STORAGE STRUCTURES

A. GRAIN STORAGE
Parameters
To be able to achieve the objectives of crop conditioning and storage, the store must satisfy
the following parameters in so far as possible:
a) the grain must be kept dry;
b) the grain should be kept at a uniform temperature;
c) the grain should be protected from insect attack;
d) rodents and birds should be excluded.

There are however, situations when the storage is considered quite separately from drying,
ranging from the storage of naturally dried crops, to the storage of grain from a continuous
flow or batch dryer.

The size and type of storage facilities is likely to be dictated by:

i. Total volume of crop to be stored.
ii. The storage requirements for the crop to be stored.
iii. The unit cost of various types of storage.
iv. The form in which the crop is stored, i.e. cob maize vs shelled maize or bagged wheat
vs bulk wheat.

The volume of the store required can be estimated from the expected yield and the land area.
A comparison between different forms of storage is normally done through calculation of
costs/tonne of capacity. The form of storage depends not only on how the crop is harvested,
the volume and the way it is delivered to the market, but also the overall costs.

Where drying is a problem bag storage has the advantage that it allows higher moisture
content than bulk storage. For maize, the requirement for safe storage is maximum 15% and
minimum 12% moisture content, respectively. In general terms the advantages and
disadvantages of bag and bulk storage respectively, are:

Table 1: Comparison of bag and bulk storage of grains.

Bags Bulk

− Flexibility of storage − Inflexible storage

− Partly mechanizable − Mechanizable

− Slow handling − Rapid handling

− Considerable spillage − Little spillage

− Low capital costs − High capital costs

− High operating costs − Low operating costs

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 − Easy inspection − Inspection more difficult

Design a bag storage structure

Sample problem 1: Design a bag storage structure for storing 250 tonnes of paddy. Assume
reasonable data where necessary.
Solution: Design capacity of the storage structure = 250 T = 250,000kg
Capacity of a bag of 100 *60*30 cm (75 kg of paddy)
Hence, Number of bags = 250,000/75 = 3340
Size of stack: Let there be 10 bags in length and 10 bags in width in a stack.
No of bags/layer = 10*10= 100 If there are 12 layers in a stack, total number of bags/stack.
=100*12 = 1200
Hence, the no of stack required = 3340/1200 = 2.78 =3 (approx…)
Space required by each stack: Length = (10*1.0) = 10 m, width = (10*0.6) = 6 m and Height
= (12*0.3) = 3.6 m
The clear distance between the walls and ends of the stack = 0.8 m
The clear distance between the stack = 2.0 m
Hence, the length of the floor = (3*6.0) + (2*2.0) + (2*0.8) = 23.6 m
And the width of the floor = (10*1.0) + (2*0.8) = 11.6 m
Therefore,
The overall dimension of the go downs may be taken as 24.0 m * 12.0 m.
The height of the walls may be kept as 3.0 m above the floor level.
Sample problem 2: Design a bag storage structure for storing 300 T of paddy grain. Assume
the necessary details.

Improved traditional bins

Many traditional stores perform excellently in their appropriate climatic conditions and others
can be made to do so with minor changes. Efforts should be made to prevent cracks in the
surface of the walls and to seal the entrance to the bin. This can be done for instance by
adding lime or cement to the mud (i.e. a stabilized soil technique) or by incorporating an
airtight lining (e.g. plastic) in the wall.

The major improvements are:

 Floor raised from the ground to avoid moisture.
 Supporting legs of hardwood made 90cm long and equipped with baffles to keep rats
away.
 Instead of mud the walls may be plastered with cement or mud mixed with
cement/lime.
 Inlets and outlets should be made with airtight and lockable covers.
 Thatched roof to protect the bin from rain and strong sun.
 The area around the store is kept clean.

Underground Pits
In a few countries, e.g. India, parts of Africa and Latin America, underground pits are claimed
to keep grain without damage for many years. The pits keep grain cool, and some of them are
relatively airtight. Grain on top and around the sides can however often be mouldy. There are

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several types of pits, most of them flask shaped covered with sticks, cowdung and mud, or a
large stone embedded in soft mud. The area should be free from termites and relatively dry.

