Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications
Campus Units
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Biorenewable Resources and Technology, Environmental Science, Sustainable Agriculture, Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, Center for Crops Utilization Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
1-10-2020
Journal or Book Title
Insects
Volume
11
Issue
1
First Page
50
Research Focus Area(s)
Biological and Process Engineering and Technology
DOI
10.3390/insects11010050
Abstract
Farmers in developing nations encounter high postharvest losses mainly attributable to the lack of modern techniques for threshing, cleaning, grading, and grain storage. Mechanized handling of grain in developing countries is rare, although the technology is effective against insects and pest infestations. The objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of five grain handling techniques that have the ability to reduce postharvest losses from insect infestation. The five methods were metal silo plus all accessories (m. silo + acc.), metal silo only (m. silo), woven polypropylene plus phosphine (w. PP. + Phos.), woven polypropylene only (w. PP.), and Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags only (PICS). The functional unit used was handling 1 kg of maize grain. The cost analysis of each technique was calculated based on equations using a spreadsheet. The annual capital and operational costs of handling using m. silo + acc. or m. silo were very high, unlike the PICS, w. PP. + Phos., or w. PP. The annual capital and operational costs decreased as production scale increased. Food security (due to reduced insects and pest infestations) and financial prospects of farmers can improve when the grain is mechanically handled with m. silo + acc. or m. silo.
Access
Open
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Copyright Owner
The Authors
Copyright Date
2020
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Darfour, Bernard and Rosentrater, Kurt A., "Cost Assessment of Five Different Maize Grain Handling Techniques to Reduce Postharvest Losses from Insect Contamination" (2020). Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications. 1105.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/1105
Included in
Agriculture Commons, Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons, Food Processing Commons
Comments
This article is published as Darfour, Bernard, and Kurt A. Rosentrater. "Cost Assessment of Five Different Maize Grain Handling Techniques to Reduce Postharvest Losses from Insect Contamination." Insects 11, no. 1 (2020): 50. DOI: 10.3390/insects11010050. Posted with permission.