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Though several maize varieties have been developed and introduced over the years in Ghana, farmers still face challenges of access to quality seed maize. Among the major constraints is lack of proper drying systems to quarantee quality of seed produced. Peculiar to most parts of Africa, drying of maize in the open, on bare ground along shoulders of roads is still a common practice in Ghana. In this study, a 5-tonne capacity solar biomass hybrid dryer was developed for drying maize for seed and food/feed in Ghana. Effect of drying air temperature in the dryer on the physiological quality and germination of maize kernels was investigated. Maize grains were dried in the open sun simulating farmers practice and using the dryer at 4 varying levels (L1, L2, L3 and L4) with corresponding heights (0.6m, 1.2m, 1.8m and 2.4m) respectively. Harvested maize at 22.8% moisture content was dried at the varying levels until reaching overall mean moisture content of 12.8 ± 0.2% (wb). Results showed that, drying air temperatures in the dryer increased in accordance with height with lowest mean temperature of 44.4 ± 4.6°C recorded at L1 and mean maximum of 52.8 ± 5.4 °C at L4. The increase in drying temperature at L4 increased kernel stress crack index by an average of 14% and reduced germination by 33%. However, drying temperatures at L1-L3 and in the open sun had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the germination potential of maize grains. This satisfies the dryer’s potential to be used for drying maize grains for high quality seed production on commercial scale.

Maize is a staple food in Ghana where there is ever increasing demand for its use to also support poultry and livestock production. However, post-harvest loss of maize is high in Ghana. This study evaluated the effectiveness of plastic and steel bins as bulk storage structures to reduce maize post-harvest loss in Ejura, Ghana during the period from February 2016 to January 2017. Maize pre-disinfested with a solar biomass hybrid dryer was stored in the following treatments: i. a white 7-ton plastic bin filled with untreated maize, ii. agreen 7-ton plastic bin filled with untreated maize, iii.a 6-ton Kikapu steel bin filled with untreated maize, iv. six 50-kg polypropylene (PP) bags filled with maize treated with Betallic Super (80 g pirimiphos-methyl and 15 g permethrin per liter as an emulsifiable concentrate (EC)), and v. six 50-kg PP bags filled with untreated maize ascontrol. Moisture content, insect pests, insect damaged kernels (IDK), grain weight loss, aflatoxin and fumonisin levels data were collected monthly. Sitophilus zeamais, Tribolium castaneum, Cathartus quadricollis, and Cryptolestes ferrugineus were the dominant insect species collected from maize samples. At the end of 12 months of storage, % IDK in the control was >17% while IDK values in the other treatments were

Maize post-harvest losses are perennial in Ghana but reliable comparative information on on-farm losses of maize produced in the Middle and Northern Belts of Ghana is lacking. Two studies were conducted from September 2015 to February 2016 to identify factors contributing to on-farm losses of maize in these two Belts. In the Northern Belt, the study was conducted in six communities including Adubiyili, Diari, Pong-Tamale, Savelugu, Toroyili and Zamnayili; and in the Middle Belt, in Ejura, Sekyedumase and Amantin communities. Moisture content, percent weight loss, percent insect damaged kernels (IDK) on numerical basis (%IDKnb) and percent IDK by weight basis (%IDKwb), insect pest abundance, and mycotoxin levels were estimated. Moisture content values of maize at pre-harvest and heaping stages in all nine communities were below 15%. Sitophilus zeamais, Sitotroga cerealella, Cathartus quadricollis, and Carpophilus dimidiatus were found to attack maize onfarm in communities in the Middle Belt, but no adult insect pests were collected on pre-harvested maize in the Northern Belt. The %IDKnb values on-farm in all nine communities were < 2% per 250 g. Mean aflatoxin levels below 15 ppb were obtained from pre-harvested maize in both regions but levels above 15 ppb were obtained from heaped maize on-farm. Fumonisin levels of maize were below 4 ppm on pre-harvested and in heaped maize in both regions. Results show that heaping maize on-farm increases aflatoxin levels beyond the acceptable threshold level and should not be practiced.