- Using pheromones to monitor insects
Educational programs are held throughout the year and include elevator workshops every spring, fumigation workshops every summer, and fumigation practicals at least twice per year.
Short-Term Objectives
- Evaluating and implementing the Electronic Grain Probe Insect Counter (EGPIC) for estimating insect infestation in grain and use of such information for IPM decision-making.
- Conducting simulated field trials of an attracticide (pheromone + low dose insecticide) to suppress populations of the Indian meal moth.
- Performing commercial-scale disinfestations of bulk or packaged commodity using low-pressure (vacuum) and flexible gas-tight storage containers.
- Conducting yearly grain grading schools, fumigation applicator training, and elevator pest management workshops for members of the grain industry and affiliated government agencies in Oklahoma and neighboring states.
Long-Term Objectives
- Electronic monitoring and automated aeration control for temperature and moisture management of stored wheat.
- Evaluating factors contributing to shrink and quality loss of wheat in long-term post harvest storage.
- Conducting field trials of new residual grain protectants for stored wheat that represent alternatives to chemicals lost due to regulation or biological resistance.
- Conducting field trials of a phosphine gas generator and other external application methods for effective fumigation of bulk wheat.
- Investigating the feasibility of using controlled or modified atmospheres for disinfesting bulk-stored wheat.
- Developing and/or evaluating rapid and accurate chemical or physical methods for detecting and quantifying internal (hidden) insect infestation in grain destined for milling.
- Conducting studies on quality of water due to run-off from grain storage operations.
- Developing special grain storage training courses on topics such as automated temperature management, grain quality sampling and improved application of pesticides.