Cereals are the World's basic staple food and provide much of the energy and protein for many populations. In the developing world, three quarters of all seed planted is derived from stocks maintained on-farm by farmers. Although these stocks provide farmers with a degree of food security, they are susceptible to losses or damage caused by insects, rodents, fungal attack, environmental changes, some of which are exacerbated by market forces and political interventions, which destabilize grain production and markets. Commercial grain stock-holders and processors are also subjected to the same spectrum of loss-causing agents.

 

Maize drying in sub-Saharan Africa © University of Greenwich

NRI has a long history of research, development, consultancy and training in the post harvest storage, processing and utilisation of tropical and temperate cereals, - wheat, rice, maize, sorghum and millets - and grain legumes in traditional and novel food and animal feed systems. Areas of research expertise include entomology, biology, chemistry, toxicology, engineering, food technology, socio-economics and marketing.

Key research areas

Cereal Storage

• Improvements in pest management systems for farm and central storage including the design and implementation of rodent control programmes, reduction in the use of synthetic insecticides and their replacement with botanicals or inert dusts. Alternatives for fumigant methyl bromide.
• Investigation of insect behaviour in relation to pest management, especially the use of insect pheromones and attractants, and selection of grain varieties according to insect resistance.
• Quality grading systems, packaging and insect attack and grain store design and store environment management.
• Seed storage and control of grain quality in international aid shipments

Fungal Toxins

• The development of sampling plans and methodologies for the determination of mycotoxins in cereal based products from farm to ship consignments.
• The occurrence and distribution of fungal toxins in field maize and stored maize stover.

Without good storage practice, cereal grain can be seriously damaged by insects and other pests © University of Greenwich

Cereal Processing

• Improving the quality and market acceptability of par-boiled rice produced by rural technologies found in developing countries.
• Factors affecting the utlisation of small grains (sorghum and millets) in food systems

Staff

Dr. Rick Hodges

Projects

A0737 Inert dusts as grain protectants

A0826 Botanical grain protectants

A0827 Impact of rodents on household food security

A0883 IPM for larger grain borer

C0600 Development of sampling plan for the detection of aflatoxins in animal feeds

A0370 Aflatoxin sampling plans

A0921 Improving rice parboiling efficiency (Ghana)

A0529 Development of manual sorghum dehuller

Publications

Farrell, G [submitted] Dispersal, phenology and abundance of the larger grain borer in different environments. African Crop Science Journal.

Birkinshaw, L.A., and Smith, R.H., (2000). Function of aggregation pheromone in the larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus: Variation in response to individuals as evidence for a role in sexual selection. Journal of Chemical Ecology 26(6): 1325-1339.

Brice, J.R. and Golob, P. (2000) Fumigation with phosphine and carbon dioxide in metal grain tanks for on-farm use in Swaziland. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 76: 17-26.

Gudrups, I., Floyd, S., Kling, J. G., Bosque-Perez, N. A. and Orchard, J. E. (2000). A comparison of Two Methods of Assessment of Maize Varietal Resistance to the Maize Weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, and the Influence of Kernel Hardness and Size on Susceptibility. Journal of Stored Products Research. Amended draft accepted by Journal.

Hodges, R.J., A.J. Hall, Jayaraj, K., Jaiswal P., Potdar N. and Yogand B. 2000 Quality Changes In Farm-Stored Grain Produced In The Rainy And Post-Rainy Seasons In South India - A technical and social study. Proceeding of the 19 ASEAN Postharvest Meeting. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 9-12 November 1999. ACIAR Proceedings 100: 333-344. ISBN 0 642 44939 2

Likhayo, P.W. and Hodges, R.J. (2000) Field monitoring Sitophilus zeamais and Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) using refuge and flight traps baited with synthetic pheromone and cracked wheat. Journal of Stored Products Research 36(4): 341-353.

Navi, M., R. Bandypadyo, A.J. Hall, Bramel-Cox, P. 2000 An Identification Manual For Species Of Grain Mould Infecting Sorghum In India. Information Bulletin No 59. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics 118pp. ISBN 92-9066-416-9

Belmain, S.R., Golob, P., Andan, H.F. & Cobbinah (1999) Ethnobotanicals - Future prospects as post-harvest insecticides. Agro Food Industry Hi-tech. 10:34-36

Cobbinah, J.R., Moss, C., Golob, P. and Belmain, S.R. (1999) Conducting Ethnobotanical Surveys: an example from Ghana on plants used for the protection of stored cereals and pulses. NRI Bulletin # 77. Chatham, UK: Natural Resources Institute. ISBN 0859545024

Compton, J.A.F., Floyd, S., Acquaye, K. and Boxall R. Comparison of three types of pheromone-baited flight trap for the Larger Grain Borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn). Insect Sci. Applic. 17(2): 205-211

Golob, P., Andan, H.F., Atarigiya, J. and Tran, B.M.D, 1999. On-farm storage losses of cowpea and bambara groundnut in Northern Ghana. in Stored Product Protection, Proceedings of the 7th International Working Conference on Stored-Product Protection, 14-19 October 1998, Beijing, China. 2: 1367-1375. Sichuan Publishing House of Science & Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Haines, C.P., Perfect, T.J. & Rothschild, G. (1999) Rice for the next millennium: realizing the potential. Opening keynote address to the International Symposium on Mechanised Rice Production & Marketing, 13-17 September 1999, Georgetown, Guyana.

