Stored Product Protection

The International Working Conference on Stored Product Protection (IWCSPP), held every four years, is the premier world forum for presentation of research results bearing on the safe storage of durable foodstuffs, particularly cereal grains, pulses, and oilseeds. The 6th IWCSPP was held in Canberra, Australia from 17-23 April 1994, under the auspices of CSIRO, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Australian grain handling and storage industry. These two volumes present the proceedings of the conference. There were over 400 participants. Apart from Australia, there were substantial contingents from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK and the USA. A further 20 countries were represented. The overall objective was to present advances in research and development on the preservation of stored durable commodities since the 5th IWCSPP held in Bordeaux, France 1990. Much had happened in the intervening four years: the role of methyl bromide had come under scrutiny; pressure from consumers and environmentalists to reduce chemical additives to foodstuffs had become more intense; that mycotoxin contamination of food and feedstuffs was a serious threat to human and animal health had gained general acceptance. Recognising these and related issues the theme Stored product protection - a Time of Challenge was adopted for the conference. Some 250 papers were presented. These proceedings volumes contain, in addition to most of those papers, reports of a series of workshops on specialist topics - trapping, application of inert dusts, extension and small-scale and farm storage, standards, expert systems and appropriate storage - that were also part of the scientific program. Overall, the volumes provide an essential update for entomologists, plant pathologists, engineers and others concerned with stored product protection.