Assessment of Triple-Layer Hermetic PICS Bags for Post-Harvest Protection of Chickpea and Pigeonpea

Abstract

Legume grains are prone to both qualitative and quantitative loss due to unconventional field practices and storage conditions. Among grain legumes, pigeonpea and chickpea play a vital economic role in smallholder agricultural systems of the developing world. These are rich source of proteins in a vegetarian diet. The genus Callosobruchus (C. chinensis L. and C. maculatus F.) attacks the pigeonpea and chickpea both under field and storage conditions and cause substantial postharvest loss. Hermetic seed storage has emerged as a sustainable and environmentally safe technology that can effectively replace conventional grain storage systems. This study assessed the protective ability of triple-layer Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags in limiting bruchid infestation and preserving seed quality during storage. To facilitate the experiment, specially designed triple-layer bags with a storage capacity of 2 kg were utilized for storing chickpea and pigeonpea seeds. There were significant differences in percent seed damage, adult emergence and weight loss percent between the jute (68.00 and 82.33), (53.26 and 28.56) and (13.49 and 14.46), respectively and PICS (10.67 and 11.00), (9.93 and 6.45) and (4.33 and 5.86) respectively.