Touroumgaye Goalbaye^1,, Serferbe Signaboubo¹, Alhadj Markhous Nazal¹, Esaie Waya¹, Grâce Yassi Solo¹

In Chad, maize and groundnut crops are faced with the proliferation of mycotoxins, particularly aflatoxins. The aim of the study is to determine aflatoxins in maize and groundnut and to design a simplified approach to practices to reduce aflatoxin contamination. A survey of cultivation practices likely to contribute to contamination was carried out using a form sent to growers. Followed by analysis of aflatoxins in maize and peanut samples, using the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technique. The survey showed that 45% of growers harvest maize in October. Groundnuts are harvested in October by 39% of growers. The survey revealed that 33% of growers dry maize for two weeks, while 11% of growers dry maize intermittently for more than three weeks. The result showed that 56% of producers dry peanuts for two weeks. The results showed that 56% of maize dryers use tarpaulins, while 26% dry on the ground. The survey showed that 82% of groundnut drying was done on tarpaulins and 6% on the ground. Samples from maize batch M6 recorded a high total aflatoxin content of 380.83 µg/kg, followed by samples from batches M1 and M9. Low aflatoxin levels were observed in samples from lots M8 (1.05µg/kg), M7 (2.10µg/kg). Peanut lot A9 samples recorded high aflatoxin levels (≥ 5.73µg/kg), followed by lot A2 samples with an aflatoxin level of 2.48µg/kg. Low levels were observed in samples from lots A10 (0.51 µg/kg), A5 and A6 (0.52 µg/kg). Seed treatment with fungicides and harvesting at the end of winter, 14-day drying on tarpaulins and storage in warehouses is proposed to reduce aflatoxin contamination of maize and groundnuts.

maize, peanut, aflatoxins, contamination, cultivation practices, Chad