Abstract
Sorghum occupies highest area of cultivation in East and West Hararghe of Ethiopia. Farmers in the area are poor and do not afford an advanced storage systems. Hence, storage is done mainly in underground pit storage with different lining materials. This study was therefore aimed at evaluating those different lining materials in maintaining the sorghum quality. Four different lining materials which are commonly used by the farmers (mud/straw/cow dung mixture (3:3:1 ratio), plastic (thick rubberized canvas), chaff and cement) were used. Ten pits (duplicated), flask shaped with 1 m depth and 1 m diameter with a capacity of about two quintals (200 kg) were constructed. The finding in this comparative study is that, among all underlining materials, underground pit with plastic lining material was good barrier compared to all linings. Moisture migration to the grain increased in each month in all lining materials and the least was recorded in plastic lining. Germination capacity and thousand grain weight were reduced significantly in each material except plastic lining which showed the least change compared to the others. Fungi infestation was also increased in all underground pits with different lining materials. However, lower infestation was found in plastic and cement linings. Based on the quality measurements, plastic lining showed the least change in grain quality compared to the others. It can be concluded that, since the farmers can’t afford advanced storage system, it can be recommended to use plastic lining material among the existing lining materials.
Highlights
Sorghum is the third most important crop in Ethiopia, cultivated on one million hectares, and is the most important crop in drier, drought prone areas
The moisture content was monitored to assess the variation and moisture levels of sorghum grain stored in the underground pit with different lining materials over the storage period
The increased in moisture contents under plastic lining was low compared to others whereas under bare lining material (30.2%) and room storage (33.2%) indicated high increment over the storage period
Summary
Sorghum is the third most important crop in Ethiopia, cultivated on one million hectares, and is the most important crop in drier, drought prone areas. Sorghum occupies 48% of cultivated land in East Harrarghe and 42% in West Harrarghe. Farmers in ‘kola’ or the lowland dry zone of East Harrarghe grow mainly long cycle maize and sorghum intercropped with groundnuts in the first cropping season, followed by short cycle varieties of maize and sorghum in the second season (McGuire 2005). For long-term storage in Harrarghe, 70% of the sorghum is stored in pits dug in sandy or gravel soils that are well drained (McGuire 2005; Dejene 2004). Pit stores are cheaper than above-ground storage and there is less damage due to insects, reduced risk of fire and theft. The high humidity and temperature in the unlined pits reduces seed viability (Dejene 2004)
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