Fruit and vegetable products should be prepared before storing. This will reduce the final product losses and improve the quality of potatoes, carrots, onions and other products. How such training is carried out and what equipment is needed for this, Roman Zlygostev, development manager of Tolsma Technik in Ukraine, told SEEDS in a commentary.

Stage 1

Even before the start of harvesting, farms should prepare vegetable stores for storage. With the soil, with last year's harvest, the soil got into the storage, on which various microorganisms and bacteria live. They can settle on walls, on containers, on the floor, in the ventilation of storage areas. To get rid of them, it is necessary to sanitize the store before storing food. This can be done in several ways. For example, some farmers expose containers in the summer so that they can be exposed to direct sunlight for a while. At the same time, a significant part of microorganisms harmful to potatoes and vegetables disappears. This is a kind of "traditional" method, but there are also modern, more efficient technologies. For example, fully automated container washing machines can be used.

As for the preparation of the storage itself, you need to see if there is dirt and dust on the walls. It is advisable to wash them off. The easiest way to do this is to supply hot water under pressure and flush it all through the channels that should be in the storage facilities. You can also use special disinfectant solutions.

Stage 2

After that, you should test the operation of the fans so that everything works and is ready for storage.

Stage 3

After harvesting, for example potatoes, it enters the receiving hopper. The quality of the technology determines the state of the product entering the storage facility. If, say, there are damaged rollers on the belt along which the potatoes move, when the remains of the soil and tops are removed from it, then the product may be injured. Farmers often do not monitor the condition of the receiving bunkers; soil from past years sticks to them. But as a result of such negligence or damage to the rollers, 1-2% of the potatoes may deteriorate. For large production volumes, losses can amount to thousands of euros.

Stage 4

Then vegetables and potatoes are loaded. At this stage, some farms simply deliver products through conveyors; they fall into containers from a height of about 1.5 meters. And, say, potatoes after harvesting go through a certain stressful stage due to changes in the environment, and damage during loading into the store has an additional trauma effect. To avoid this, modern means should be used, such as cascade fall breakers or conveyor belts with special sensors. These are quite important tools for maintaining the quality of the crop.

Stage 5

When you start loading the storage, the product (onions, potatoes.) Should be dried to get rid of excess moisture that will interfere with good storage. The first stage of drying is when the ventilation in the storage works at full capacity. If the product grew in sandy soils, then this stage is faster. The drying phase can take weeks or several days. It all depends on the conditions in which the potatoes or onions were grown and the conditions at the time of harvest.

Stage 6

The next step is called "treatment." It is worth observing the damage that the crop received during harvest (mechanical cuts, surface injuries, rotting, etc.).

Stage 7

After these basic preparatory steps, it is worth starting to gradually lower the temperature in the storage. The choice of storage temperature depends on the purpose of the potato. Seed material needs some conditions, for processing (potato chips) - others, etc. In general, the temperature should be reduced by no more than half a degree per day. This allows the potatoes to be brought to rest.

Storage conditions

Potatoes for processing should be stored at 6-8 degrees. Table potatoes are kept at a temperature of 3-4 degrees, and seed potatoes - 3 degrees or less. And these are approximate figures, because some farmers are picky about the temperature change by 0.5 degrees. To accurately regulate it, you need a good storage management system. If the temperature is regulated not by a person, but by a computer with the help of special sensors of the internal and external environment, then the result will be better. After all, a person cannot control the system as accurately as a computer.

As for other crops, if potatoes are stored at a temperature of 3 to 8 degrees and a relative humidity of 95%, then onions are stored at a temperature of 0.5 degrees and a humidity of 65 - 67%. For carrots and cabbage, the temperature should also be low (0.5 degrees), and the humidity should be 95% or more.

Potatoes and onions in the conditions of Ukraine (depending on the region) can be stored and provided only with high-quality ventilation. And carrots, beets and cabbage require refrigeration equipment. Refrigeration units are also used for onions and potatoes, but not which regions will only need ventilation.

How to store washed fruits?

During product washing, it is hardware influence. Here it will not do without mechanical damage to the shell. If the protective shell is washed off, the preservation properties of the product deteriorate, the shelf life decreases (from a month, and then it depends on the refrigeration equipment, but better - no more than 2 months). It is important to understand that after washing, any product must be stored in the refrigerator.

Benefits of automated equipment

Many people use storage facilities where equipment is installed that requires human control. With manual control, losses can be up to 15%. If you manage storage using computer equipment, then losses are reduced to 5%. Tolsma Technik supplies just such automated systems.

EastFruit