Traditional storage methods and their effect on quality characteristics of wheat grain in Sindh, Pakistan

The change in quality of wheat grains in terms of physical parameters (moisture, test weight, 1000 grain weight and insect damage), chemical parameters (protein, fat, ash and starch) and flour quality tests (falling number, water absorption, dough development time and dough stability) were observed during storage in conventional structures (earthen bin, metal bin, bulk covered and room store) for 12 months. The results showed that test-weight (66.8 kg/hl), 1000 grain weight (39.67 g), protein (8.9%), fat (1.82%), ash (1.62%), starch (61.64%), falling number (285 s), water absorption (62.54%), dough development time (4.7 min) and dough stability (7.47 min) were recorded highest in grain samples collected from earthen bin followed by metal bin, bulk covered and room type store. Grain moisture and insect-infestation were increased during the whole storage period. The maximum insect-infestation (27%) and moisture content (15.2%) were observed in grain samples taken from the room type store. Wheat grain stored in earthen bin showed better quality characteristics as compared to other storage methods. Hence, the adoption of earthen bin should be encouraged in the developing countries

Food grain losses associated with indigenous storage methods and development of storage facilities for food security

The deterioration of wheat grains in terms of various quality parameters was observed during storage in traditional and designed structures for 12 months. As a result of the laboratory analysis and statistical data evaluation, protein (11.78%), lipid (2.4%), ash (1.76%) and starch (64.87%) were found maximum in grain samples taken from straw-clay bin followed by concrete block bin, ferrocement bin, earthen bin, bulk covered and room type store after 12 months of storage. The highest moisture (15.12%), insect-damage (26%), fungi (25%) and aflatoxin (13.3 μg kg-1) was observed in grains stored in room store followed by bulk covered, earthen bin, ferrocement bin, concrete bin and straw-clay bin

A study on the quality of wheat grain stored in straw-clay bin

The adoption of poor storage techniques usually results in tremendous post-harvest losses and leads to the shortage of grains to feed the overwhelming population. The straw-clay bin was developed as one of the viable solutions to obtain a high quality stored wheat and higher income to the farmer by storing wheat at harvest and sell it in the off-season at higher rates. Straw-clay bin was evaluated by storing wheat for one year and showed promising results. Fungal damage and grain weight loss were limited to 9% and 1.27%, respectively. Germination capacity, protein, fat, starch and ash of wheat grains decreased from 94 to 74%, 12.46 to 11.78%, 3.03 to 2.4%, 65.55 to 64.87%, and 2.04 to 1.76%, respectively. The study has revealed that straw-clay bin provide a safe and convenient method for farmers to preserve their agricultural commodities. Hence, the adoption of straw-clay bin must be encouraged in the developing countries

Impact of concrete block bin on wheat storage losses and food security

Farmers in Pakistan face many storage problems leading to huge losses in the stored wheat. It is therefore, utmost important to protect our food reserves and prevent losses caused by pest’s infestation and improper storage management. Wheat grain stored in concrete block bins for 12 months retained germination capacity, weight of 1000 grain and fat/lipid content significantly better than grain stored in traditional bamboo/straw bins. Concrete block bins prevented major damage caused by insects, while grain stored in bamboo/straw bins suffered severe losses. Concrete block bins maintain low temperature and moisture conditions for extended periods of time better than traditional bamboo/straw bins. Thus, concrete block bins have shown potential to positively impact the economy of wheat farmers in tropical climate like Pakistan. Concrete block bins have proven to be a promising solution to reduce deterioration of wheat grain and retain high quality of grain for extended period of time

Quality change of wheat grain during storage in a ferrocement bin

Wheat is a seasonal agricultural commodity which produces once in year. The demand of wheat remains high throughout the year because it is considered as staple food in developing countries including Pakistan which necessitates the proper storage and maintenance systems to obtain quality grains. Grain stored for one year in ferrocement bin retained better germination percentage, starch content and falling number than grain stored in room type store. Ferrocement bin protected stored wheat from deterioration caused by fungi, aflatoxin, and insects while wheat stored in conventional room type store suffered severe damages. Ferrocement bin showed lower grain moisture and grain weight loss throughout the storage period than room type store. The quality of wheat in traditional room type storage system was low and this storage system was inadequate for protecting stored wheat from deterioration. Therefore ferrocement bin has proven to be a promising solution for storage of good quality grain

New wheat storage structures and their effects on grain quality in Sindh, Pakistan