Improvements of the pit may include:

• Better lining of straw and mats,
• Plastic sheets and concrete or ferrocement
• Use of plastic bags in the pit
• Improved covering
• Surface drainage

Brick-walled silo
Brick-walled silo or bins are suitable for small and medium size stores. The strengthening
requirements make them uneconomical when the height exceeds about 7 m to 8 m. The wall
may be made of bricks or blocks of mud, stabilized soil, burnt clay, stones or cement. To
withstand the pressure from the grain the wall will need reinforcement depending on the size
and strength of the building materials. Reinforcement can be reduced and even omitted by
building the walls thick and heavy (gravity walls).

Walls made of bricks, mud or cement will absorb moisture from the ambient air. In areas with
high relative humidity, it is therefore necessary to protect the grain by adding a moisture
barrier to the silo walls. It will help considerably to bag-wash or plaster the walls on the
outside with a mortar of cement-lime-sand (1:1:5) for burnt bricks or cement, and
cementsand-mud (1:2:6) for mud walls. Then the walls can be painted with plastic paint or
coal tar if better protection is needed.

Reinforced Concrete Silos

Concrete can take very little tension and needs to be reinforced when used for silos. Small
silos suitable for farm level may be reinforced with chicken-wire. One or two layers of 12
mm chicken-wire are tied to vertical sticks or rods placed in a circle. The chicken-wire is then
plastered from both out and inside. The verticals are removed after the outside is finished.
Taller silos 3 m to 4 m or more may be framed by welded mesh wire and with 12 mm
chicken-wire tied to the outside. With bags or plastic tied to the outside it is possible to
plaster the silo from the inside first and then from the outside a few days later after having
removed the bags. These techniques make it possible to construct walls with thickness of 3
cm to 6 cm.

Steel bins
Steel bins ranging from properly cleaned-out steel oil drums to commercial stores with
capacity of several thousand tonnes. In most cases, steel silos are more expensive than
concrete silos but have the advantage of being easy to erect, and for the small sizes, also
possible to move. The welded steel silo is normally airtight if the openings are properly
sealed, but even a silo assembled of corrugated iron sheets can be made air tight if all joints
are sealed with rubber gaskets or bitumen.

Bag Storage
The most common method for grain storage in many countries is bag storage in a variety of
buildings, e.g. stone, local brick, corrugated iron, and mud and wattle, with or without

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plastered walls and with an earth, stone, or cement floor and corrugated iron or thatched roof.
The form in which the produce should be stored will depend on the quantity, harvest method,
handling method, moisture content and costs.

The disadvantage is that jute bags do not give any protection against insects which means that
an insecticide has to be used. In some countries with a dry climate, it is common practice to
stack the bags on plinths and cover them with a tarpaulin for temporary storage. However, if
the grain is going to be kept for some time it is recommended to store the bags in a building.
A simple store would be to use the ventilated maize crib that was used for drying, with the
only difference being that the walls should be covered as protection against rain. If the bags
are stored in a multi-purpose farm shed or even in the farmers dwelling, they should be kept
out range from rats and mice. A raised free-standing platform equipped with rat-guards will
serve the purpose.

Storage Management
Storage management is important for all types of storage. For bag-storage, the four important
points are:
1. Prevent damp from the floor and walls to reach the produce by stacking the bags on
pallets off the ground and away from the walls.
• Damp from the roof is avoided through proper ventilation and using damp absorbing
materials.
2. Stack the bags properly to allow:
• Optimal use of space
• Ease of sweeping the floors
• Ease of inspection of produce for rodents and insect
• Ease of counting the bags.
3. Control insects and rodents
• Make sure the building is rodent proof
• Treat the building and produce against pests
• Keep the warehouse clean
• Close all holes at doors, roof etc., where pests can enter
• Repair cracks in walls where pests can hide
• Remove and destroy any infested residues that can contaminate newly introduced
produce.
4. Bag stacks should be carefully constructed to maximize use of space, maintain hygienic
conditions and to facilitate good management. If one lays the bags exactly on top of each
other in successive layers, the stack will be extremely unstable. To overcome this, one
must ensure that there is an overlap in each successive layer.

