Good practice in post-harvest operations depends on the contamination of groundnuts (<em>Arachis hypogaea</em>) by mycotoxins. The objective of this study is to identify farmers’ practices that pose a ris...Good practice in post-harvest operations depends on the contamination of groundnuts (<em>Arachis hypogaea</em>) by mycotoxins. The objective of this study is to identify farmers’ practices that pose a risk to the post-harvest preservation of the fruits of <em>Arachis hypogaea</em> in the province of Mayo Kebbi Ouest. Data collection was carried out using a farmer survey sheet based on a questionnaire on drying and storage techniques and losses related to groundnut harvesting. The study revealed that the fruits of<em> Arachis hypogaea </em>are dried on the fields and stored in shells or pods in polyethylene bags. The latter can be kept for up to 6 months in the shop (44%), in the attic (25.3%), in living quarters (18.7%) and both in the attic and in houses (12%). The level of post-harvest losses is due on the one hand to post-harvest diseases (60%) and the presence of insects on the crops (32%) and on the other hand to the germination of seeds (8%) after the harvest due to heavy rains. This loss on a scale of 2% to 10% is 74.7% and 10% to 50% is 25.3%. Drying and storage techniques in these localities represent a risk of mycotoxin contamination of groundnuts. Raising farmers’ awareness of harvest management techniques to preserve the sanitary quality of groundnuts would be important.展开更多
文摘Good practice in post-harvest operations depends on the contamination of groundnuts (<em>Arachis hypogaea</em>) by mycotoxins. The objective of this study is to identify farmers’ practices that pose a risk to the post-harvest preservation of the fruits of <em>Arachis hypogaea</em> in the province of Mayo Kebbi Ouest. Data collection was carried out using a farmer survey sheet based on a questionnaire on drying and storage techniques and losses related to groundnut harvesting. The study revealed that the fruits of<em> Arachis hypogaea </em>are dried on the fields and stored in shells or pods in polyethylene bags. The latter can be kept for up to 6 months in the shop (44%), in the attic (25.3%), in living quarters (18.7%) and both in the attic and in houses (12%). The level of post-harvest losses is due on the one hand to post-harvest diseases (60%) and the presence of insects on the crops (32%) and on the other hand to the germination of seeds (8%) after the harvest due to heavy rains. This loss on a scale of 2% to 10% is 74.7% and 10% to 50% is 25.3%. Drying and storage techniques in these localities represent a risk of mycotoxin contamination of groundnuts. Raising farmers’ awareness of harvest management techniques to preserve the sanitary quality of groundnuts would be important.