A considerable quantum of grains is deteriorated during storage due to several defects in the storage structures. The present study was conducted considering the problems with regard to wheat losses during storage. Thus, a survey was conducted to identify wheat storage methods and associated problems. This followed a practical evaluation of traditional or existing wheat storage structures using Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Three new structures were also developed to cope up with the existing storage problems. These developed structures were tested in-situ under CRD. This study was conducted in four major wheat growing districts of Sindh province namely, Hyderabad,Sukkur, Badin and Shaheed Benazir Abad. The average area of land in the studied districts under wheat crop was 5 acres and the average total production of wheat was 6500 kg out of which 2500 kg of wheat was available for storage by farmers for seed,home consumption and sell to the market. Wheat storage structures which were found to be used by farmers of study areas included: earthen bin (23%), metallic bin (16%),bamboo/straw bin (20%), bulk covered (17%), bags covered (10%) and room type structures (14%). The survey results revealed that the traditional structures were not an insect, rodent, fungi and moisture proof. Traditional structures were found to have various defects such as cracks, holes, leakages and structural failure in the roof, walls and floor of the structures because of poor strength of materials and improper design of structures. Other storage problems were loss of seed germination capacity,discoloration of the grain, and sprouting during storage. Based on the results of the study, the above mentioned problems incur about 10 to 40% of the stored wheat grain loss annually. During the practical evaluation, wheat grain stored in these structures was sampled from July 2013 to July 2014 at 3 months interval and was analyzed for quality deterioration over time and space. This means, the effect of structure, time and location were observed. The highest values of grain temperature (36.08 °C), insectinfestation (12.55%), weight loss (1.65%), fungal incidence (17.25%) and aflatoxin level (8.35 μg kg-1) were observed in grains stored in room store, followed by bags covered, bamboo/straw bin, bulk covered method, metal bin and then earthen bin. Deterioration of grain quality showed an increasing pattern with prolonged storage in traditional structures. The maximum deterioration with respect to location of wheat grain was noted for district Badin followed by Sukkur, Shaheed Benazir Abad and Hyderabad. Thus, the pests that infested wheat stored in these storage methods were not only contaminating the stored wheat, but also consumed the nutrients of the wheat for their development and proliferation thereby leading to the farmer‟s food insecurity. Three different types of storage bins (concrete block bin, ferrocement bin and strawclay bin) of similar dimensions were designed and constructed to solve the grain storage problems. The constructed bins have several advantages such as ease of loading and unloading of grain, capable of bearing the desired load, insect and rodent proof,prevention of temperature and moisture variation, and allow pest control practices over traditional storage structures. Wheat samples were also taken from these bins at 3 months interval from July 2013 to July 2014 to assess the efficiency of bins in retaining the quality and quantity of wheat grains stored at 2 different initial moisture levels (11 and 15%). Storage period greatly affected the quality of stored grains. The maximum values of germination capacity (89.5%), 1000 grain weight (44.03 g), test weight (72.14 kg hl-1), flour yield (64.88%), starch (65.33%), protein (12.25%), dry-gluten (9.31%), fat (2.77%), ash (1.91%), falling number (301.6 sec), water absorption (66.52%), dough development time (6.23 min) and dough stability (9.31 min) were detected from grain stored in straw-clay bin followed by the concrete block bin and then ferrocement bin. However, grain moisture contents at loading (11 and 15%) showed very little effect on the quality characteristics of wheat grain. The developed storage bins have proven to be a promising solution to reduce storage losses by almost more than half of existing losses and preserve quality of wheat grain. Based on the good performance of newly developed structures, it is recommended that the existing structures should be replaced with these newly developed structures in accordance with the farmers‟ financial condition. This replacement will reduce the wheat grain loss on one hand and on the other it will prosper the farmer in particular and flourish the national economy in general

Effects of storage methods, storage duration and different geographical locations on quality of stored wheat (Triticum aestivum) in Sindh, Pakistan