Requirements of an Ideal Grain Storage Structure

The objective of an ideal grain storage structure is to control and reduce the storage loses
from rodents, insects and micro-organisms, birds, moisture and heat to a minimum. A good
storage structure is the one, which can provide protection against all possible causes of
damage.

A food storage structure, for storing food grains on a large scale, should have the following
essential features:

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 a). It should be easy to clean.
b). It should provide protection from rodents, birds and other animals.
c). It should be waterproof and moisture proof.
d). It should protect the food grains against variations of temperature and humidity.
e). It should have provision for periodical inspection.
f). It should have provision for application of pesticides through spraying or fumigation.
g). It should be located far away from possible sources of infection such as kilns, flour
mills, and bone crushing mills, garbage rumps, tanneries, slaughter houses and
chemical industries.
h). It should be located at a convenient place from where it is easy to receive issue and
transport the food gains. This explains why most of the storage structures are located
near railway stations or on highways.

Therefore in designing and constructing storage structure following points shall be borne in
mind:
i). All holes, pipes and ducts and other openings shall be guarded by suitable means, such
as gratings, etc., in order to prevent the entry of rats and other vermin.
ii). The structure shall have smooth, crack free internal surfaces and shall have no
unnecessary cavities and projections to prevent the lodgement from insects and
vermin. Periodical fumigation and other treatments should be done to eliminate
infestation of grains by insects, fungus etc. The structure shall be designed so as to
facilitate its sealing for fumigation or have facility to seal a portion where fumigation
has to be carried out, or it may be made completely airtight if required.
iii). Go-downs should have good ventilation arrangement to prevent moisture
accumulation in pockets.
iv). The structure shall be designed to make it possible to control moisture. Moisture may
be controlled by adopting methods of construction using non-hygroscopic material,
by sound wall, roof and floor construction, by the use of vapour barriers, and by the
use of aeration.
v). The structure shall be so oriented that it will receive the minimum solar radiation.
Reflective external surfaces, insulating materials, sun shades, a minimum of glass
surfaces, controlled ventilation and aeration, to reduce the internal temperature may
be used.

B. SEMI-PERISHABLE CROPS
In contrast to grains, crops such as potatoes, yams, carrots and onions are more perishable and
require carefully managed storage conditions to maintain top quality.

Properties
The properties of the many horticultural crops are far more varied than grains and pulses. This
in turn results in highly varied storage characteristics. For example, yams and potatoes can be
stored adequately for several months, while cassava can be kept for only a few days without
deterioration if not processed. The initial moisture content following harvest is much higher
in these mature crops than in grain. With grain, a loss of moisture is desirable for storage and
does not affect the use of the crop. This is not the case with fruits and vegetables. Loss of
moisture may cause the crop to become unmarketable. Yet with a high moisture content,
storage of these crops is more difficult since there is a greater likelihood of insect and fungal

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problems. Whereas lowering the moisture content of grain will inhibit sprouting, though not
affect viability, the high moisture vegetable crops, which cannot be allowed to dry out, are
more prone to sprouting. However, there is generally a period of dormancy following harvest
which can be used to good advantage.

The perishable and semi-perishable crops are living organisms and as such, continue to
respire. Consequently any storage will need ventilation to remove the heat and moisture of
respiration and to prevent condensation on cool surfaces. Fruits and vegetables are nearly
always susceptible to physical damage such as bruising, cutting and cracking. Much of this
results from dropping the fruits or tubers on to hard surfaces or on to other fruits and tubers as
they are loaded into containers or bins. In many cases, 200 mm to 300 mm is a maximum safe
drop.

Further losses can occur if the heat of respiration is allowed to cause a temperature rise.
"Black heart" in potatoes, for example, is a serious problem resulting from high temperatures
under storage conditions. In contrast, low temperatures approaching freezing produce a
characteristic sweetening in potatoes. Losses can also be caused by disease. This tends to be
worse if the crop has been damaged, thus allowing the disease organisms to enter through
cuts and cracks in the surfaces. Removal of earth from the crop and careful loading before
storage can help to reduce this problem.

