Quality management in the post-harvest of peanuts as a tool to competitiveness

Abstract

The quality of peanuts as a function of factors linked to the production chain and the edaphoclimatic conditions of cultivation may be preserved or decreased in harvest and post-harvest stages. Current analysis evaluated the quality of peanuts produced under different postharvest techniques in four regions in the state of Paraná, Brazil, and discusses the interaction of environmental factors and fruit harvesting and postharvest practices in quality management. So that factors directly or indirectly involved in quality conditioning could be identified, peanuts were submitted to two forms of postharvest processing (rational and traditional) with two treatments for each cultivation environment in a completely randomized design, in a factorial scheme with five replications. Grain from peanuts lots were evaluated for the physical and sanitary quality of fruits before and during storage in permeable and impermeable packages. The qualitative potential of peanuts was lower in the traditional process. The climatic conditions at harvest favored fungi Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus, whilst contamination by aflatoxin was higher in the traditional process. The use of appropriate techniques in the post-harvest (rational process) favored quality preservation, with positive results in the management of the chain. The above proved to be effective to mitigate the climatic vulnerability of peanut producers in the state of Paraná, Brazil. The practice of the rational process was more favorable to the conservation of the quality of stored peanuts. Permeable and waterproof packaging did not maintain the quality of peanut grains in storage.