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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Dawson, Georgia » National Peanut Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #222885
Title: Dome Storage of Farmer Stock Peanuts

Author
item Butts, Christopher - Chris
item Lamb, Marshall
item Dorner, Joe
item Sanders, Timothy

Submitted to: American Peanut Council Meeting
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2008
Publication Date: 1/28/2008
Citation: Butts, C.L., Lamb, M.C., Dorner, J.W., Sanders, T.H. 2008. Dome Storage of Farmer Stock Peanuts. American Peanut Council Meeting.

Interpretive Summary: A three-year study was conducted to look at the effects of storing peanuts through the summer months following harvest. Peanuts were stored in conventional warehouses and in monolithic concrete domes. Peanut value and quality were assessed before and after storage. This three-year study showed that farmer stock peanuts may be stored well into the summer following harvest, but significant changes in value can result. Following the recommendations for headspace ventilation and aeration will result in minimal deterioration in peanut value based on kernel size. Seed quality decreased considerably during the storage through the summer months because of the high temperatures. Peanuts stored in the domes maintained at 60 F had the highest seed germination, but would prove cost prohibitive.

Technical Abstract: The small-scale farmer stock storage research facility at the National Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, GA consisting of four warehouses and four monolithic domes was used to conduct a 3-yr study looking at the effects of storing peanuts through the summer months following harvest. The study was conducted over three crop years, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Peanuts were dug, harvested and cured according to conventional practice. The peanuts were stored for and average of 265 d after harvest each year. All peanut samples were analyzed by cleaning and shelling the entire sample. Percent foreign material (FM), loose shelled kernels (LSK), and pods were calculated. After shelling, the peanut kernels were separated into commercial size categories of jumbo, medium, No. 1, splits, and oil stock. The shelled kernels were further divided for various qualitative tests including germination, percent free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide values (PV), and aflatoxin contamination. Grouping the storage structure according to storage structure and aeration/ventilation regimes showed no difference among the conventional warehouses due to aeration or ventilation patterns. Comparison over the three-year test showed that the peanuts stored in the aerated domes and the conventional warehouses decreased approximately 1.5% in value. This change in was less than the decrease in value of either the chilled dome (7%) or the low oxygen atmosphere (3.5%).No change in aflatoxin contamination occured during storage except in the 2006 peanuts stored in the low oxygen domes. Aflatoxin levels exceeded 20 ppb in 6 out of 14 samples from the was most likely due to moisture migration to the core of the peanut mass while the domes were sealed and prior to reduction in oxygen levels. Storage conditions also affect the viability of seed. During the three-year study, seed germination ranged from 4 to 95%. Storage structure had significant effects on the percent seed germination. There were no significant differences in germination of peanuts among the warehouses (78%), aerated (68%) and chilled (82%) domes. However, the peanuts stored in the low oxygen atmosphere germinated at a rate of 35% most likely due to exposure to excessive temperatures.