The Effects of Water Stress and Exchangeable Calcium on Pre-Harvest Aflatoxin Concentrations in Groundnut Kernels
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2025.v10.n3.010Keywords:
Aflatoxin, Exchangeable Calcium, Water stress, Pre-harvestAbstract
Zambia is one of the African countries failing to export groundnuts to restricted markets because of high aflatoxin concentrations. Currently, the volume of groundnuts being exported has significantly reduced compared to the period between 1960 and 1970. Since aflatoxin formation starts in the field, aflatoxin mitigation measures must also begin at field-level. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the interactive effects of water stress and exchangeable calcium on pre-harvest aflatoxin content in kernels. Four water moisture levels combined with four levels of gypsum application were applied from flowering to full maturity. The groundnuts were harvested at full maturity and the total biomass and aflatoxin content in kernels were determined. Treatment effects were determined by Analysis of Variance and the non-parametric Kruskal Wallis test at 95% Confidence Interval. Water stress resulted in about 10 folds’ increase in aflatoxin content at the least level of water supply (p = 0.032). There were no significant differences in the distribution of mean pre-harvest total aflatoxin concentrations due to gypsum application (p = 0.274). Similarly, there were no significant differences in the distribution of mean total biomass attributed to both water stress and gypsum application. These results suggest that adequate water supply can help to minimize pre-harvest aflatoxin incidences, while the time and the rates of gypsum applied as a source of calcium may also influence the aflatoxin response to the treatment.
References
Asare Bediako, K., Ofori, K., Offei, S. K., Dzidzienyo, D., Asibuo, J. Y., & Adu Amoah, R. (2019). Aflatoxin contamination of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.): Predisposing factors and management interventions. In Food Control (Vol. 98, pp. 61–67). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.11.020
Aydinsakir, K., Dinc, N., Buyuktas, D., Bastug, R., & Toker, R. (2016). Assessment of Different Irrigation Levels on Peanut Crop Yield and Quality Components under Mediterranean Conditions. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 142(9), 4016034. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001062
Barnett, N. M., & Naylor, A. W. (1966). Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism in Bermuda Grass During Water Stress1’ 2. In Pluuit Plhso (Vol. 1).
Bledsoe, R. W., Comar, C. L., & Harris, H. C. (1949). Absorption of Radioactive Calcium by the Peanut Fruit. Science, 109 2831, 329–330. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:36451494
Chala, A., Mohammed, A., Ayalew, A., & Skinnes, H. (2013). Natural occurrence of aflatoxins in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) from eastern Ethiopia. Food Control, 30(2), 602–605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2012.08.023
Chalwe, H. (2019). Estimating economic yield losses and pre-harvest aflatoxin accumulation associated with drought stress in groundnuts.
Chari, M., Gupta, K., Prasad, T. G., Sastry, K. S. K., & Kumar, M. U. (1986). Enhancement of water status by calcium pretreatment in groundnut and cowpea plants subjected to moisture stress. Plant and Soil, 91(1), 109–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02181823
Cole, R. J., Sanders, T. H., Hill, R. A., & Blankenship, P. D. (1985). Mean geocarposphere temperatures that induce preharvest aflatoxin contamination of peanuts under drought stress. Mycopathologia, 91(1), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00437286
Cotty, P. J., & Jaime-Garcia, R. (2007). Influences of climate on aflatoxin producing fungi and aflatoxin contamination. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 119(1–2), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2007.07.060
Dorner, J. W. (2008). Management and prevention of mycotoxins in peanuts. Food Additives and Contaminants - Part A Chemistry, Analysis, Control, Exposure and Risk Assessment, 25(2), 203–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/02652030701658357
Emara, M., El Deeb, A., & Hamza, A. S. (2004). Effect of Microelements and Calcium Nutrition on Peanut Yellow Mold and Aflatoxin Conten.
Garg, B. K. (1998). Role of Calcium in Plants under Salt Stress. In Annals of Arid Zone (Vol. 37, Issue 2).
