Study on Aspergillus Species and Aflatoxin Levels in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) Stored for Different Period and Storage System in Kewet Districts, Northern Shewa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Volume 2 • Issue 1 • 100010 legumes collected from silos, warehouses, shops and market places in Ethiopia [14]. Many investigators have detected aflatoxin and other mycotoxins in many agricultural foods such as maize, teff, broad bean, Sorghum, beriberi, traditional spices (mitten shiro) and wheat in Ethiopia [15-20]. Kewet woreda is one of the Sorghum producing districts in the country and farmers use both underground pit and above ground storage systems. The storage system " Gotera " are made from different plants, clay, grass, ash, and cow dung. In the underground pit storage, they wash the pit with water and put the Sorghum grain until they are full, then the cover with grass, clay and flatted stone. Some farmers are using cleaning, insecticides and fumigants to prevent insect damage and adding the Sorghum grain in to the pits. The grain is stored for long periods; especially, this is the case during times of food scarcity. These storage systems are believed to protect against insect damage and theft, fire, domestic and wild animals and improve the quality of Sorghum as well. These Sorghum grains are stored under unhygienic conditions and very often spoiled by moulds and may develop mycotoxin contamination. Therefore, this particular research was endeavored to analyze the occurrence of Aspergillus species and aflatoxin content in Sorghum grain stored at different time periods and different storage system. Materials and Methods Description of the study area The sample was collected from North Showa Zone of Amhara region which is located at about 225 km to the north of Addis Ababa along the main road to Dessie. North Showa Zone consists of 26 districts and among these districts; Ataye, Kewet, Merahbete, Meda Oromo and Ensaro are high in Sorghum production area. Based on the storage system and periods and production rate, samples were collected from Kewet woreda of 5 Kebeles (Rassa, Ashgne yegeda, Gerenefara, and Teri and Yelen. From each of Kebeles, six role model farmers were proposed and selected on their production rate and one kilogram Sorghum sample was collected from each role model farmer. Kewet district is a lowland and semi-arid area that lies at an altitude ranging between 1280 and 2700 meters above sea level. It is located at longitude and latitude of 10˚00'N 39˚54'E and 10.000˚N 39.900˚E, respectively. The vast majority of people are rural small holding who depend on cultivation of 16,046 hectares of arable land. Kewet district has a population size of 100,760. The average annual rainfall is around 600-700mm and temperature of the area ranges from 17 to 30˚C.