Storage Requirements for Potatoes and Other Horticultural Crops

Potatoes are the most commonly stored root crop and the greatest amount of research has
been conducted relative to ideal storage requirements. In general, however, very similar
facilities and operating conditions are suitable for several other crops of varying perishability.
As mentioned, some bruising and cutting of the tubers is likely to occur during harvest. These
fresh wounds are an ideal entry place for disease and rot organisms. The infection can be
minimized by storing the potatoes for the first one to two weeks at a temperature of 13°C to
20°C and a relative humidity of 90% to 95%. During this curing period the skin toughens,
making the tubers much less subject to further injury or disease problems.

Potatoes are naturally dormant for about two months. However, it is often necessary to store
them for longer periods of time by extending the dormancy period and by keeping shrinkage
to a minimum. Temperature and humidity are important factors in this respect. Suitable
temperatures for long term storage are related to the eventual use of the potatoes. For seed
stock, temperatures of 3°C to 5°C will delay sprouting for up to 8 months. For ware potatoes,
4°C to 8°C will allow several months (4 - 8) of storage without serious sprouting, while lower
temperatures increase the risk of sweetening, that is, the conversion of starch to sugar. Finally,
for processing potatoes, a minimum temperature of 7°C to 10° C is required in order to
prevent discolouration and to keep sweetening to an absolute minimum. In stores with higher
temperatures it is possible to control sprouting in ware and processing potatoes for up to 6-8
months by using a sprout suppressant chemical.

The relative humidity (RH) of the air in the store is of great importance. Low RH will lead to
shrinkage and weight loss while too high RH will cause condensation on the surfaces. This is
objectionable since free water on the potatoes greatly increases the possibility of rot and the

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spread of diseases. A potato tuber is about 80% water and strictly speaking, air is in
equilibrium with the tuber at a relative humidity of 98%. However, in practice, to avoid
condensation the relative humidity is kept between 90% and 96%.

Fig. 1: Weight loss of potatoes during storage.

Potatoes exposed to direct or indirect sunlight will turn green and develop a bitter taste which
is poisonous and make the tubers unsuitable for human consumption. Stores should therefore
be without windows and ventilation openings should have light-traps. Potatoes that have been
held at low temperatures tend to be brittle and subject to considerable damage if handled. If
the store has been maintained at low temperatures throughout the storage period, it is best to
warm the store to about 10°C for a few days before the potatoes are removed.

Potato Storage Phases

i. Equalization or drying phase: tuber surface moisture may need drying. Ventilation
fan run continuously to equalize average pile temperature to within 2oC of average
pulp temperature.
ii. Wound healing, preconditioning phase: 10 to 20oC at 85 to 95% RH for 15 to 30
days. Care is taken to avoid water condensation. Temperatures up to 25oC are also used
but avoid above 25oC.
iii. Cooling phase: temperature is brought down to 7 to 10oC at about 0.5 to 1oC per day.
Cooling air should not be lower than 1.5oC than the potatoes. Air flow maintained to
provide even cooling. Ventilation with cool moist air.
iv. Holding phase: holding temperature and high RH maintained. Intermittent ventilation
only to control CO2 build up and maintain O2 levels. Maintain potatoes at various
locations within 1oC pulp temperature of another.
v. Reconditioning phase: warming up of the potato from holding temperature to
preferably within 5oC of handling temperatures to avoid condensation, handling
damage, recover colour.

Table 2: Storage conditions of potato.

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 S/No. Intended Use Temperature Relative Humidity
(oC) (%)
1 Seed 2.4 95
2 Table 7 98
3 Processing 8 – 12 95

Table 3: Average constituents of potato per 100 grams.

S/No. Constituent Weight (g)
1 Water 74.7
2 Carbohydrates (starch and sugar) 22.6
3 Proteins 1.6
4 Fibre 0.4
5 Fat 0.1
6 Minerals 0.6

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Fig. 2: Relationship between potato biological activity and temperature.

