O Brasil é um dos maiores produtores mundiais de grãos e o milho é o segundo grão mais produzido no país. Como este cereal está diretamente relacionado à base alimentar humana e animal, surgem muitas preocupações a respeito da manutenção de sua qualidade no pós-colheita, em especial ao longo do armazenamento, com aumento das atenções à segurança alimentar. Apesar disso, muitas vezes o milho é armazenado nas propriedades rurais, em condições inadequadas, exposto a perdas quantitativas e qualitativas, ao desenvolvimento de fungos toxigênicos e à contaminação por aflatoxinas, substância capaz de causar graves danos à saúde humana e animal, além de inúmeros prejuízos agropecuários. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar alternativas de armazenagem, viáveis a propriedades rurais, através de dois experimentos de armazenagem (safra de inverno 2012 e safra de verão 2012/2013), nos quais se avaliou a qualidade do milho armazenado em diferentes acondicionamentos, por 12 meses. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi um fatorial 4 x 5, cujos fatores foram quatro tipos de acondicionamentos de armazenagem (sacarias convencionais, bolsas seladas hermeticamente, silo metálico e espigas) e cinco períodos de tempo (0, 3, 6, 9 e 12 meses). Utilizaram-se dois híbridos de milho (2B688RR, 30K73Hx) cultivados na microrregião de Dois Vizinhos, sudoeste do Paraná. A armazenagem foi realizada em condições ambientais e os parâmetros avaliados foram: teor de água, cinzas, proteínas, lipídios, grãos sem defeitos, peso volumétrico, peso de mil grãos, contagem de Aspergillus sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp., total de bolores e leveduras e ocorrência de aflatoxinas (B1, B2, G1 e G2). Os resultados obtidos em cada experimento, quando atendiam às pressuposições do modelo atemático, eram avaliados pelo emprego da análise de variância e as diferenças entre as médias (p < 0,05) pelo teste de Tukey, a 5% de significância, quando não, pelo teste de Kruskal-Wallis, também a 5% de significância. Além disso, realizou-se a análise dos componentes principais (ACP) para erificar quais das variáveis avaliadas, eram responsáveis pelas maiores variações na qualidade do milho armazenado. Verificou-se, em ambos os armazenamentos, que os grãos de milho acondicionados em bolsas herméticas apresentaram o menor teor de gua.Independente do acondicionamento e do híbrido de milho houve aumento do conteúdo de cinzas dos grãos, redução da percentagem de grãos sem defeitos e do peso volumétrico.Constatou-se a incidência de Aspergillus sp., Fusarium sp. e Penicillium sp., respectivamente, em 20,37, 86,11 e 94,44% das amostras de milho do armazenamento safra de inverno; em 83,3, 91,6 e 90,07% das amostras do armazenamento safra de verão, respectivamente. O Aspergillus sp. foi detectado somente aos 3 meses de armazenagem no primeiro experimento, enquanto no segundo desde a colheita. A ocorrência de Fusarium sp. tendeu a diminuir durante a armazenagem e a de Penicillium sp. foi maior no milho acondicionado em espigas. Não houve influência dos tipos de acondicionamentos e do tempo de armazenagem na ocorrência de Aspergillus sp. e de aflatoxinas no milho do armazenamento safra de inverno. Já o milho acondicionado em espigas do armazenamento safra de verão apresentou a menor contagem de Aspergillus sp. e não apresentou aflatoxinas. Os níveis de aflatoxinas (B1+B2+G1+G2) detectados variaram de 2,87 a 14,45 µg kg-1 e de 3,03 a 197,51 µg kg-1, respectivamente no milho dos armazenamentos safra de inverno e safra de verão, além disso, nenhuma das amostras do primeiro armazenamento apresentou contaminação acima de 20 µg kg-1. No segundo armazenamento, 41 amostras apresentaram contaminação. Resultados atribuídos, principalmente, às diferentes condições climáticas dos períodos de cultivo dos híbridos de milho (safra de verão e safra de inverno) e dos experimentos de armazenagem, a disparidade na incidência de Aspergillus sp. e na contaminação por aflatoxinas. Conclui-se, pela ACP, que todas as variáveis aferidas neste trabalho têm importância na qualidade do milho armazenado. / Brazil is one of the largest producers of grains, and maize is the second most produced grain in the country. As this cereal is directly related to human and animal food basis, many matters appear on the maintenance of their post-harvest quality, especially during storage, due to the increased attention to food safety. Despite this importance, maize is often stored on farms in inappropriate conditions, exposed to quantitative and qualitative losses, the development of toxigenic fungi and aflatoxin contamination, a substance capable of causing severe damage to human and animal health, as well as many agribusiness losses. The objective of this research was evaluating storage alternatives viable to farms through two storage experiments (2012 winter crop 2012/2013 summer harvests), for assessment of the quality of stored maize in different packings for 12 months. The experimental design was a 4 x 5 factorial, whose factors were four types of packaging storage (conventional sacks, bags hermetically sealed, metallic silo and cobs) and five time periods (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months). Two maize hybrids (2B688RR, 30K73Hx) cultivated in the region of the town of Dois Vizinhos were used, in the southwest of Paraná. The storage was conducted in ambient conditions and the following parameters were evaluated: water content, ash, protein, fat, grains without defects, volumetric weight, one-thousand grains weight, counting of Aspergillus sp, Fusarium sp, Penicillium sp, total of molds and yeasts and occurrence of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2). The results obtained in each