Deteriorative changes of maize, groundnut and soybean seeds by fungi in storage

This paper deals with investigations on fungal infection, moisture content, germinability and deterioration of three seeds, viz., maize (starchy), groundnut (oily) and soybean (proteinaceous) in storage at the locality of Santiniketan, West Bengal, India, under natural condition for 1 year. The airspora of storage environment was trapped using culture plate method. Different species of Aspergillus (A. candidus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, and A. ruber) were dominant followed by Rhizopus, Penicillium, Curvularia, Fusarium, Alternaria, etc. Seed moisture was maximum in the rainy season followed by a gradual decrease during longer storage. A gradual decrease in field fungi with simultaneous increase in storage fungi accompanied by a reduction in germinability occurred in all seeds as storage proceeded. A gradual loss of carbohydrate (both soluble and insoluble) content in all the seeds were recorded. A loss of protein content was recorded followed by a small increase. Oil content decreased in prolonged storage with simultaneous increase in fatty acid.