Abstract:
A survey was conducted in the mid and far western mid-hills of Nepal randomly sampling 120 household heads to determine the factors influencing post-harvest maize losses due to pests. Ordinary least squares regression was used to analyze the parameters associated with losses. Results showed that post-harvest maize loss was significantly influenced by time of harvest, altitude, occupation of household head, structures for storing cobs (husked and de-husked) and shelled grains. Farmers who harvested maize cobs before the first week of September and stored shelled grains in jute bags (katto), suffered grains loss by 14% and 5%, respectively. The findings clearly indicated 8%, 6%, 4% and 2% reduction of postharvest losses by growing and storing maize below 800 masl, households with farming occupation, storing de-husked cobs in bamboo basket (dokko) and storing husked cobs in vertical/horizontal wooden or bamboo frames (thakro), respectively. Hence, it is necessary to aware farmers about appropriate harvesting time, storage structures and post harvest handling practices to reduce pest loss in maize storage. |
