Non-refrigerated storage of potatoes.

Abstract

In india, 90 percent of potatoes are harvested in the northern plains in January-February at the beginning of hot summer. seasonal production patterns, inadequate cold storage capacity, low domestic utilization, limited alternative market outlets (e.g., processing and export) often result in market gluts and poor prices at harvest resulting in economic loss to the farmers. potato prices start increasing in april-May and in July-august are almost double the prices at harvest. commercial facilities for long term storage at 8-12oc are not well developed and potatoes are usually stored at 2-4oc under refrigeration, which spoils their culinary properties. The infrastructure for refrigerated storage is also inadequate, unevenly distributed and too expensive for small and marginal farmers. Farmers use indigenous storage practices to hold some of their produce for a few months to get higher prices although the tubers must be desprouted before marketing. Losses due to sprouting and rotting are usually very high (10-40%) under these on-farm storage methods. development of low cost non-refrigerated storage structures and refinement of commonly used traditional methods are attractive propositions. Beginning in the mid-1980’s, scientists started investigating evaporatively cooled storage structures to lower temperatures and increase humidity inside the stores. stores using passive evaporative cooling (ecs) were designed, developed and recommended for short-term storage of potatoes in north indian plains where the temperatures are high and humidity is low during the storage period. reduced losses in potatoes in ecs compared to ambient storage and suitability of the stored potatoes for processing suggested that short-term storage of table and processing potatoes under non-refrigerated improvised structures could be feasible. use of sprout inhibitors like isopropyl n-(3-chlorophenyl) carbamate (cipc) alone and in combination with maleic hydrazide (Mh) helped to further extend the shelf life of potatoes stored in ecs. storage in ecs was, however, not economical for the farmers due to high initial cost. This review deliberates upon the potato production and storage scenario in india, the developments in the field of non-refrigerated storage structures including ecs, heaps and pits, losses under the non-refrigerated storages, application of cipc to potatoes before storage, economics of storage and demonostration of improved storage of farmers' locations.