The effect of ventilation capacity on weight losses in ventilated potato stores.

Abstract

The ventilation capacity required for cooling potatoes depends on the climate and is best determined by practical experiments. Increasing the quantity of air forced through per hour results in little or no increase in evaporation. Hence with a large ventilation capacity shrinkage is not higher than with a small ventilation capacity. The ventilation capacity recommended for potato stores in the Netherlands is 100 cu. m. air per hour per cu. m. potatoes. Under Dutch climatic conditions it is thus possible to obtain a storage temperature corresponding to the minimum outside temperature averaged per 10-day periods. Up to April these temperatures are low enough to prevent sprouting. In ventilated potato stores the loss of weight in immature harvested potatoes is 3-5% during the first month after harvesting, and one-half to a maximum of two-thirds % per month in the succeeding period. Ripe lifted potatoes have a weight loss of 1-3% in the first month and one-half to two-thirds % per month thereafter.-From author's summary. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)