Postharvest Storage Practices of Maize in Rift Valley and Lower Eastern Regions of Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Postharvest Storage Practices of Maize in Rift Valley and Lower Eastern Regions of Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Microbiol. 2020;2020:6109214 Authors: Koskei P, Bii CC, Musotsi P, Muturi Karanja S Abstract An assessment of local farmers' knowledge, attitude, and practices on postharvest maize storage and management was carried out with a view of understanding its role in maize contamination with mycotoxins and postharvest losses in Rift Valley and Lower Eastern Regions of Kenya among 165 and 149 farmers, respectively. Differences between the two regions were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, and two-sample t-test. The median quantity of maize harvested by farmers in the two regions after shelling was 585 kg. A median of 20 kg of maize was put aside as a result of rotting before shelling, and there was a significant mean difference in maize set aside as a result of rotting between the two regions (107.88 kg vs. 31.96 kg; t (306.25) = 5.707, P value <0.001). The quantity of discoloured and mouldy maize consumed ranged from 0 to 90 kg; 7 (2.2%) respondents consumed mouldy maize, 36 (11.5%) fed it to cows, and 19 (6.1%) fed it to poultry. A small percentage (3.5%) believed mouldy maize is safe for human consumption, 23.6% for animal consumption, while 15.0% considered it safe for brewing, with the differences between the two regions being statistically significant (P value <0.05). Nearly h...
Source: International Journal of Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Tags: Int J Microbiol Source Type: research