TY - JOUR
T1 - Nature-inspired wax-coated jute bags for reducing post-harvest storage losses.
AU - Odokonyero, Kennedy
AU - Gallo Junior, Adair
AU - Mishra, Himanshu
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-08-05
Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): BAS/1/1070-01-01
Acknowledgements: The research reported in this publication was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology under award number BAS/1/1070-01-01. The co-authors thank Mr. Sankara Arunachalam (KAUST) for his assistance with the scanning electron microscopy of jute bags; Mr. Xavier Pita, Senior Scientific illustrator, KAUST, for creating Figs. 1 and 7; Dr. Nishan MA for sourcing and preparing the jute bags; Mrs. Juliet Aber for sewing the jute bags used in the seed storage experiment; Prof. Magdi Mousa of the King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, for providing the wheat grains used in this study; and Mr. Firas Atef Baba (KAUST) for providing the jute bags.
PY - 2021/7/29
Y1 - 2021/7/29
N2 - Post-harvest storage of grains is crucial for food and feed reserves and facilitating seeds for planting. Ironically, post-harvest losses continue to be a major food security threat in the developing world, especially where jute bags are utilized. While jute fabrics flaunt mechanical strength and eco-friendliness, their water-loving nature has proven to be their Achilles heel. Increased relative humidity and/or precipitation wets jute, thereby elevating the moisture content of stored seeds and causing fungal growth. This reduces seed longevity, viability, and nutritional value. To address this crucial weakness of jute bags, we followed a nature-inspired approach to modify their surface microtexture and chemical make-up via alkali and wax treatments, respectively. The resulting wax-coated jute bags (WCJBs) exhibited significant water-repellency to simulated rainfall and airborne moisture compared to control jute bags (CJBs). A 2 months-long seed storage experiment with wheat (Triticum aestivum) grains exposed to 55%, 75%, and 98% relative humidity environments revealed that the grains stored in the WCJBs exhibited 7.5-4% lesser (absolute) moisture content than those in the CJBs. Furthermore, WCJBs-stored grains exhibited a 35-12% enhancement in their germination efficacy over the controls. This nature-inspired engineering solution could contribute towards reducing post-harvest losses in the developing world, where jute bags are extensively utilized for grain storage.
AB - Post-harvest storage of grains is crucial for food and feed reserves and facilitating seeds for planting. Ironically, post-harvest losses continue to be a major food security threat in the developing world, especially where jute bags are utilized. While jute fabrics flaunt mechanical strength and eco-friendliness, their water-loving nature has proven to be their Achilles heel. Increased relative humidity and/or precipitation wets jute, thereby elevating the moisture content of stored seeds and causing fungal growth. This reduces seed longevity, viability, and nutritional value. To address this crucial weakness of jute bags, we followed a nature-inspired approach to modify their surface microtexture and chemical make-up via alkali and wax treatments, respectively. The resulting wax-coated jute bags (WCJBs) exhibited significant water-repellency to simulated rainfall and airborne moisture compared to control jute bags (CJBs). A 2 months-long seed storage experiment with wheat (Triticum aestivum) grains exposed to 55%, 75%, and 98% relative humidity environments revealed that the grains stored in the WCJBs exhibited 7.5-4% lesser (absolute) moisture content than those in the CJBs. Furthermore, WCJBs-stored grains exhibited a 35-12% enhancement in their germination efficacy over the controls. This nature-inspired engineering solution could contribute towards reducing post-harvest losses in the developing world, where jute bags are extensively utilized for grain storage.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/670388
UR - http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93247-z
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-021-93247-z
DO - 10.1038/s41598-021-93247-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 34321499
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 11
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
ER -