Comparative performance of five hermetic bag brands during on-farm smallholder cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.Walp) storage

Abstract

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) grain is an important source of protein for smallholder farmers in developing countries. However, cowpea grains are highly susceptible to bruchid attack, resulting in high quantitative and qualitative postharvest losses (PHLs). We evaluated the performance of five different hermetic bag brands for cowpea grain storage in two contrasting agro-ecological zones of Zimbabwe (Guruve and Mbire districts) for an 8-month storage period during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 storage seasons. The hermetic bag treatments evaluated included: GrainPro Super Grain bags (SGB) IVR™; PICS bags; AgroZ ® Ordinary bags; AgroZ ® Plus bags;ZeroFly ® hermetic bags. These were compared to untreated grain in a polypropylene bag (negative control) and Actellic Gold Dust ® (positive chemical control). All treatments were housed in Authors Accepted Manuscript -06/06/2020 2 farmers' stores and were subjected to natural insect infestation. Hermetic bag treatments were significantly superior (p< 0.001) to non-hermetic storage in limiting grain damage, weight loss and insect population development during storage. However, rodent control is recommended, as rodent attack rendered some hermetic bags less effective. Actellic Gold Dust ® was as effective as the hermetic bags. Callosobruchus rhodesianus (Pic.) populations increased within eight weeks of storage commencement, causing high damage and losses in both quality and quantity, with highest losses recorded in the untreated control. Cowpea grain stored in Mbire district sustained significantly higher insect population and damage than Guruve district which is ascribed to differences in environmental conditions. The parasitic wasp, Dinarmus basalis (Rondani) was suppressed by Actellic Gold Dust ® and all hermetic treatments. All the hermetic bag brands tested are recommended for smallholder farmer use in reducing PHLs while enhancing environmental and worker safety, and food and nutrition security.

Tackling Food Insecurity in Cabo Verde Islands: The Nutritional, Agricultural and Environmental Values of the Legume Species

“…Our results revealed that ash contents ranged from 3.2% (Vigna unguiculata) to 4.1% (Phaseolus vulgaris), indicating that they are good sources of minerals (e.g., [47,48]). Moreover, all the studied species revealed an average moisture content ranging from 10.7 ± 0.2 g/100 g in Phaseolus vulgaris to 12.4 ± 0.9 g/100 g in Phaseolus lunatus and we concluded that it is possible to store all these beans with quality, in agreement with other studies (e.g., [49]). Amarteifio et al [50] recorded fibre contents of Cajanus cajan cultivated in Botswana ranging from 9.8 to 13.0 g/100 g, higher than those we obtained (6.3 g/100 g).…”

Effectiveness of high‐density polyethylene container and Super Grain Bag for the storage system of cowpea grain for smallholder farmers

“…Naturally infested grain was used in the experiment, and Callosobruchus maculatus was identified as the primary insect pest of stored cowpea grain, which corroborates with previous studies (Ngwenyama, Mvumi, Nyanga, Stathers, & Siziba, 2020; Sanon, Dabiré‐Binso, & Ba, 2011). Polypropylene bags showed the highest rate of insect multiplication achieving at the termination of the experiment 11‐fold of the initial insect population.…”

Synthetic and Natural Insecticides: Gas, Liquid, Gel and Solid Formulations for Stored-Product and Food-Industry Pest Control

“…Efficacy tests are available for multiple species and commodities from different countries and environmental conditions [ 188 , 193 ]. Recently, Ngwenyama et al [ 194 ] compared the efficacy of five hermetic bag brands (GrainPro Super Grain bags (SGBs) from IVR™; PICS bags; AgroZ ® Ordinary bags; AgroZ ® Plus bags; and ZeroFly ® hermetic bags) with dust with pirimiphos-methyl and found almost identical performance. Due to the high efficacy, low cost, and simple operation of these bags, the potential users are mainly small and medium-sized farms in developing countries.…”

“…Due to the high efficacy, low cost, and simple operation of these bags, the potential users are mainly small and medium-sized farms in developing countries. A drawback of hermetic bags is that the larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Bostrichidae) [ 195 ], R. dominica [ 196 ], and rodents [ 194 ] can perforate the plastic liner of some types of bags, which increases the oxygen levels and negatively affects the efficacy of the method. In contrary, Otitodun et al [ 197 ] claimed that the ZeroFly ® bags were not easily penetrated by stored-product insect pests under field conditions.…”