Fungal Infection and Mycotoxins Contamination on Farm-Stored Chickpea in Major Producing Districts of Ethiopia

Abstract

Crop susceptibility to moisture content, quality of storage facilities in the farm contributes to fungal infections and mycotoxin contamination. Chickpea grain loss in many parts of the world has been due to inadequate and poor storage facilities, post-harvest activities leading to mycotoxins and fungal infections. The current research investigated the prevalence of fungal infection and mycotoxin level in farm chickpea across five major growing districts in Ethiopia. In the current study, fungal infection and mycotoxin concentrations were investigated in two Desi and Kabuli type varieties of samples containing 150 chickpea kernels collected from five districts in Ethiopia. Additionally, moisture content, relative humidity, and temperature were also investigated during sampling. Moisture levels ranged from 13.3 - 22.3% with a mean value of 16.4% across the five districts. There was no significant difference between the two varieties studied. Survey of different storage techniques used by farmers showed that polypropylene bags were most common and accounted for 54.7%, followed by gotta 45.3%. The total fungal infection in chickpea kernels across the sampled districts range 23 - 79%. Infection with Aspergillus genera was predominant, accounting for approximately 44.3% of the total (25 - 62.5%), followed by Penicillium spp. at 34.3% (10.9 - 55.3%) and Fusarium spp. 21.4% (9.6 - 42.3%) as the lowest. A cross the studied districts, chickpea germination ranged from 68.8% to 75.5%. Total aflatoxins levels ranged from 2.5 to 31.1 ppb and a mean of 17.4 ppb. Ochratoxin A concentrations ranged from 4.3 to 35.0 ppb, with a mean value of 10.6 ppb. Fumonisins (18.7%), ranged from 0.2 to 2.9 ppm and Deoxynivalenol (6.7%) ranged from 0.2 to 2.9 ppm. Chickpea samples had a high level of total aflatoxins (ppb), followed by ochratoxin A. Even though, the current co-occurrence of mycotoxins found is at low levels, it may adversely affect the health of regular consumers and the quality of Chickpea. Further investigations should be performed in different regions to help in advising and making decisions to the relevant government institutions on the appropriate measures to be undertaken.

Non-Destructive Assessment of Microstructural Changes in Kabuli Chickpeas during Storage

“…The chickpeas' moisture content (MC) at acquisition was measured to be 11% wet basis (wb). Conditioning was undertaken to attain the desired MCs of 9, 11, 13, and 15% by drying or adding a calculated amount of distilled water [6,8]. Environmental conditions of the Prairie-grown chickpeas during harvest and storage were simulated by storing the chickpeas at 10, 20, and 30 • C. Controlled relative humidity (RH) conditions were generated by using saturated salt solutions of Mg(NO 3 ) 2 , NaNO 2 , NaCl, and KNO 3, attaining relative humidity (RHs) of 54, 65, 75, and 94% in storage, respectively.…”

“…Enzymatic activity, a function of high RH, affects the physical properties of the stored crops [4]. Recently, many studies have taken place to understand chickpea storage to improve its storage life and post-harvest quality [5][6][7][8].…”

“…While effective, these traditional methods require skilled labor, are time-consuming, and often involve elaborate procedures. Considering the production and export statistics, the Canadian chickpea processing industry can significantly benefit from using rapid, reliable, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and non-destructive quality assessment techniques [6,8,9]. These techniques can also assist in assessing chickpea quality at the ports of entry.…”