Wheat grain stored in traditional structures was sampled from four selected districts of Sindh from July 2013 to July 2014 at 3 months interval and was analysed for quality deterioration over time. The maximum ambient temperature was noted in district Shaheed Benazir Abad followed by Sukkur, Hyderabad and Badin districts whereas the maximum relative humidity was observed in district Badin followed by Sukkur, Shaheed Benazir Abad and Hyderabad. The grain temperature followed the pattern of the ambient temperature and was higher than the ambient temperature during whole storage period. Moisture content, insect infestation and aflatoxin content showed an increasing pattern with prolonged storage. Among the storage structures the lowest grain temperature and moisture content were recorded in earthen bin whereas the highest in room structure and bulk covered, respectively. The highest percentage of insect infestation and aflatoxin content was observed in grains stored in room structure whereas, maximum test weight and seed germination capacity were recorded in grain samples taken from earthen bin. The levels of aflatoxins detected in stored wheat from survey districts were far above the internationally accepted standards and that the farmers were at risk of ill health through consuming contaminated wheat. It was concluded that the quality of wheat stored using traditional storage methods in surveyed districts was low and that these storage methods were inadequate for protecting stored wheat from pests. Modification of these structures or replacing with better designed storage structures can stop deterioration and improve grain quality and storability

Evaluation of Physico-Mechanical Characteristics of Different Paddy Cultivars Grown in Humid Subtropical Region of Eastern China

Background: Paddy during various stages i.e. loading, transportation, storage, handling etc. occurs severe losses, which can be reduced by designing appropriate post-harvest machineries using physico-mechanical properties. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the variation in physico-mechanical properties of thirteen different paddy cultivars. Methodology: The study was carried out at the College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, China. Thirteen different freshly harvested paddy cultivars were collected from Nanjing. Collected paddy cultivars before experiment were cleaned removing extraneous materials. Paddy cultivars were sealed polythene bags, and were then kept in refrigerator at a temperature of 5 ºC for 7 days for uniform distribution of moisture. The required amount of samples from each cultivar was accordingly taken for evaluating their physical and mechanical properties. Results: The results when assessed were statistically different (p?0.05) from each other. The average values of different paddy cultivars for length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, square mean diameter, equivalent diameter, surface area, volume, sphericity, aspect ratio, thousand kernel weight, bulk density, true density, porosity, hardness and toughness (for both horizontal and vertical orientations) were calculated to be 7.94mm, 3.32mm, 2.26mm, 3.84mm, 4.51mm, 2.56mm, 3.64mm, 46.53mm2, 29.74mm3, 0.49%, 0.42, 28.64 gm, 568.31 kg m-3, 1225.20 kg m-3, 54%, 46.09 N, 14.75 N, 16.06 mJ and 6.90 mJ respectively. Conclusion: A wide variation was observed for each parameter while comparing different paddy cultivars. This wide variation in result will negatively affect the performance of the equipment and machinery being used for post-harvest practices. The study concludes that it is essential for industries involved in equipment design and machinery production, as well as end-users responsible for their implementation, to take into account these substantial differences among cultivars when making their decisions

Study on Cultivators Associating Post Harvest Losses of Onion Vegetable in Sindh’s Mirpurkhas District

A study was carried out in Mirpurkhas District of Sindh Province during the year 2015-16, aiming to observe post-harvest losses of onions associated with the cultivators. Following the random sampling 60 respondents were selected from 12 villages of 06 Talukas in the District. Interviews were conducted for the collection of data. Problems expressed were as; high cost of fertilizers (93.33%), high cost of pesticides (93.33%), hand weeding is labour consuming and expensive (91.66%), labour problems during harvesting (85%), ineffective and costly weedicides (80%), lack of knowledge about recommended fertilizers doses for onion crop (80%) and lack of knowledge about improved varieties (68.33%). The problems in marketing of onion include lack of remunerative price (96.66%), fluctuation in market price (93.33%) and high charges of transportation (20%). The present study suggested that training/ awareness programs should be conducted for cultivators regarding establishing technical storage and handling onion problems

Study on Cultivators Associating Post Harvest Losses of Onion Vegetable in Sindh’s Mirpurkhas District

A study was carried out in Mirpurkhas District of Sindh Province during the year 2015-16, aiming to observe post-harvest losses of onions associated with the cultivators. Following the random sampling 60 respondents were selected from 12 villages of 06 Talukas in the District. Interviews were conducted for the collection of data. Problems expressed were as; high cost of fertilizers (93.33%), high cost of pesticides (93.33%), hand weeding is labour consuming and expensive (91.66%), labour problems during harvesting (85%), ineffective and costly weedicides (80%), lack of knowledge about recommended fertilizers doses for onion crop (80%) and lack of knowledge about improved varieties (68.33%). The problems in marketing of onion include lack of remunerative price (96.66%), fluctuation in market price (93.33%) and high charges of transportation (20%). The present study suggested that training/ awareness programs should be conducted for cultivators regarding establishing technical storage and handling onion problems