Guo, B., Chen, Z. Y., Lee, R. D., & Scully, B. T. (2008). Drought stress and preharvest aflatoxin contamination in agricultural commodity: Genetics, genomics and proteomics. In Journal of Integrative Plant Biology (Vol. 50, Issue 10, pp. 1281–1291). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7909.2008.00739.x
Hendrix, M. C., Obed, I. L., Alice, M. M., Elijah, P., Jones, Y., Samuel, C. N., & Rick, B. (2020). The effects of gypsum on pod-yield and pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination in selected peanut cultivars of Zambia. African Journal of Plant Science, 14(3), 134–138. https://doi.org/10.5897/ajps2019.1807
Hill,’, R. A., Blankenship, P. D., Cole, R. J., & Sanders2, T. H. (1983). Effects of Soil Moisture and Temperature on Preharvest Invasion of Peanuts by the Aspergillus flavus Group and Subsequent Aflatoxin Development. In APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY (Vol. 45, Issue 2). https://journals.asm.org/journal/aem
Jain, M., Pathak, B. P., Harmon, A. C., Tillman, B. L., & Gallo, M. (2011). Calcium dependent protein kinase (CDPK) expression during fruit development in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea) under Ca2+-sufficient and -deficient growth regimens. Journal of Plant Physiology, 168(18), 2272–2277. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2011.07.005
Janpengphat, P., Senthong, C., Meechoui, S., Ingram, K. T., & Mai Sci, C. J. (2014). Calcium in Shell, Seed Coat, and Seed in Relation to Resistance of Peanut Genotypes to Aspergillus flavus Infection. In Chiang Mai J. Sci (Vol. 41, Issue 3). http://epg.science.cmu.ac.th/ejournal/
Jeyaramraja, P. R., Nithya Meenakshi, S., & Woldesenbet, F. (2018). Relationship between drought and preharvest aflatoxin contamination in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). In World Mycotoxin Journal (Vol. 11, Issue 2, pp. 187–199). Wageningen Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.3920/WMJ2017.2248
Jolly, C., Bayard, B., Awuah, R., Fialor, S., & Williams, J. (2009). Examining the structure of awareness and perceptions of groundnut aflatoxin among Ghanaian health and agricultural professionals and its influence on their actions. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 38, 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2008.05.013
Jolly, C. M., Vodouhe, S., Bayard, B., Jolly, P. E., & Williams, J. T. (2016). Benin Groundnut Producers’ Perceptions, Awareness and Action about Aflatoxin.
Mdindikasi, Z., Mwamahonje, A., Mpore, F. J., James, A., & Mahinda, A. (2024). Management practices to mitigate aflatoxin contamination in groundnut: a review. In Cogent Food and Agriculture (Vol. 10, Issue 1). Informa Healthcare. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2024.2366383
Pedzisa, T. (2008). Constraints, Challenges, and Opportunities in Groundnut Production and Marketing in Malawi. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237397977
Rachaputi, N. R., Wright, G. C., & Krosch, S. (2002). Management practices to minimise pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination in Australian peanuts. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 42(5), 595–605. https://doi.org/10.1071/EA01139
Reddy, T. Y., Reddy, V. R., & Anbumozhi, V. (2003). Physiological responses of groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) to drought stress and its amelioration: a critical review.
Reddy, T. Y., Sulochanamma, B. N., Subramanyam, A., & Balaguravaiah, D. (2003). Influence of weather, dryspells and management practices on aflatoxin contamination in groundnut. In Indian Phytopath (Vol. 56, Issue 3).
Ross, S., & de Klerk, M. (2012). Groundnut Value Chain and Marketing Assessment in Eastern Province, Zambia Prepared for the Conservation Farming Unit. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:13253680
Sitko, N. J., Chapoto, A., Kabwe, S., Tembo, S., Hichaambwa, M., Lubinda, R., Chiwawa, H., Mataa, M., Heck, S., & Nthani, D. (2011). FOOD SECURITY RESEARCH PROJECT Technical Compendium: Descriptive Agricultural Statistics and Analysis for Zambia in Support of the USAID Mission’s Feed the Future Strategic Review. http://www.aec.msu.edu/agecon/fs2/zambia/index.htm
Sulochanamma, B. N., Subramanyam, A., Balaguravaiah, D., & Reddy, T. (2001). Influence of different management practices on the aflatoxin contamination in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea). Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 71, 715–716.
Sultana, T., Malik, K., Raja, N. I., Mashwani, Z. U. R., Hameed, A., Ullah, R., Alqahtani, A. S., & Sohail, N. (2024). Aflatoxins in Peanut (Arachis hypogaea): Prevalence, Global Health Concern, and Management from an Innovative Nanotechnology Approach: A Mechanistic Repertoire and Future Direction. In ACS Omega (Vol. 9, Issue 24, pp. 25555–25574). American Chemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c01316
Tembo, M., Lubungu, M., Singogo, F. K., Mwanza, M., Onyango, M., Sakala, P., Selvaggio, M. P., & Berhane, E. (2023). Maize and groundnut crop production among rural households in Zambia: implications in the management of aflatoxins 2 3.
Van Ranst, E., Mees, F., De Grave, E., Ye, L., Cornelis, J. T., & Delvaux, B. (2019). Impact of andosolization on pedogenic Fe oxides in ferrallitic soils. Geoderma, 347, 244–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.04.013
Walker, R. D., & White, D. G. (2001). Inheritance of Resistance to Aspergillus Ear Rot and Aflatoxin Production of Corn from CI2.
Williams, J. H., Phillips, T. D., Jolly, P. E., Stiles, J. K., Jolly, C. M., & Aggarwal, D. (2004). Human aflatoxicosis in developing countries: a review of toxicology, exposure, potential health consequences, and interventions2. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 80(5), 1106–1122. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/80.5.1106
Yu, M., Chen, Y., Liu, Y., Xu, Y., & Wang, B. (2019). Efficient polysaccharides from Crinum asiaticum L.’s structural characterization and anti-tumor effect. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 26(8), 2085–2090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.09.017
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