Storage without Buildings

1) Delayed Harvest
The simplest form of storage for some crops is to leave them in the ground and harvest them
only as required. There is risk of pest and rodent damage, but the deterioration which may
take place after harvest may exceed the field losses; hence delayed harvest is a reasonable
choice. This is particularly useful for cassava where field deterioration is normally
substantially less than postharvest losses due to even short term storage. On the other hand,
some crops deteriorate substantially in quality if left in the ground beyond a certain stage.
Carrots, for example, tend to become tough and woody.

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2) Clamp
In areas that have low mean soil temperatures, a simple ground clamp (Fig. 3) may be
suitable, especially for potatoes. They are piled on the ground in a long row and covered with
150 mm to 200 mm of straw or coarse grass. Chicken wire is put all around the base to resist
rodents and then soil is dug out around the pile and placed on the straw. This store is not
likely to be satisfactory for more than a month or two unless the soil temperature is near 10°C
and night air temperatures are 10°C or less. To control soil pests the ground can be treated
with an insecticide before the clamp is made.

Fig. 3: Simple roof crop clamp.

3) Covered Clamp
Another simple store for short time storage is the covered clamp (Fig. 4) consisting of a raised
platform on which the potatoes are heaped and then covered with 10 cm of grass or straw. Air
is free to circulate through both produce and straw. A thatch roof above provides shade to
help reduce daytime temperatures. Protection from rodents will be needed.

Fig. 4: Covered clamp raised from the ground.

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Storage in Multi-purpose Buildings
a) Slatted Boxes or Bins
Square boxes of slatted construction, each holding about 1 m³ of potatoes offers a good
possibility for small as well as large scale stores. The boxes can be larger but not deeper than
1 m. If located in a well isolated building, the fluctuation of daytime temperatures will be
reduced. The boxes should be raised about 250 mm to 300 mm above the floor so that air can
circulate freely (Fig. 5). With little insulation and only natural ventilation this method is best
suited to cooler areas and then for relatively short storage periods of 3 to 4 months. Smaller
boxes can be handled manually, while the larger boxes of 1 m³ and more cannot be moved
manually when filled.

Fig. 5: Box store for root crops.

b) Clamp on Floor
Using a building similar to that shown in Fig. 5 above, a clamp offers an alternative to boxes.
To allow adequate ventilation with cool night air, a duct under the crop is included as shown
in Fig. 6.

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Fig. 6: Duct under produce heap.

c) Naturally Ventilated Stores

Fig. 7 shows an example on how to build a potato store suitable for small scale production.
The store, which holds about 1500 kg, is naturally ventilated and measures 150 cm × 160 cm
square. The walls are 150 cm high and a slatted floor is placed 90 cm off the ground to keep
rodents away. The store shown in the figure is made of offcuts but other materials may be just
as good. For insulation, the walls have a 20 cm thick layer of straw which will be compressed
to about 10 cm when the store is loaded. The floor should be covered with about 5 cm of
straw before loading and on the top 20 cm of straw should be spread evenly to protect the
potatoes from sunlight and drying.

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Fig. 7: A Naturally Ventilated Store.

d) Larger Stores
Buildings to store large quantities of potatoes or other root crops in bulk must be of
substantial construction to resist the force of the crop against the walls. Further, the walls and
ceiling must be well insulated whether outside air or refrigeration is used for cooling. The
wall sills must be securely anchored and the studs firmly fastened to the sill in order to
withstand the high lateral force of the potatoes. It is desirable that the concrete floor be tied to
the foundation with reinforcing bars. Tie beams should connect the top of the side walls on
opposite sides of the building to resist the load and braces at frequent intervals are needed to
withstand uneven loading.

Insulation and Vapour Barriers: Regardless of the climatic area in which they are built, large
air cooled or refrigerated stores should be well insulated. In uplands e.g. in Southern Africa,
some insulation will prevent freezing of the potatoes in midwinter. In contrast, in hot regions
where mechanical refrigeration may be necessary, substantial insulation will help to reduce
the cost of operation. An R value of 4 to 5 in the ceiling and 3 to 3.75 in the walls should be
adequate to prevent condensation in a cold climate and to allow economical operation in
warm areas. These large stores are expensive buildings and it is important to install high
quality commercial insulation.

