Hermetic storage with plastic sealing to reduce insect infestation and secure paddy seed quality: A powerful strategy for rice farmers in Mozambique

Rice is the world's most important staple food and the basis of the diet of the majority of the population. In small farm agriculture, the yields obtained in cereal production are usually low and losses, both in the field and during storage, are dramatically high, particularly in developing countries. In Mozambique, these aspects, together with an increased frequency of floods, are hindering advances in rice production. Aimed at contributing to the reduction of losses in stored rice, trials were carried out to compare the effectiveness of traditional raffia bags and of hermetic storage using single and double plastic bags concerning quantitative losses and seed quality, including germination potential, after three and six months of storage. Pest identification, insect populations estimates, percentage of weight loss, germination power and seedling vigor were evaluated. The results showed that, in descending order of density, Angoumois grain moth (Sitotroga cerealella Olivier), lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica F.), rice/maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Mostch. and Sitophilus oryzae L.) and red flour beetle [Tribolium castaneum (Herbst)] were the main insects infesting the rice. When compared to hermetic storage with both single and duplicate airtight bags, traditional storage presented statistically significant higher mean infestation density (30.63-53.94 individuals/kg in traditional and 0.71-3.50 individuals/kg in hermetic storage) and percentage of weight loss (3.03-3.44% in traditional contrasting with 0.27-0.47% in hermetic conditions). In traditional storage a significant 38.25% drop in the germination potential was also observed, attaining values below the established minimum tolerated in Mozambique (80%), while under hermetic storage, that reduction remained within the acceptable values of 13.9-17.5%. The distinct storage methods did not produce significant differences on the moisture content of the grain. These results demonstrate that the use of hermetic storage has resulted in a safe, pesticide-free, and sustainable storage method, suitable for rice seeds, with advantages over traditional bagging. The results presented here lead to propose hermetic storage to be adopted by paddy small farmers, in order to lever food security and income generation in the country.