Abstract
This research was carried out to evaluate the effect of hermetic storage on quality of mungbean. About 260 kg of mungbean samples were stored in an especially design 350 L capacity hermetic PVC tanks (hermetic tank) and non-hermetic PVC tanks (control tank). Hermetic PVC tanks were closed air-tightly. All tanks were randomly placed in a warehouse. Each hermetic and control PVC tanks were artificially infested by 50 unsexed Callosobruchus chinensis kept in 4 glass jars containing 100 g of mungbean and jars were dipped in four different depths. The gas concentrations in the tanks were monitored up to 6 months intervals. Percentages of germination, moisture content, and grain damage were evaluated at the end of the storage. The oxygen content of hermetic samples was dropped to 11±1.2% and carbon dioxide content was increased up to 7±0.7% within 6 months of storage. Live insects of C. chinensis were not found in hermetic samples after 6 months but abundant population of C. chinensis was found in the control PVC tank just after one month. After 6 months, germination percentage of the mungbean samples stored in hermetic tanks had decreased from 95±3% to 82±4%, whereas it was decreased from 95±3% to 47±7% in control tanks due to grain damage. Percent grain damage of the hermetic sample was only 4.5±1% compared to the heavy insect damage of the control samples. Moisture content of hermetic samples remained unchanged compare to the control.
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