Effect of Methods of Processing Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on the Susceptibility of the Seeds to Fungal Infection during Storage

Abstract

The study on the effect of storage length on susceptibility of variously processed and unprocessed groundnut seed to fungal infection were carried out in the Department of Crop and Soil Science laboratory.  Four methods of processing (oil fried, sand fried, oven fried, smoked with seeds in shell) and a control (raw unprocessed seeds) was adopted and laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Four fungal isolates were identified which are Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Sclerotium rolfsii, and Fusarium moniliforme. Aspergillus flavus was the most pronounced fungi (41.35%) followed by Aspergillus niger (38.15%), Sclerotium rolfsii (34.92%) and the lowest was Fusarium moniliforme (28.83%). There was significant difference in fungal contamination at 5% probability level between the method of processing and raw seeds. Susceptibility to fungal infection revealed that oil fried seed were less susceptible to fungal invasion followed by smoked with seeds in shell, oven fried seeds, sand fried seeds and raw seeds. However, groundnut oil should be used to process groundnut seeds for human consumption because it stores better and is less susceptible to mycobial contamination. Also, controlled storage environment should be used to reduce fungal contamination, processing should be done in hygienic environment and seeds should not be stored for too long as the higher the storage period the more susceptible the seeds become.