Vapour barriers are essential to prevent the accumulation of moisture in the insulation.
Moisture travels from the warm side to the cold side of a wall or ceiling. Thus, the vapour
barrier is installed on the warm side. A refrigerated store in a warm area poses no problem in
choosing the outside of the wall and ceiling as the warmest and therefore the proper place to

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install a polythene vapour barrier. However, air cooled stores are much more difficult to
design as the outside temperature may be warmer at the start of the storage season and the
inside warmer later on.

Ventilation System: There are many different types of air distribution systems incorporated
into large stores, not only for potatoes but for several fruits and vegetables as well. They
range from simple natural ventilation to manually controlled fans and inlets and finally to
sophisticated automatically controlled dampers and variable speed fans. The choice of system
will be determined not only by environmental needs but also by economic factors.

C. PERISHABLE CROPS
Fruit and Vegetables
The majority of fruits and vegetables are highly perishable commodities with a short storage
life. The exceptions, including apples and potatoes can, if well stored, last for several months.
Table 4 describes the primary differences between the non-perishable and perishable crops.

Table 4. Comparison of cereals vs horticultural crops.

Cereals and Oil Seeds Horticultural Crops

− Low moisture content, typically 10% − High moisture content, typically 70% to 95%
to 20%

− Small unit size, typically less than 1 g − Large unit size, typically 5 g to 5 kg

− Very low respiration rate with very − High to very high respiration rate.
small generation of heat.

− Heat production is typically 0.05 − Heat production is typically from 0.5 to 10

megajoules/tonne/day for dry grain. megajoules /tonne/day at 0°C to 5 to 70
megajoules/tonne/day at 20°C.

− Hard texture − Soft texture, easily bruised

− Stable - natural shelf life is from one − Perishable - natural shelf life is a few days to
to several years several months

− Losses usually caused by molds, − Losses usually caused by rotting (bacteria,

insects and rodents. fungi), senescence, sprouting and bruising.

Storage Requirements
The major requirements for the storage of perishables are the need to lower temperature
substantially and to retain moisture in the produce. Table 5 illustrates the storage conditions
and storage life for a number of fruits and vegetables.

Table 5. Ideal storage temperatures, RH and expected storage life of fruits and vegetables.

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Commodity Storage Temperature RH (%) Expected Storage
(°C) Life
Asparagus 0–2 95 2 - 3 weeks

Beans (green) 5–7 90 – 95 7 - 10 days

Carrots 0 90 – 95 2 - 5 months

Cauliflowers 0 90 – 95 2 - 4 weeks

Cucumbers 7 – 10 90 – 95 10 - 14 days

Cabbage 0 90 – 95 3 - 6 weeks

Chillies, Capsicums 7 – 10 90 – 95 2 - 3 weeks

Courgettes, Zucchini 0 – 10 90 5 - 14 days

Eggplants, Brinjals 7 – 10 90 1 week

Melons 0 - 4.4 85 – 90 5 - 14 days

Okra, Lady Fingers 7 – 10 90 – 95 7 - 10 days

Onions (dry) 0 65 – 70 1 - 8 months

Potatoes (white) 5 – 10 93 2 - 5 months

Potatoes (sweet) 12 – 16 85 – 90 4 - 6 months

Tomatoes (ripe) 7 – 10 85 – 90 4 - 7 days

Tomatoes (green) 12 – 20 85 – 90 1 - 3 weeks

Watermelons 4.4 – 10 80 – 85 2 - 3 weeks

Apples 1 - 4.4 90 3 - 8 months

Avocados 4.4 - 12.5 85 – 90 2 - 4 weeks

Mangos 12 85 – 90 2 - 3 weeks

Pineapples 7 - 12.5 85 – 90 2 - 4 weeks

Papayas 7 85 – 90 1 - 3 weeks

Carnations 0–2 90 – 95 3 - 4 weeks

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Mixing Commodities
Some crops produce odours in storage while others emit volatile gases such as ethylene.
Ethylene stimulates the ripening of many fruits and vegetables. This is negligible at low
temperatures but may be a nuisance at higher temperatures. Consequently, even when two or
three crops require the same storage conditions, it is not advisable to store them together.
Products that emit ethylene include bananas, avocados, melons, tomatoes, apples, pears and
all fleshy fruits. Lettuce, carrots and greens are damaged when stored with fruits or
vegetables which produce ethylene. Even very small amounts can be harmful. It is
recommended that onions, nuts, citrus fruits and potatoes each be stored separately.