experiment, when attended the presuppositions of the mathematical model, were evaluated by use of analysis of variance and differences between means (p<0.05) by Tukey test at 5% significance level, and when not attended them, by Kruskal-Wallis also at 5% significance level. Furthermore, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was done to determine which of the variables evaluated was responsible for the largest variations in the quality of stored maize. It was found in both storages that maize kernels placed in sealed bags presented the lowest water content. Also that regardless of packaging and hybrid maize, there were an increase in ash content of grains and the decrease of the percentage of grains without defects and volumetric weight. It was detected the incidence of Aspergillus sp. Fusarium sp. and Penicillium sp., respectively 20.37, 86.11 and 94.44% of the samples of maize season winter storage, and in 83.3, 91.6 and 90.07% of the samples from the summer season storage. Aspergillus sp. was only detected after 3 months of storage in the first experiment, while in the second since harvesting. The occurrence of Fusarium sp. tended to decrease during storage, and Penicillium sp. was higher in corn conditioning in cobs. There was no influence of types of packaging and storage time on the occurrence of Aspergillus sp. and aflatoxins in maize season winter storage. However, the conditioning in maize cobs of season storage summer had the lowest count of Aspergillus sp. and did not present aflatoxin. Aflatoxins (B1+B2+G1+G2) detected ranged from 2.77 to 14.45 µg kg-1 and from 3.03 to 197.51 µg kg-1 respectively in the maize storage winter and summer. Besides this, none of the samples of the first storage showed contamination higher than 20 µg kg-1, while in the second 41 samples presented higher values. The results are due to the different climatic conditions of the periods of cultivation of hybrid maize (summer and winter seasons) and storage experiments, the disparity in the incidence of Aspergillus sp. and aflatoxin contamination. The conclusion is that by ACP all variables assessed in this study are important for the quality of stored maize.

Submitted by Biblioteca Central (biblioteca@unicap.br) on 2018-07-31T14:46:11Z No. of bitstreams: 2 cleoneide_maria_nascimento_oliveira.pdf: 1019585 bytes, checksum: bddadf02f4c656ca1807ab68d3a5d526 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-31T14:46:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 cleoneide_maria_nascimento_oliveira.pdf: 1019585 bytes, checksum: bddadf02f4c656ca1807ab68d3a5d526 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-17 / Brazil is a country whose great potential for grain production has not yet been fully exploited. Corn is the most widespread and cultivated crop because it adapts to the most different ecosystems. Along with the effort to increase productivity, it is necessary to improve the harvesting process and the grain storage conditions. However, prolonged storage can only be achieved when harvesting, cleaning, drying and insect control practices are adopted correctly. The use of products applied through seeds, especially when stored, is a routine practice for the corn crop; However, growing concern about the environment and safety during the seed handling process has increased the demand for application technologies that allow risk reduction without compromising seed quality.Thus, the objective was to evaluate the physiological quality of maize seeds submitted to treatments, with five replicates, with doses equivalent to zero; 0.5; 1; 2 and 4 grams of the Moringa oleifera Lam. seed powder for each 10 grains of corn, with contact time corresponding to zero, 2, 4, 6 and 24 hours, 30 days and 6 months. The determinations were: germination test, moisture, volumetric weight, weight of 1000 grains, ash, acidity index and fungi. The results obtained show that the physiological quality of the corn seeds with the application of Moringa oleifera Lam. on maize seeds is technically feasible and can be stored for up six months without compromising their physiological quality. / O Brasil é um país cujo grande potencial de produção de grãos ainda não foi plenamente explorado. O milho é a cultura mais amplamente difundida e cultivada, pois se adapta aos mais diferentes ecossistemas. Junto com o esforço para o aumento da produtividade, necessariamente há que se aprimorar o processo de colheita e as condições de armazenagem de grãos. Entretanto, o armazenamento prolongado só pode ser realizado quando se adotam corretamente as práticas de colheita, limpeza, secagem e combate a insetos. O uso de produtos aplicados via sementes, principalmente quando armazenados, é uma prática rotineira para a cultura do milho; no entanto, a crescente preocupação com o ambiente e com a segurança durante o processo de manipulação dessas sementes tem aumentado a demanda por tecnologias de aplicação que permitam a redução dos riscos, sem que a qualidade das sementes seja comprometida. Assim, objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade físico-química de sementes de milho submetidas a tratamentos, com cinco repetições, com doses equivalentes a zero; 0,5; 1; 2 e 4 gramas do pó da semente da Moringa oleifera Lam. para cada 10 grãos de milho, com tempo de contato correspondente a zero, 2, 4, 6 e 24 horas, 30 dias e 6 meses. As determinações realizadas foram: teste de germinação, umidade, peso volumétrico, peso de 1000 grãos, cinzas e índice de acidez. Através dos resultados obtidos conclui-se que a qualidade das sementes de milho com a aplicação de Moringa oleifera Lam. é tecnicamente viável, podendo ser armazenadas por até seis meses, sem que haja comprometimento de sua qualidade fisiológica.

