Effects of long-term storage on the quality of soybean, <i>Glycine max</i> (L.) Merrill, in different containers in southern Nigerian

Abstract

Soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, is one of the five most important legumes in the tropics and provides the protein eaten by most people in the region. One of the major constraints to soybean production is that the seed quality deteriorates rapidly during storage. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of some storage containers on the deterioration of soybean seeds. Results indicate that polythene bag and metal tin were better storage containers than the bamboo bin and clay pot. Soybean stored in polythene bag and metal tin maintained 58.7 – 86.0% germination means at the end of a 12 – month period, unlike soybean stored in bamboo bin and clay pot whose germination means dropped to zero after four months of storage. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between the microbial load in soybeans stored in bamboo bin and clay pot and that of polythene bag and metal tin. Aspergillus and Penicillium were among the microbes recorded. Insect damage among the five cultivars investigated was low, 0.0 – 9.0%. Insect pests recorded were Araecerus fasciculatus (Degeer) (Coleoptera: Anthribidae) and Ephestia cautella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), but none of the cultivars stored in polythene bag and metal tin was infested. At the end of storage, there was a significant decrease (P<0.05) in protein and moisture content in all the containers compared with the protein and moisture content before storage. Thus, polythene bag and metal tin minimized seed deterioration by maintaining germinability to an appreciable level. They are, however, ineffective in preventing reduction in the protein and moisture content of stored soybean.

KEY WORDS: Long-term storage, soybean, storage containers, seed deterioration, germinability.

Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences Vol.11(2) 2005: 165-168