Abstract

The criteria of wheat quality are as varied as their different uses. Wheat, which is suitable for a particular use / product, may have certain characters that make it entirely unsatisfactory for other purposes. The storage fungi damage the grains in several ways; they reduce the germinability, produce undesirable odor and kernel discoloration, decrease the food value and also produce toxins injurious to the health of consumers. The sub-epidermal mycoflora of stored wheat grains predominantly consisted of ubiquitous mould genera Aspergillus, Alternaria and Penicillium possibly because of their omnipresence, capacity to grow on all possible substrates and a wide range of temperature and humidity. The most frequent species observed in the stored wheat grains of Aspergillus were A. niger and A. fumigates, Alternaria alternata and Pencillium citrinum. Among these the frequency of Alternaria alternata was highest which has the capacity to produce mycotoxin which can contaminate and cause spoilage. The grain losses found in quantity and quality; can be in the form of depletion in seed viability, hardness, color, size and shape, grain weight and various biochemical parameters viz., protein, carbohydrate and vitamins under post harvest storages.

Key words: wheat; post-harvest; storage; sub-epidermal fungi and spoilage.

Nepal Journal of Biotechnology. Jan. 2011, Vol. 1, No. 1 : 9-13