Master of Agribusiness / Agricultural Economics / Allen M. Featherstone / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether the use of automated aeration systems for reducing moisture in corn during storage provides sufficient net present value for Nebraska corn farmers. The objective is to examine if an automated aeration system provides sufficient energy savings, marketing opportunities and reduced drying costs before corn delivery to an elevator. On-the-farm corn storage has steadily increased and harvesting corn before the moisture has achieved the desired targets cost farmers in drying charges and shrink. Farmers are interested in whether automated aeration systems can remove enough moisture from grain, without over-drying the bin, without spending a large amount of time determining when to run their grain bin aeration fans. Data for this project were obtained from four privately owned 60,000 bushel grain bins outfitted with the IntelliAir™ BinManager™ automated aeration system. Moisture samples were taken from each of the trucks hauling grain to the bin and again after removal of the corn after the automated system had ran for 9 months. Energy usage, drying charges, and shrink were calculated for the initial corn moisture averages and the moisture at the time of removal. Each bin was examined using Net Present Value (NPV) analysis to determine whether the energy savings were enough to offset the initial installation cost and annual expenses of the project. After the NPV was estimated for each of the bins, a sensitivity analysis of how corn price changes and no aeration required would affect the NPV analysis. Finally, an analysis of the total costs savings of a continuously ran aeration system was compared to the automated aeration system. The conclusion of the NPV analysis was that adding an automated aeration system would be profitable under most scenarios. More studies are needed to determine the profitability of automated aeration systems in different regions, moisture inputs, and bin sizes.

The maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky) is one of the most destructive storage insect pest of maize (Zea mays L.) in tropical Africa and worldwide, especially when susceptible varieties are grown. Therefore, grain resistance against the maize weevil should be part of a major component of an integrated maize weevil management strategy. The specific objectives of this study were to: i) determine farmers’ perceptions about weevil resistance in maize cultivars; ii) determine the genotypic variation for maize weevil resistance in eastern and southern Africa maize germplasm lines; iii) study the gene action conditioning weevil resistance in the inbred line populations from eastern and southern Africa maize germplasm and to measure their combining ability for yield and weevil resistance; iv) determine the effectiveness of two cycles of modified S1 recurrent selection in improving a tropical maize population “Longe5” for weevil resistance and agronomic superiority and v) evaluate the effectiveness of the “weevil warehouse techniques” compared to the “laboratory bioassay technique” as methods of maize screening against the maize weevil. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was conducted in three districts between December 2010 and January 2011, to gather information on the maize weevil pest status in Uganda and farmers’ perceptions about improved maize varieties and the major attributes desired in new maize varieties. Over 95% of farmers knew the maize weevil and its pest status, and were reportedly controlling the maize weevil using wood ashes, red pepper and Cupressus sempervirens. The estimated postharvest weight losses attributed to weevil damage was over 20% within a storage period of four months. The most highly ranked attributes desired in the new maize varieties included high grain yield, tolerance to drought and low nitrogen stresses, resistance to field pests and diseases, good storability and resistance to storage pests. In the search for new sources of weevil resistance, a total of 180 inbred lines from three different geographical areas were screened for weevil resistance using the laboratory bioassay technique. Eight inbred lines (MV21, MV23, MV75, MV102, MV142, MV154, MV157, and MV170) were consistently grouped in the resistant class, and therefore selected as potential donors for weevil resistance in the maize improvement programs. Large significant genetic variations for weevil resistance, and high levels of heritability (89 – 96%) were observed. The results revealed that there was no significant association between maize weevil resistance andgrain yield; suggesting that breeding for maize weevil resistance can be achieved without compromising grain yield. Eight weevil resistant and two susceptible inbred line parents were crossed in a 10 x 10 full diallel mating design and the resulting 45 experimental hybrids and their reciprocal crosses evaluated for grain yield and secondary traits under four environments, and also to determine the