Hodges R.J. (1999) Decision making tools for more cost-effective pest management in milled rice bag-stores. In: Decision Tools for Sustainable Development. Grant I.F. and Sear C. (eds) Chatham, UK: Natural Resources Institute.

Hodges, R.J. (1999) Biological control methods for insect pests of stored grain in the tropics - constraints and prospects for developing countries. In: Stored Product Protection, Proceedings of the 7th International Working Conference on Stored-Product Protection, 14-19 October 1998, Beijing, China. 2: 1193-1204.

Hodges, R.J., Birkinshaw, L.A. and Smith, R.H. (1999) Host selection or mate selection? Lessons from Prostephanus truncatus, a pest poorly adapted to stored products. In: Stored Product Protection, Proceedings of the 7th International Working Conference on Stored-Product Protection, 14-19 October 1998, Beijing, China. 2: 1788-1794.

Hodges, R.J., Carr, P. and Hussein, A.I. (1999) Limiting the amount of pesticide applied to small bulks of maize in rural stores. In: Stored Product Protection, Proceedings of the 7th International Working Conference on Stored-Product Protection, 14-19 October 1998, Beijing, China.1: 956-963.

Sulehrie, M.A.Q., Golob, P., Moss, C. and Tran, B.M.D, 1999. The oviposition and development of a Pakistani biotype of Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) on different host legumes. in Stored Product Protection, Proceedings of the 7th International Working Conference on Stored-Product Protection, 14-19 October 1998, Beijing, China. 1: 43-50. Sichuan Publishing House of Science &

Fungal toxins

Coker, R, Nagler, M, Defize, P, Derksen, G, Buchholz, H, Putzka, H, Hoogland, H and Roos A (2000) The development of sampling plans for the determination of aflatoxin B1 in animal feedingstuffs. Journal of Association of Official Analytical Chemists International 83: 1252-1258.

Engler, K H, Coker, R D and Evans, I H (2000). Uptake of aflatoxin B1 and T-2 toxin by two mycotoxin bioassay microorganisms: Kluyveromyces marxianus and Bacillus megaterium. Archives of Microbiology 174: 381-385.

Engler, K, Coker, R and Evans, I (2000). Toxin-binding properties of cytochrome P450 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces marxianus. Biotechnology Letters 22: 3 -8.

Dawlatana, M, Coker, R, Nagler, M, Gibbs, J and Blunden, G (1999) An HPTLC method for the quantitative determination of T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol in rice. Chromatographia 49 (9/10): 547-551.

Engler, K, Coker, R and Evans, I (1999). A Colorimetric Technique for Detecting Trichothecenes and assessing Relative Potencies. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65: 1854-1857.

Engler, K, Coker, R, and Evans, I (1999) A novel colorimetric yeast bioassay for detecting trichothecene mycotoxins. J. Microbiol. Methods 35, 207-218.
Twiddy, D.R. & Wareing, P.W. 1999 Spoilage of plant products, cereals and cereal flours. In Encyclopaedia of Food Microbiology. (eds Robinson, R.K., Batt, C.A. & Patel, P.D.) pp2045-2050. Academic Press, London. ISBN 0-12-227070-3

Dawlatana, M, Coker, RD, Nagler, MJ, Blunden, G and Oliver, WO (1998). An HPTLC method for the quantitative determination of zearalenone in maize. Chromatographia 47: 215-218.

Nagler, M., Buangsuwon, D., Jewers, K., Faungfupong, S., Wong-urai, A., Nagler, C., and Tanboon-ek, P. (1998). The role of leaving maize unharvested in the field after field maturity (field drying) in controlling aflatoxin contamination. Mycotoxin Prevention and Control in Foodgrains, Ed. Semple, R. L., Frio, A. S., Hicks, P. A., and Lozare, J. V. Published by UNDP/FAO

Nagler, M., Meadley, J., Cutler, M. (1998). Mycotoxins in grain in selected countries: The UK-Thai Maize Project. Mycotoxin Prevention and Control in Foodgrains, Ed. Semple, R. L., Frio, A. S., Hicks, P. A., and Lozare, J. V. Published by UNDP/FAO

Yeo, S, Coker, R, Nagler, M and Blunden, G (1998). Determination of aflatoxins in maize by minicolumn analysis. Poster presentation at the IBMS Biomedical Science Congress, Birmingham, UK, 23-25 September. British Journal of Biomedical Sciences 55: 84-85.

Dawlatana, M., Coker, M. D., Nagler, M. J., Blunden, G. (1996). A Normal Phase HPTLC Method for the Quantitative Determination of Ochratoxin A in Rice. Chromatographia 42 (1/2):, 25-28

Cereal/legume processing

Swetman AA (1999). (Ed) Improving the use of sorghum in Tanzania. Workshop Proceedings, Arusha, Tanzania June 1999. Pp 100

Wang, N., Lewis, M.J. Brennan, J.G. and Westby, A. (1997) Effect of processing methods on nutrients and anti-nutritional factors in cowpea. Food Chemistry 58(4): 59-68

Wang, N., Lewis, M.J. Brennan, J.G. and Westby, A. (1997) Optimisation of germination process of cowpea by response surface methodology. Food Chemistry 58(4): 329-339.

Graffham, A.J., Gordon, M.H., Westby, A. and Owens, J.D. (1995) Nutrition of tempe moulds. Letters in Applied Microbiology 21: 223-227.

Pike, V. (1994) Impact of milling degree on Liposcelis paetus population growth rate and assessment of milled rice weight loss due to infestation. Crop Protection 13(6): 425-428.