An Overview of Research on the Management of Aflatoxin Contamination of Groundnut

Aflatoxin contamination of groundnut is one of the most important constraints to groundnut production in many countries. It is also of significance in relation to public health and exports (Pettit et al. 1989, Waliyar 1978 and 1990, Wynne et al. 1991). Most countries/institutions give high priority to research on the groundnut af- latoxin problem. Many national agricultural research systems (NARS) in Asia and Africa are faced w i t h this problem because of the difficulty in reducing aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts and groundnut products to an acceptable level for export. The concept of Aflatoxin Working Groups for Asia and Africa will help us to arrive at a better understanding of the actual research orientation of the activities of ICRISAT/NARS in Asia and Africa. This paper gives an overview of aflatoxin research worldwide to allow for better planning of ICRISAT's future activities w i t h NARS partners. A complete review and literature database on the groundnut aflatoxin problem is available at ICRISAT (Mehan et al. 1991)