Onions
The following technique for the harvesting, drying and storage of onions has been developed:
Onions are harvested when at least one third of the tops have fallen over
If weather is dry, the onions are left in the field to dry. The neck must become tight and
the outer scales should rustle when dry. This is most important and successful storage
depends on full drying or curing.

If weather is unsuitable for outside curing, the onions may be placed on slatted shelves in a
well-ventilated open shed. Layers should not be more than 10 cm to 15 cm deep. Onions will
keep at higher temperatures than shown in Table 5 and this seems practical, particularly in dry
areas. This involves placing cured onions in a slatted-floor store which is freely ventilated
except during damp conditions.

Storage Structures for Perishables

a) Low-Cost Cool Store
A simple low-cost structure in which vegetables can be stored for the few hours between
harvesting and transporting to market should be useful to growers of all sizes. A simple frame
is constructed with poles or other low cost materials. Covered with grass or other thatching
material, protection is provided for the produce from excess temperature and moisture loss
until it can be transported to market.

The wall should be extended to ground level on three sides but left open on the fourth
(prevailing wind) side for ventilation. This allows for free air movement most of the time, but
canvas flaps should be provided for closing the ventilation openings if desirable. The grass
roof and walls can be kept wet with a sprinkler pipe-line, or if that is not available, the
thatching can be hand sprinkled as required. The interior will be kept cool and moist with
temperatures as much as 5°C to 8°C lower than outside. More important, produce harvested
late in the afternoon can be cooled during the night with resulting temperatures the following
noon as much as 10°C below ambient.

b) Commercial Cool Store

As shown in Table 5, only a few crops, including potatoes, onions, carrots and apples can be
stored for periods longer than a few days or weeks. However, the wholesale merchant will
require short term refrigerated storage for his produce and as indicated, separate rooms will
be needed for crops that are not compatible with each other in storage. As with refrigerated
potato stores, attention must be given to adequate insulation, good vapour sealing and large
size evaporators which help to maintain high humidity.

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PACK HOUSE
After harvest, fruits and vegetables need to be prepared for sale. This can be undertaken on
the farm or at the level of retail, wholesale or supermarket chain.

A pack house can be defined as a place protected from weather for both product and
personnel. It is organized in such a way that the product is prepared in a centralized handling
operation.

Designing a pack house

Harvesting fruits and vegetables need to be packed for domestic sale and export. In general,
the five main stages required for designing a pack house include:

i. Step One: The first step in designing a packing shed is to know what crops are
grown and what the volume will be during the season. This will determine what
equipment will be needed and how big the building and cold storage should be. An
important consideration for the packing shed location is the nearness to the
production field and access roads.
ii. Step Two: Next, develop a flow diagram of all the postharvest handling processes,
which will be used with each crop. This diagram will help with the layout
development of the packing shed. The produce should always move in one direction,
with no crossovers of the product from each step in the packing operation.
iii. Step Three: Arrangements must be made for a good water source and adequate
utilities. Water used to wash the produce must be potable (safe to drink). A well
supplying 100 gpm at 60 psi is adequate for most small sheds. An
approximately 2-inch main water line with 1-inch laterals is recommended.
The floors should be sloped to 6 inches wide drains that are 6- to 8-inches deep.
iv. Step Four: The disposal of both liquid and solid waste is an important consideration
in designing and setting up a packing shed. Maintaining and conserving water quality
becomes an issue for produce operations – how to properly handle wastewater from
the packing line can also become a problem. Wastewater should never be dumped
into the household septic system or the septic system for the toilets, showers and
sinks in the packing facility.
v. Step Five: Design a receiving area and packing line, which is fit for individual needs.
The receiving area should be elevated so that produce can be easily unloaded off the
trucks or wagons carrying it from the field.

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