Abstract:
The World Health Organization recommends that an adult consumes 2000 Kcal/day and children to consume 3000 Kcal/day for normal functioning of the body. Maize contains 40% of the total calories required for an adult and 18% of the calories required by children. Both the aesthetic and nutritional quality of maize contributes to a wholesome and palatable meal. Strategies such as storage of maize in hermetic bags have been developed to reduce post-harvest fungal and mycotoxin contamination of maize. This study is, therefore to assess the synergy effect of hermetic storage to ascertain their effectiveness in conserving the grain quality and nutritional components in the grains in a safe and environmentally friendly system. All the treatments/technologies were subjected to two grain moisture levels, low (12-13 %) or high (14-15 %) and two levels of inoculation. Moisture content of the maize grains was determined by the standard methods. The technologies evaluated included, eight hermetic storage technologies and two controls with conventional, non-hermetic storage; the positive control (SWP+), and the other without insecticide, the negative control (SWP-). Grain samples of approximately 1kg were collected from each storage technology at 0, 4 and 8 months and analyzed for grain composition during the experiment. Insect infestation was evaluated by sampling 1000 kernels separating them into grains, insects and dust by sieving across a set of 4.7 mm and 1.0 mm aperture screens. The number of live and dead insects, both weevils and LGB counted and recorded. It was found to contain the average nutritional values of fats as 4-5%, protein 8-9%, starch 71-75% and moisture ranged from 12-15%. Three factors were used in the design of this study: 1) artificial infestation of grain with mycotoxin producing fungi vs. natural infestation; 2) two levels of grain moisture levels; 3) Ten storage methods, of which eight hermetic. The overall experimental design is a 2 x 2 x 10 completely randomized block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The findings indicated that maize nutritional and aesthetic values were affected by the mould proliferation, insect infestation and moisture levels in the maize grains over the twelve months of storage. Maize used for this study was collected from the farmers in Neissuit and Kigogo villages in Gilgil sub-county, Nakuru County and data on maize production practices recorded using a simple questionnaire. The generated data from this study will facilitate sustainable adoption of the hermetic technologies among smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa if these technologies can maintain the nutritional quality of the maize grains as is suggested in this study.
