ASSESSMENT OF STORAGE PRACTICES AND THE INCIDENCE OF FUNGAL INFESTATION ON YAMS STORED IN BARNS IN GWAGWALADA METROPOLIS

The objective of this present study was to assess storage practices and the incidence of fungal infestation on yams stored in barns in Gwagwalada metropolis. Two (2) yam samples with obvious rots were taken from four (4) barns. Each sample was triplicated resulting in a total of twenty-four (24) replicate samples. Physical assessment, qualitative data collection and opinion analysis methodology, and laboratory techniques were employed in this study. From the results, most farmers stored their yam harvest in thatch and brick barns using stacking, floor storage and yam rack method. Most farmers carried out monitoring monthly, biweekly, weekly and a few daily. The varying levels of fungal growth shows the incidence of post harvest fungi in the yam samples. These fungal counts were significantly different across different concentration and storage methods. Furthermore, four fungal species were isolated following their macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. They include: Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., Rhizopus spp. Overall, this study showed a great relationship between storage practices and the incidence of fungal infestation in barns. As barns with little to no effective yam storage and disease management techniques revealed great presence of fungi.