The storage of fruits and vegetables is an important component of supply chain in order to control the postharvest losses. These are highly perishable and under normal ambient conditions they respire at faster rates and deteriorate rapidly. The management of temperature and relative humidity are the most important factors determining storage life of horticultural produce. All fruits and vegetables are living tissues; therefore theses have the tendency to continue respiration after harvest. Thus, adequate storage conditions must be maintained to slow down the respiration rate of fruits and vegetables in order to prolong their shelf life.
General DOs and Don’ts for storage of high quality horticultural produce
- Store only high quality produce, free of damage, decay and of proper maturity (not over-ripe or under-mature).
- Know the storage requirements of fruits and vegetables, and follow recommendations for proper temperature, relative humidity and ventilation.
- Avoid lower than recommended temperatures in storage, because many commodities are susceptible to damage from freezing or chilling.
- Don’t store onion or garlic in high humidity environments.
- Cure root, tuber and bulb crops before storage.
- Store crops in a dark room. This is especially important for potatoes, since light will stimulate solanine production (a toxic compound not destroyed by cooking).
- Avoid storing ethylene sensitive commodities with those that produce ethylene.
- Avoid storing produce known for emitting strong odours (apples, garlic, onions, turnips, cabbages, and potatoes) with odour-absorbing commodities.
- Provide adequate ventilation in the storage room.
- Storage facilities should be protected from rodents by keeping the immediate outdoor area clean, and free from trash and weeds.
- Monitor temperature in the storage room by placing thermometers at a variety of locations.
- Inspect stored produce regularly for signs of injury, water loss, damage and disease. Remove damaged or diseased produce to prevent the spread of problems.
Recommended storage temperature/Relative humidity: We should be very careful not to store chilling sensitive crops at low temperature. Damage symptoms will usually show up within a few days after of low temperature storage.
Symptoms of chilling injury: The symptoms of chilling injury are mentioned here under. It is always advised that produce should be stored at its recommended lowest safe temperature.
Storage of compatible groups:
- Store only those fruits and vegetables together, which have same temperature and RH requirement.
- Some of the crops produce odours or ethylene, should be kept away from commodities sensitive to these compounds.
Kashika Mahajan is an M.Tech. in Processing & Food Engineering from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Her area of research interests are precooling, storage and postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables. Currently she is working as Asstt. Manager in Global AgriSystem Private Ltd Gurugram.
Dr. Swati Kapoor is working as Food Technologist at Punjab Horticultural Postharvest Technology Centre, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. She is actively involved in Research, Extension and Teaching activities and has published about 25 Research Papers, in National and International Journals of repute. Her research thrust area is processing of fruits and vegetables and waste utilization aspects.
Dr. BVC Mahajan is specialized in postharvest horticulture and has more than 30 years of experience in research on packaging, storage and ripening of fruits and vegetables. He has developed several protocols for export and distant marketing of fruits and vegetables and published 130 research papers in peer reviewed Journals. Currently, he is serving as the Director of Punjab Horticultural Postharvest Technology Centre at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
