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Sulfuryl Fluoride Fumigation as a Quarantine Treatment for the Control of Reticulitermes speratus Kolbe (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) in Wood.
| Insects | Kim SY, Choi NR, Park MG. | 15(6):379.
Postharvest fumigant sulfuryl fluoride Other
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Abstract

Original abstract online at
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/6/379

Simple Summary

Sulfuryl fluoride (SF) was introduced as a fumigant in 1957 and widely used against stored product insects and dry wood termites in wood structures in warm climates. We conducted several experiments on the quarantine treatment of Japanese termites (Reticulitermes speratus) with SF. The efficacy against R. speratus in wood, as well as the wood sorption and penetration capacity, of SF were investigated. The LCt50 and LCt99 values of SF were calculated at two different temperatures and the differences between dry and wet wood at several loading ratios were evaluated as insignificant. Complete pest mortality was proven in scale-up trials with a 90% loading ratio of SF. The fumigant concentration decreased below the threshold limit after 30 min of ventilation. Compared with other alternative methyl bromide fumigants, the main advantages of SF were outlined. SF caused 100% termite mortality with a 90% loading ratio in the scale-up trials (500 L). The present study provides a basis for the use of SF as an alternative to MB for the treatment of termites in wood.
High-risk termites in wood imported to the Republic of Korea are currently treated with methyl bromide (MB), which has ozone-depleting properties and is highly toxic. This study evaluated the effectiveness of sulfuryl fluoride (SF) as a quarantine treatment against Reticulitermes speratus Kolbe (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) in wood, along with its wood sorption and penetration capacity. The LCt50 and LCt99 values for SF were 30.87 and 42.53 mg h/L at 23 °C and 151.62 and 401.9 mg h/L at 5 °C, respectively. The SF Ct values did not significantly differ between dry and wet wood at loading ratios of 10%, 30%, and 50% at both 5 °C and 23 °C (p > 0.05). In a closed wooden cube, the LCt50 and LCt99 for SF for R. speratus were 31.59 and 53.34 mg h/L, respectively, indicating an excellent wood penetration ability. SF caused 100% termite mortality with a 90% loading ratio in the scale-up trials (500 L). The SF concentration during ventilation decreased below the threshold limit value (TLV) of 5 ppm within 30 min, confirming that the working conditions were safe. This study provides a basis for the use of SF as an alternative to MB for the treatment of termites in wood.

 

EXCERPT:

The restricted stage of the termites and the small-scale trials used to determine the efficacy of SF were both limitations of this study. Future research should evaluate the efficacy of SF with a greater number of pests in a large-scale trial to assess its application in actual quarantine conditions. Since this study only evaluated R. speratus workers, it is necessary to determine the SF concentrations for other stages, such as eggs.
Nevertheless, this study determined the appropriate concentration and duration of SF needed to efficiently manage the newly identified pest, R. speratus, in wood. The relevance of the findings from this study, including the sorption and penetration of SF on wood depending on the loading ratio and moisture content of the wood, is also highlighted. This research will serve as a basis for the development of phytosanitary treatments using sulfuryl fluoride, which will reduce the use of MB in the wood trade. In addition, the commercial application of environmentally friendly and worker-friendly fumigants in the wood trade will create new markets for MB alternatives and improve the safety of quarantine sites.

 

Author Contributions

Project administration, supervision, funding acquisition, review and editing, M.-G.P.; investigation, methodology, formal analysis, N.-R.C.; formal analysis, writing—original draft preparation, validation, data curation, S.-Y.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

 

Funding

This study received support from the Animal Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA; project No.: PQ20233B011).

 

Data Availability Statement

All data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

 

Acknowledgments

We thank Mee Jang of the Pest Control Division of the APQA for providing the information on the phytosanitary treatment guidelines in Korea.

 

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

 

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