FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY
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Item COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF NOVEL LOW-COST MOISTURE METERS SUITABLE FOR GRAIN MOISTURE MEASUREMENT(Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 2013) Ajao S.K.Monitoring grain quality is an importa. * postharvest activity which starts at harvest, continuing during stcage and up to the point of sale. High moisture in stored maize can be detrimental to food safety because of the likelihood of aflatoxin contamination and other forms of deterioration. Moisture meters are devices which provide real-time access to measuring moisture levels thereby allowing farmers .' m eet grain quality requirements. A newly developed low- co ^ moisture meter known as the Post-Harvest Loss (PHL) moisture meter is a device with potentials for massive deployment among smallholder farmers. This study was therefore set up to compare the efficiencies of some existing moisture meters co m’ ared with this newly developed device. Two commercially available moisture meters — Dickey john GAC 2100 and John Deere me ters were compared with the PHL moisture meter and oven- dried method (ASABE standards) used as control. Maize grains from a bagged storage experiment were used as samples over a 12- month period. Results showed that the moisture meters had a positive difference of <3% MCwb relative to oven-dried method. Average measurements showed variances of 2.34, 1.08 and 0.56% MCwb for John Deere, PHL and GAC 2100 meters respectively, when compared with the oven-dried method. Thus, it was concluded that the low cost PHL moisture meter may serve as an effective alternative to the more expensive types and may be relatively easy to adopt for laboratory and field use among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.Item MAIZE STORAGE IN TERMITE MOUND CLAY, CONCRETE, AND STEEL SILOS IN THE HUMID TROPICS: COMPARISON AND EFFECT ON BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL COUNTS(2015) Omobowale M.O.Considering the inadequacy of grain storage structures in Nigeria, which has been partly attributed to high cost and unavailability of construction materials, this study investigated the suitability of using readily available termite mound clay (TMC) for grain silo construction in comparison to conventional reinforced conczu (RC) and galvanized steel (GS) silos for maize storage in the humid tropics. The extent to which temperature and relative humidity affected the quality of stored grain during 8-month unaerated storage, covering both dry and rainy seasons, was evaluated using bacterial and fungal counts as performance parameters. The initial bacterial count of3500 colony forming units (CFU) per gram (CFU g-1) increased to 120000, 11000, and 8800 CFU g-1 for TMC, RC, and GS silos, respectively. There was no fungal activity at the beginning of storage, but fungal activity increased to 1500, 5500, and 350 CFU g-1 in TMC, RC, and GS silos, respectively. Fungal activity was noticed in the TMC silo in the fourth month of storage, which coincided with the start of the rainy season. Fungal counts exceeded the acceptable threshold of 1000 CFU g-1 in the TMC and RC silos. Relative humidity was of greater significance than temperature in affecting all. maize quality parameters considered. TMC was found suitable for constructing silos for short-term grain storage under unaerated conditions. Modification of the current TMC silo design to address permeability issues is expected to improve its performance for longer-term maize storage.Item Effect of Fill Volume on Microclimate and Microbial Activity in Non-ventilated Clay Silos Storing Maize in the Humid Tropics(Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan, 2019) Omobowale M.O.Silos have a fixed volume at the time of construction; harvests however vary from season to season. Complaints about severe postharvest losses in grains in the humid tropics of southern Nigeria necessitated a study into the effect of fill volume on quality of stored maize. Three clay silos labelled S1 to S3 of the same dimension and capacity (3.5 metric tonnes) were used. The silo walls were painted externally with gloss paint to reduce water absorption and filled with shelled maize. The first silo (S1) was filled with 3 tonnes, the second silo (S2) with 2 tonnes and the third (S3) filled with a tonne of maize for 6 months. Data was collected on microclimatic conditions within the silo and grain quality with increasing time of storage. Temperature, relative humidity (RH) and equilibrium moisture content (EMC) were recorded three times daily for each silo, focusing on the air between the grains and the headspace above the grains. Temperature fluctuations within S1 were smaller as indicated by the statistical range of 2 oC compared to S2 and S3 at 7 and 8 oC respectively. S3 showed high values of RH toward the end of storage, ranging between 65% to 80% at the top level and 76% at the bottom. EMC at the airspace above the grains in S1 increased from 12.0% at the beginning of storage in the dry season to 15.6% at the end of storage in the rainy season compared with S2 and S3 which increased from 12.0 to 17% and 12.0 to 17.2% respectively. Grains were found to be more prone to deterioration with decreasing level of fill because and increase in microbial activity was observed with a decreasing level of fill. Recommendations were made to farmers and grain aggregators on proper actions to take during grain storage given the peculiarities of the humid tropics.Item Effect of Fill Volume on Microclimate and Microbial Activity in Non-ventilated Clay Silos Storing Maize in the Humid Tropics(Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan, 2019) Omobowale M.O.Silos have a fixed volume at the time of construction; harvests however vary from season to season. Complaints about severe postharvest losses in grains in the humid tropics of southern Nigeria necessitated a study into the effect of fill volume on quality of stored maize. Three clay silos labelled S1 to S3 of the same dimension and capacity (3.5 metric tonnes) were used. The silo walls were painted externally with gloss paint to reduce water absorption and filled with shelled maize. The first silo (S1) was filled with 3 tonnes, the second silo (S2) with 2 tonnes and the third (S3) filled with a tonne of maize for 6 months. Data was collected on microclimatic conditions within the silo and grain quality with increasing time of storage. Temperature, relative humidity (RH) and equilibrium moisture content (EMC) were recorded three times daily for each silo, focusing on the air between the grains and the headspace above the grains. Temperature fluctuations within S1 were smaller as indicated by the statistical range of 2 oC compared to S2 and S3 at 7 and 8 oC respectively. S3 showed high values of RH toward the end of storage, ranging between 65% to 80% at the top level and 76% at the bottom. EMC at the airspace above the grains in S1 increased from 12.0% at the beginning of storage in the dry season to 15.6% at the end of storage in the rainy season compared with S2 and S3 which increased from 12.0 to 17% and 12.0 to 17.2% respectively. Grains were found to be more prone to deterioration with decreasing level of fill because and increase in microbial activity was observed with a decreasing level of fill. Recommendations were made to farmers and grain aggregators on proper actions to take during grain storage given the peculiarities of the humid tropics.