Abstract:
Maize is one of the most important staple foods and the basis of the diet for Ethiopian's. The
present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of traditional (Gombisa and Sack)
and of hermetic bag storage methods concerning quantitative and qualitative losses after 2, 4
and 6 months of storage. Stored grains were sampled from upper, middle and lower parts of
the storages using compartmentalized sampling spear. Collected samples were assessed for
total insect number, insect mortality, moisture content, grain damage, weight loss and
germination percentage. Moreover, the samples were also analyzed for grain quality
deterioration over time. The grain temperature and relative humidity followed the pattern of
the ambient temperature and was higher than the ambient temperature and relative humidity
during entire storage periods. Moisture content, insect infestation, weight loss and damaged
grains showed an increasing pattern with prolonged storage. The lowest grain temperature
and moisture content were recorded in Hermetic bag, whereas the highest in Gombisa and
Sack, respectively. The highest percentage of insect infestation was observed in grains stored in
Gombisa whereas, maximum bulk density and germination percentage were recorded in grain
samples taken from Hermetic bag. Fusurium incidence was 10.0% at initial and increased
significantly to 45.0% in six months. The incidence of Aspergillus, and Penicillium was o% at
initial and increased significantly to 33.3 and 22.4% in six months. Maximum incidence of
Fusurium and Penicillium 29.9% and 15.7% was recorded in Gombisa. Among the storage
types all the values of total protein, total fat and total ash were statistically different (P<0.05)
from each other and the values showed reduction in all the three storages. Maximum (2.40%)
ash content was obtained from Hermetic bag in the end of six months. Protein content was high
8.90% at initial period and dropped significantly to 6.2% in Gombisa, 7.30% in Sack and
7.4% in Hermetic bag at the end of the storage periods. It was concluded that the quality of
maize grain stored in Gombisa and Sack storage methods was low. Therefore, these storages
were inadequate for protecting stored maize from insect pests and fungal attacks. Overall, the
hermetic bag storage can protecting insect infestation and fungal development and
consequently maintains seed viability and nutritional content during storage without use of
insecticides.