gene action regulating their expression. The F1 hybrid seed, F2 full-sib and F2 half-sib grain generated from the 45 experimental hybrids and their reciprocals under two environments in Namulonge, were evaluated for weevil resistance using F1 weevil progeny emergence, median development period (MDP), Dobie’s index of susceptibility (DIS), and parental weevil mortality as susceptibility parameters. The general combing ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), and reciprocal effects were all significant for grain yield, with SCA accounting for over 80% of the hybrid sum of squares. Inbred line parent MV44 exhibited positive significant GCA for grain yield and thus can be utilized in the development of synthetics and hybrids. Hybrids MV21 x MV13, MV154 x MV44, and MV154 x MV102 and all hybrids between parent MV142 and the rest of the parental lines exhibited positive and significant SCA effects. For the weevil resistance parameters, the general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal effects were all significant for F1 weevil progeny emergence, MDP, and DIS in the three seed categories. The results revealed that weevil resistance was governed by additive gene action, non-additive, and maternal effects. Parents MV170 and MV142 were consistently exhibiting weevil resistance in the three seed categories and thus recommended for future breeding strategies. Furthermore, most of the hybrids generated from parental line M142 were noted to exhibit outstanding performance in terms of grain yield and weevil resistance. Another study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of two cycles of modified S1 recurrent selection towards the improvement of weevil resistance in a maize population Longe5. Over 540 selfed ears were selected from the source population (C0) and screened for weevil resistance in the laboratory at Namulonge. Based on weevil resistance characteristics, 162 genotypes were selected from C0 and recombined in an isolated field to generate cycle C1. The same procedure was used for generating cycle C2 from cycle C1, but instead 190 weevil resistant C1 genotypes were selected and recombined to form C2. Seed from cycles C1 and C2, together with that from the source population (C0), was used to plant an evaluation trial in three locations, to compare the performance of the three cycles in terms of grain yield and reaction to the major foliar diseases, and also to produce seed for subsequent screening against weevil ii infestation. A total of 54 seed samples were screened for weevil resistance in a laboratory at Namulonge, in an experiment laid out in a randomized complete block design. A reduction in grain weight loss of 65% was registered in the C2 seed, whereas in C1 seed it was 15%. A similar trend was observed for F1 weevil progeny emergence and grain damage. Grain yield results indicated a yield gain of 19% realized from cycle C2 while a yield gain of 7% was realized from cycle C1. Furthermore, reductions in disease severity of 27%, 10% and 13% were exhibited for Turcicum leaf blight (TLB), grey leaf spot (GLS) and rust disease, respectively in cycle C2. The results indicated that Longe5 can be improved for maize weevil resistance, grain yield, and resistance to foliar diseases through selection. Further recurrent selection cycles would be recommended. The last study was aimed at evaluating the potential of shelled grain and suspended ear options of the weevil warehouse technique in discriminating maize genotypes into different susceptibility classes, based on genotype response to weevil attack. It involved comparing the effectiveness of the two options under the weevil warehouse technique with the laboratory bioassay technique using grain damage and grain weight loss as the maize grain susceptibility parameters. Fourteen maize genotypes were screened using the weevil warehouse and the laboratory bioassay techniques at Namulonge. On grouping the 14 genotypes into different response classes, high levels of consistency were observed in the three screening techniques. Therefore, the two weevil warehouse screening options being faster and effective in discriminating maize cultivars towards weevil attack, they were found to be better than the laboratory bioassay technique. The minimum evaluation period required to discriminate genotypes by the two weevil warehouse options was two months from the onset of the experiment. The maize weevil was noted to be an important storage pest constraining maize production in Uganda. The major weevil control measures included proper postharvest handling procedures and use of indigenous technical knowledge. The results also revealed that host plant resistance could significantly reduce grain damage. It was further revealed that grain resistance against the maize weevil could be enhanced through hybridization and recurrent selection; thus the germplasm identified in the study can provide new sources of maize weevil resistance for commercial deployment and further breeding. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.