If a farmer or a large producer of fruit and vegetable products does not sell them almost immediately after harvesting, it is worth taking care of storage space. Even if the farm has a well-equipped storage facility, there are nuances that can prevent the product from being kept in good condition. For example, a change in temperature or stopping the operation of ventilation equipment for a long time can lead to an inevitable loss of the quality characteristics of potatoes, onions, carrots or cabbage. An ideal product requires ideal conditions. What should be taken into account during long-term storage of fruit and vegetable products, Andrey Marushchak, Commercial Director of Van Dyck Technics, told SEEDS.

Van Dyck Technics is a company that has been supplying leading Dutch technologies for storing onions, garlic and other vegetables, potatoes, freezing berries, etc. for 30 years. It has been operating on the Ukrainian market since 2007.

Not all deviations in the storage of fruits and vegetables lead to losses. So, for example, a temperature rise in a vegetable store does not always entail a loss of production – it all depends on the range of temperature fluctuations.

“If it is + -1 degrees, then, as a rule, such changes do not greatly affect anything. If we are talking about more significant fluctuations, then the impact on products will be significant. Especially such changes are reflected, for example, in the state of carrots, because they are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Of course, for all types of fruit and vegetable products, noticeable changes in temperature are quite critical, but fluctuations within reasonable limits will not have a significant effect," notes Andrei Marushchak.

Arrangement of storage places, first of all, depends on the culture that will be placed in the storage. When it comes to carrots, cabbage or beets, special refrigeration equipment is needed.

"It does not have to be a technique with mega-power – all that is needed is correct calculation, air exchange, control of humidity levels, etc. If we are talking about potatoes or onions, then these products feel good in storages without refrigeration equipment until the end of March." , – says the specialist.

Storage conditions vary not only depending on the product, but also depending on its variety. For example, seed potatoes are not stored in the same way as tubers for processing.

“Seed and table potatoes are stored at a temperature of +4 degrees. Some varieties are recommended to be stored at a temperature of +3 degrees. A lower temperature is not needed, since potatoes are a living organism. At a temperature of +2 degrees, it begins to "breathe" very intensively. As for potatoes, which are intended for processing into "fries" or chips, they are most often stored at a temperature of +7. However, there are varieties that the originators recommend storing at +9 degrees. These requirements are due to the fact that after storage at lower temperatures, during frying, starch turns into sugar and can give a dark color. This makes the fries and chips visually unattractive. That is, non-observance of the temperature regime in this case does not affect the taste characteristics, but changes the appearance of the product. The consumer will not buy chips that are blackened,” says the commercial director of Van Dyck Technics.

Some farmers are trying to save on energy and do not install automatic ventilation in the storage facilities. This move is perfectly acceptable in some cultures, but can be fatal in others.

“The storage system for potatoes and onions is the ventilation system. Everything else is additional options. It is possible to store potatoes and onions without a cooling system, but without ventilation it is impossible. If we are talking about cabbage, carrots or beets, then the storage facilities for them must have a cooling system. And ventilation there is optional, which can work according to certain parameters – it can be turned on by a carbon dioxide sensor or by a timer. Its task is to remove breath products from the storage room. But many manufacturers do not install such ventilation, because they believe that it is enough to open the storage door every few days and the breath products will come out. This is not true. Of course, such products will be stored in a better quality if the ventilation system is equipped. I should note that the Dutch use the term “not saved” if the losses for a storage period of 6-8 months are more than 6-8%, provided that quality products are loaded,” says Andrei Maruschak.