ISSN 2736-1756
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research ISSN 2241-9837 Vol. 12 (1), pp. 001-006, January, 2018. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Effect of time and relative humidity on the microbial load and physical quality of cashew nuts (Anacardium occidentale L) under storage
A. A. Onilude1, R. O. Igbinadolor2* and S. M. Wakil1
1Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
2Cocoa Processing and Utilization Unit, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Onigambari, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Accepted 02 October, 2017
Abstract
Post harvest deterioration by microbes due to improper storage condition is considered to be the major cause of spoilage of most seeds like cashew nuts. Roasted cashew nuts were subjected to 4 different storage conditions with different relative humidity of 30, 70, 80 and 90%, respectively, for a period of 12 days. Each storage condition was examined for microbial growth, crispiness, pH changes, moisture content and other parameters. 8 fungal species identified as Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp., Penicillium sp., Trichoderma sp., Botryodiplodia sp., Fusarium compactum, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus ochraceous and 3 bacteria isolates identified as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Staphylococcus sp., were obtained. The most predominantly encountered organisms were fungal isolates of Rhizopus sp and A. niger with percentage frequency of 34.9 and 32.6%.
Key words: Relative humidity, preservation, microbial load.