MICOFLORA ASSOCIATED WITH MAIZE GRAINS DURING STORAGE PERIOD

Abstract

Agricultural crops are vulnerable to infections by a wide spectrum of plant pathogens. In today’s marketplace, the increasing complexity and wide distribution chain represent enormous challenges for food production. The increased fungal infection and cross-contamination hazards are associated with the globalization of cereal trade (Waage et al., 2006). Cereals are one of the most important sources of food (FAO, 2002), which have contributed to human nutrition for millennia. However, cereals are exposed to numerous biotic and abiotic stress factors, from cultivation and throughout their life cycle to processing. The grain losses recorded during storage period on worldwide scale according to FAO estimations are between 5-10% of total production. In developing countries, due to reduced possibilities of implementing appropriate technologies, the reported damages during storage period may increase up to 30%. In 2015, the maize grains which are to be stored on an indefinite period of time is affected by the presence of various pests specific to warehouse ecosystem. The paper work presents a study regarding the occurrence and development of specific warehouse micromycetes during the first months of maize storage. Immediately after being deposited, it has been identified the specific micoflora for this period, respectively species of Alternaria, Trichoderma, Cladosporium, Aureobasidium, Cephalosporium, Aspergillus and Fusarium genera. Crop safety and security can be achieved by maintaining climatic factors in stored spaces, thus limiting the populations’ level of contaminating microorganisms.