GROUNDNUT

GROUNDNUT

Post-harvest Operations

- Post-harvest Compendium

GROUNDNUT: Post-harvest Operations

Organization: National Research Centre for Groundnut (ICAR) (.in) Authors: P.C. Nautiyal, Ph.D. (nautiyal@nrcg.guj.nic.in or pnaut@ad1.vsnl.nic.in) Edited by AGSI/FAO: Danilo Mejia, PhD (Technical), Beverly Lewis (Language & Style), Last reviewed: 07/06/2002

Contents

Preface.................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction........................................................................................................................3

1.1 Economic and social impact of groundnut...................................................................3 1.2 World trade ..................................................................................................................7 1.3 Primary products..........................................................................................................9 1.4 Secondary and derived products ................................................................................10 1.5 Requirements for export and quality assurance .........................................................11 1.6 Consumer preferences................................................................................................13 2. Post-Production Operations .............................................................................................14 2.1 Pre-harvest operations................................................................................................15 2.2 Harvesting ..................................................................................................................20 2.3 Threshing ...................................................................................................................23 2.4 Drying ........................................................................................................................28 2.5 Cleaning ..................................................................................................................... 37 2.6 Packaging...................................................................................................................39 2.7 Storage .......................................................................................................................42 2.8 Processing ..................................................................................................................47 2.9 Marketing and policies...............................................................................................75 3. Overall Losses..................................................................................................................77 3.1 Pre-harvest losses due to diseases and pests ..............................................................77 3.2 Losses due to weeds...................................................................................................79 3.3 Drought and yield losses............................................................................................79 3.4 Losses due to nutrient deficiencies ............................................................................79 3.5 Losses due to peg drying............................................................................................79 3.6 Losses in post-production system ..............................................................................80 3.7 Storage losses.............................................................................................................85 4. Storage Pests ....................................................................................................................88 4.1 Major pests species of stored groundnuts ..................................................................88 4.2 Relative status of major pests species ........................................................................91 4.3 Pest control.................................................................................................................92 5. Economic and Social Considerations...............................................................................95 5.1 Overview of costs and losses .....................................................................................96 5.2 Major problems........................................................................................................101 5.3 Gender aspects .........................................................................................................106 5.4 Proposed improvements...........................................................................................109 6. References and Further Readings ..................................................................................115

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Preface

Groundnuts especially those produced in the developing countries have been used traditionally since the origin of humanity. It is rich in oil and protein and has a high-energy value. Developing countries account for nearly 95 percent of world production. Asia accounts for about 70 percent of this amount where the major producers India and China together represent over two-thirds of global output. Other important producers are Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Argentina. In most of the developing countries kernels are used for oil extraction, food and as an ingredient in confectionery products. Following extraction, the residual cake is processed largely for animal feed, but is also used for human consumption. The quality attributes that are important for end uses of groundnut vary among the developed and developing countries. Groundnuts are mainly processed for oil in several developing countries. Even though it is a good protein source, the cake obtained after oil extraction is not utilized to the best advantage. Production of aflatoxin due to the invasion of the fungus Aspergillus flavus to groundnut pod/kernel is a serious problem in the trade of groundnuts in the international market, which has seriously hampered the export business of the developing countries. Therefore, these countries can no longer rely on monoculture in order to support their growing economies. Under current conditions, crop dependency has made producers vulnerable to losses because of the lower prices paid for the pods and kernels. It is, therefore, imperative for them to diversify their production and create added value through processing thereby reducing risks and opening new local and export markets. There is a necessity to investigate new opportunities for the use of groundnut as food and confectionery items. Most of the developing countries have poor drying and storage facilities. Under these conditions the seed loses its quality and viability in storage rapidly. The purpose of this publication is to discuss the importance of the post-production system in developing countries and to suggest suitable curing, drying, storage and processing technologies. Advised methods are especially meant for the smallholder farmers and the most diversified uses of groundnut in confectionery items.

1. Introduction

Groundnut, or peanut, is commonly called the poor man's nut. Today it is an important oilseed and food crop. This plant is native to South America and has never been found uncultivated. The botanical name for groundnut, Arachis hypogaea Linn., is derived from two Greek words, Arachis meaning a legume and hypogaea meaning below ground, referring to the formation of pods in the soil. Groundnut is an upright or prostrate annual plant. It is generally distributed in the tropical, sub-tropical and warm temperate zones. Ethnological studies of the major Indian tribes of South America document the widespread culture of groundnut and provide indirect evidence for its domestication long before the Spanish Conquest. When the Spaniards returned to Europe they took groundnuts with them. Later traders were responsible for spreading the groundnut to Asia and Africa where it is now is grown between the latitudes 40?N and 40?S (Pattee and Young, 1982).

1.1 Economic and social impact of groundnut

China and India together are the world's leading groundnut producers accounting for nearly 60 percent of the production and 52 percent of the crop area. India cultivates about 7.74 million hectares and produces 7.61 million tonnes of groundnut with the productivity level of 991.8 kg ha-1. South Africa is the major producer in Africa, while in Latin America almost one half of the total groundnut produced in that region may be credited to Argentina. Among

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the developing countries Egypt has the highest productivity and capacity to produce groundnuts (Table 1). In most of the developing countries, the productivity levels are lower than in the United States of America, mainly due to a number of production constraints such as i.) the cultivation of the crop on marginal lands under rainfed conditions; ii.) Occurrence of frequent drought stress due to vagaries of monsoon; and iii.) higher incidence of disease and pest attacks; iv.) low input-use and v.) factors related to socio-economic infrastructure.

Table 1. Groundnut (in-shell) area, yield and production in various developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America during the last decade.

Countries Africa Nigeria Sudan Senegal Mozambique Niger Uganda Zimbabwe Mali Tanzania Egypt Asia China India Indonesia Myanmar Vietnam

Area (000 ha)

Yield (t ha-1)

Production (000 t)

1 798

1.1

960

0.69

829

0.83

279

0.39

207

0.37

191

0.73

181

0.50

174

0.90

113

0.62

38

2.70

1 917 663 684 109 83 141 95 155 70 107

3 658

2.6

7 740

0.98

661

1.70

493

1.0

239

1.20

9 737 7 609 1 159 506 302

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