Author(s)

Emmanuel Msugh Mbaawuaga^*, Jane Ogochukwu Nwabude, Dooshima Shiriki

Department of Biological Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria.

Aflatoxin associated with a number of cereals and legumes is estimated to increase the chances of developing primary liver cancer in 152.7 and 61.1 cancer/year/100,000 population of infants and children, respectively in Nigeria. This study was carried out to assess the implications of some agronomic practices on the infestation of aflatoxigenic fungi and total aflatoxin in maize produce in Benue State. Two maize sample types (Pre-harvest and Post-harvest) collected from 3 locations in Benue State were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar for fungi isolation and identification. Moisture content and total aflatoxin concentration were determined (ELISA method) in both pre-harvest oven dried and farmer’s post-harvest sun dried samples. Information on agronomic practices was obtained with the aid of questionnaire. T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data with confident levels set at 95%. Overall, 5 mould genera were identified: Aspergillus (44.0%), Fusarium (24.44%), Botryodiplodia (17.78%), Rhizopus (15.56%) and Penicillium (4.44%). Moisture content of oven dried samples was significantly less than that of farmers sun dried samples (t = 10.45, P < 0.001). Similarly, a significant difference in total aflatoxin concentration was recorded between farmers sun dried and oven dried samples (t = 2.37, P = 0.03). Half of the farmer’s sun dried samples had aflatoxin concentration above the recommended EU (4 ug/Kg) limit, but none of the pre-harvest oven dried samples exceeded EU limits. Maize samples from fertilized farms were more likely than non-fertilized farms to have higher aflatoxin concentration (P = 0.002). Similarly, Maize seeds purchase from the open market were more likely than seeds from previous harvest to be contaminated with aflatoxin (P = 0.003). The study advocates rapid drying of timely harvested maize so as to reduce or stop the action of heavy field fungi contaminants as well as aflatoxin accumulation.

Aflatoxigenic Fungi, Aflatoxin, Farmers Practices, Maize, Benue State

Mbaawuaga, E. , Nwabude, J. and Shiriki, D. (2020) Effects of Farmers’ Practices on Maize (Zea mays) Contamination by Potential Aflatoxigenic Fungi and Aflatoxin in Benue State, Nigeria. Agricultural Sciences, 11, 500-513. doi: 10.4236/as.2020.115031.