Post-harvest control of aflatoxin production in in-shell moist peanuts with sodium ortho-phenylphenate: III. Storage tests

Abstract

The present experiment aimed to evaluate the effect of sodium ortho-phenylphenate (SOP) application to in-shell moist peanuts for the control of aflatoxin production. Previous studies showed the need to improve the SOP solution distribution on peanut pods to evaluate the product. Thus, in this experiment the place of the spray system was the bag filler pipe of the pre-cleaning machine in the warehouse. In the 1989 rainy season two lots of 120 bags of in-shell moist peanuts were sprayed with 0.5 and 1% SOP solutions and aflatoxin production was not controlled. In the dry season of 1989 and in the rainy season of 1990, in-shell moist peanuts were sprayed with 5% SOP solution. The coverage of pods with the solution was efficient, allowing a uniform distribution of SOP solution on the pods. The results showed that only the 5.0% concentration of SOP solution utilized controlled the external fungal growth when a naked eye observation was made, however did not control aflatoxin production when applied to in-shell moist peanuts, probably due to the internal presence of Aspergillus flavus and because the fungicide could not penetrate inside to reach the kernels.