Abstract
Hot and humid weather of Bangladesh favors high growth of insect and
causes both qualitative and quantitative losses of stored paddy in traditional
storage technologies influences farmers to look for its alternative. Hermetic
bag (HB) controls insect infestation results minimum storage loss and
maximum germination of stored paddy. The objective of the study was to find
out appropriate paddy storage technology at small farmers level in
Bangladesh. Eleven storage technologies namely, Dole, Motka, Tin, Plastic
Drum, Gunny Bag, Bamboo Gola, Dhari, Bamboo Auri, Berh, Steel Drum, and
Plastic Bag were identified. Among these, Dole and Plastic Bag for
consumption, and Motka and Plastic Drum were found suitable for paddy
seed storage. Only 15-22% farmers used botanicals i.e. Neem, Biskatali and
Nishinda leaf as biopesticide during storage. BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan49
were replicated thrice in technical and financial evaluation of HB i.e. GrainPro
and PICS Bags and compared with Dole, Plastic Bag, Motka and Plastic Drum
in Boro and Aman seasons in Mymensingh and Jashore districts. Moisture
content and storage loss were increased by 4 and 6%, respectively and
germination reduced by 30% in traditional storage compared to HВ.
Angoumois grain moth, Rice weevil, Red flour beetle and Lesser meal worm
were observed in traditionally stored paddy in Boro and Aman seasons. The
highest germination (292%) was recorded in stored paddy in HB, followed by
Plastic drum (~80%) and <70% in Dole and Motka. Storage loss can be reduced
by 6% and 5% in HB and Plastic drum, respectively over traditional storage.
Higher benefit cost ratio (BCR) and financial gain can be attained storing
paddy in Plastic Drum for consumption and seed storage in HB. Water vapor
transmission rate was recorded 0.07, 0.09 and 0.51 g/m²-day in GrainPro,
PICS and available seed bags. GrainPro and PICS bags were found as
hermetic since O2 and CO2 were maintained about 4 and 13%, respectively till
28 days of storage that ensure quality of paddy seed while locally available
seed bags had not showed such trait. Artificial neural network model was
developed to predict stored paddy quality in MATLAB 2015 and found
compatible (R=0.82) to real time observation. About 97% farmers adopt HB in
the study areas. Adoption of HB was significantly related to farm size,
education, annual income, and farming experience. It is women friendly
technology. Price of HB is high, ranked as the top most problem followed by
its unavailability in different sizes locally. HB eliminated the need of
chemicals or fumigation in paddy storage. Considering technical know-how
and economic benefits, HB and Plastic drum were recommended in paddy
storage for seed and consumption purposes, respectively in Bangladesh.
Therefore, HB is an appropriate alternative option for paddy storage at
famers' level.