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Project Record
Investigations on stackburn in sub-Saharan Africa
Start Date: 01/04/1992
End Date: 31/03/1996
R Number: R5104
DFID Programme: Crop Post Harvest
Funding Department: Central Research Department
Related Documents: View Related Documents
Managing Institute: Natural Resources International Limited (NRIL)
Lead Institute: Natural Resources Institute (NRI)
Collaborating Institutes: University of Ghana; University of Zimbabwe (UZ); Instituto de Investigaco Cientifica Tropical, Portugal
Regions: Africa, Eastern Africa, Europe, Southern Africa, Southern Europe, Western Africa
Countries: Ghana, Portugal, Zimbabwe
Geographic Area: Sub-Saharan Africa
Objectives:
To define the nature, incidence and causes of maize stackburn and possible links with the introduction of polypropylene bags for maize storage, and to develop grain management strategies that will reduce losses due to stackburn.
Background:
Serious losses associated with heat damage (stackburn) in maize stored in polypropylene bags have occurred in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa.Intended Outputs:
Bulletin and publications in the scientific press: (a) biochemical(b) acoustic tool
(c) grain management statistics including pest control.
An acoustic tool.
Modified specifications for pp grain bugs.
Training courses in storage management.
Training manual, video.
Management information (monitoring) system.
Expert (decision guiding) system.
Progress and Impact:
An extensive data set of physical conditions within large-scale bagstacks of maize was collected over successive storage seasons and showed that temperatures in the core of large outdoor stacks regularly heat to over 40 degrees C. During prolonged periods (of more than 100 days) this temperature profile led to maize discolouration of the embryo and pericarp, in part explained by the Maillard reaction. Tests on sack material showed that polypropylene sacks were much more resistant to airflow than jute sacks and field trials confirmed that polypropylene stacks showed much higher levels of discolouration than jute stacks, and greater financial losses due to downgrading. In assocation with project R6337, new management procedures were tested and the GMB now regularly use passive ventilation involving channelling in polypropylene stacks of maize and are exploring the possibility of reverting to the use of jute sacks for long-term storage.Project Conclusions:
The results of this project have made a significant contribution to the project goal. Losses sustained by the CMB during the last 6 years storage have been very high (1994 estimate was over £1 million), but they have now been able to reduce these to minimal levels by the use of jute sacks in their storage management systems and by the introduction of channelling. These results are applicable throughout the region where outdoor storage of maize in bags is common, and will be of use to the private sector and managers of food aid commodities.General Notes:
See also the TECA Record Preventing stackburn heat damage to commercial and food aid maize in large stacksTotal Cost to DFID:
£216,760
MIS Number: 781648001
Publications:
DONALDSON T.J. (ED, 1994). Stackburn Newsletter 1, 2pp.KENNEDY L. & DEVEREAU A.D. (1994). Observations on large-scale outdoor maize storage in jute and polypropylene sacks in Zimbabwe. Proceedings of the 6th International Working Conference on Stored-Prodcuts Protection, Canberrra, Australia, 17-23 April 1994, Volume 1, pp.290-295.
LOCKE M.T., DONALDSON T.J. & GOUGH M.C. (1994). Report No. 1: Quality changes in an outdoor stack of bagged maize. NRI Visit Report No. R2085(S), 25pp.
NATURAL RESOURCES INSTITUTE (1995). Improvements to grain stock management: Heating and discoloration of bagged maize (stackburn). NRI Report on Operational Programmes (in press).
PHILLIPS S.I. & DONALDSON T.J. (1994). Report No. 5: Stackburn Research Project Workshop, Harare, Zimbabwe, 6-10 June 1994. NRI Visit Report No. R2140(s), 19 pp.
TYLER P.S. & KUTUKWA N. (1994). Report No. 3: Technical note on a co-ordination visit to Ghana. NRI Visit Report No. R2042(C). 8 pp.
Tyler P S (1992) Heating and discolouration of bagged maize. World Grain. September 1992.
Tyler P S, Locke M T, Donaldson T J, Phillips S E, New J H and Gough M C. (1992). Heating and discolouration of bagged maize. Poster display at the Autumn Meeting of the Biodeterioration Society, University of Reading, 15-16 September 1992.
Paper File Reference:
FSC 9294 375/534/009A, NRB 9800 312/792/002Associated References:
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