practically unknown, or at least have not been published. Dixon, Darkis, Wolf, and 

 others—' reported on the natural aging of flue- cured tobacco, but they used open- 

 louvered storage in their experiment — a type that is no longer the universal standard. 



Laboratory and field experiments by Runner— and Swingle— indicated that low 

 temperature may control the cigarette beetle, a prime pest of stored tobacco. Howe- 

 lists the cigarette beetle as moderately cold hardy, needing a relative humidity of about 

 30 percent for survival. Solomon— believes that insect density- dependent regulation 

 must occur in all populations that persist for any considerable number of generations. 

 He states that weather factors themselves generally are not responsible for population 

 density and they cannot exercise such regulation alone, but only in conjunction with 

 density- dependent processes. He thinks that insect infestations that persist manage 

 temperature and moisture conditions favorable to the organism. Armstrong— and 

 others follow this theory, indicating that insects in grain may multiply sufficiently to 

 heat the mass, thereby retarding or preventing cooling by natural convection currents 

 and conduction. 



Flue- cured tobacco enters storage practically void of living insects. Most ecolo- 

 gists agree that temperature affects the insect more when the population density and 

 moisture level are low and microenvironment inhabitants are at a minimum. These 

 conditions prevail when flue- cured tobacco first enters storage. Data are needed on 

 the effects of outside temperature and relative humidity on conditions inside the tobacco 

 warehouse during storage, and on the effects of these conditions on the temperature 

 and moisture of the tobacco in the hogsheads. These conditions were monitored during 

 1967 at a warehouse in Wilson, N. C. 



—'Dixon, L. F., Darkis, F. R., Wolf, F. A., and others. Natural aging of flue- 

 cured cigarette tobaccos. Indus. Engin. Chem. 28(2): 180-9. 1936. 



jy Runner, G. A. The tobacco beetle: an important pest in tobacco products. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 737, 77 pp. 1919. 



4/ Swingle, M. C. Low temperature as a possible means of controlling the 

 cigarette beetle in stored tobacco. U. S„ Dept. Agr. Cir. 462, 8 pp. 1938. 



JyHowe, R. W. A summary of estimates of optimal and minimal conditions for 

 population increase of some stored- products insects. J. Stored Prod. Res. 1(2): 

 177-84. 1965. 



.6/Solomon, M. E. Status of the idea that weather can control insect populations. 

 XI Internatl. Cong. Ent. Bui. Proc. Vol. 2, sect. 7, pp. 126-30. 1962. 



^/Armstrong, M. T. Preventing infestations of farm stored grain without using 

 chemicals. XII Internatl. Cong. Ent. Bui. Proc. Vol. 1, sect. 9B, p. 628. 1965. 



