STORAGE

PRIMARY AIMS OF STORAGE

1. To effect a uniform supply of food throughout the months of the year, either for home
consumption, domestic or export market
2. To provide reserves for contingencies such as droughts, floods and war
3. To speculate on good price either in domestic or in the export markets

Main categories of rice storage in the Philippines

1. Farm level
2. Commercial level

Form of rice for storage

1. Paddy
2. Milled rice

STORING PADDY
ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGES
1. Protected with husk – less 2. Bulky than milled rice hence require bigger
susceptible to attack of storage facility
insects and other 3. Living matter respire and produce heat
microorganisms hence can and moisture
be stored longer

STORING MILLED RICE

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGE
1. Occupies almost half the 3. Susceptible to attack of insects and other
storage space than paddy microorganisms hence cannot be stored
2. Does not respire for longer period

GENERAL RULE:
To mill as much paddy as possible that could be kept safely in storage as milled rice

Five interrelated factors in grain storage

1. The stored product

2. The storage structure
3. The environmental factors
4. The storage pests
5. The personnel involved
"The personnel involved in storage operation have the primary responsibility of keeping the stored
product safe and secure inside the structure against storage pests and environmental factors.

Desirable product:
Carbon Dioxide (slows down respiration process)

Undesirable products:
Water and Heat

Five interrelated factors in grain storage

1. The stored product

• Paddy and other unprocessed products are considered as living substances as they respire in the
presence of oxygen, giving off in the process carbon dioxide, water and heat.

Water – accelerate respiration process and provide favorable condition for growth of
microorganisms
Heat – cause heat damage kernels
Heat and water will result to:
1. Low quality milled rice
2. Large dry matter loss
3. Heat damaged kernel

Table 1. Daily generation of CO2, H2O, heat and dry matter loss of 1000 tons of paddy at
different MC

% MC Dry matter, tons CO2, kg H2O, kg Heat,kJ Dry matter loss, kg

13 870 4.26 1.738 45,380 2.897
14 860 10.32 4.220 110,080 7.031
 15 850 28.15 11.485 299,720 19.142
16 840 68.77 28.056 732,014 46.763
17 820 230.49 230.041 2,455,512 156.735

• The amount of carbon dioxide is usually measured as indicator of the rate of respiration
process.
• At 20% MC, approximately eight (8) cavans of rice are lost everyday from 1000 tons
(20,000 cavans) of rice.

2. Storage Structure
Primary function: to protect the product from unfavorable environment and storage pest
Both the generated water and heat of respiration can be removed either by a natural process called
ventilation or by forced introduction of small amount of air called aeration.

TYPES OF COMMERCIAL STORAGE STRUCTURES USED IN THE GRAIN INDUSTRY

a. Warehouse
• Flat and long building with several sidedoors and roof ventilators, grains in sacks are piled
up on the floor up to the eaves of the roof
• Materials of construction are usually concrete flooring, G.I. roofing and either concrete
hollow block or G.I. walling
• Most prevalent in the Philippines

b. Flat store
• Same as the warehouse but the grains are stored in bulk rather than in sacks
• Aeration facilities are usually made as part of the storage system
 Source: IRRI Rice Knowledge Bank

c. Rectangular steel/Wooden bins

• Normally used for bulk storage of grains inside a building
• Compartmentalization
• Allows segregation of grains different variety and moisture content

Source: IRRI Rice Knowledge Bank

d. Steel/Concrete Silos
• Slender and tall structure for bulk storage of grains with individual roods, aeration,
fumigations and conveyor facilities are integral parts of the storage systems
 Proper Design of Storage Structure

Storage structure should be:

➢ Strong
➢ Weather-tight – protection from weather
➢ Such that rats and birds could not get into it
➢ Provided with aeration and fumigation facilities – remove heat or respiration and
control infestation

3. Environmental Factors
• The product inside the storage structure reacts with the environment hence it is sensitive to
relative humidity (RH) of the air
• In hot humid climate (tropical countries) grain storage is not susceptible. The average RH - 80%.
The required RH of the storage to maintain 14% MC is about 70%.
• Wet paddy is susceptible to insects and molds attack producing damaged milled rice.
• Heat of respiration – very conducive to growth of some species of insect pests and molds.
• Hence more heat is produced leading to heat damaged kernels/discolored grains in the milled
rice

4. Storage Pests
The most common storage pests are:
a. Insects
b. Fungi or molds
c. Rodents
d. Birds
Sanitation
– the most important and effective preventive measure in storage
- solves 50% of the problem in storage

5. Personnel Requirements
• The successful consideration, understanding and attention of the aspect of product
characteristics, storage structure, environmental factors and storage pests are all dependent
upon the personnel involved
Role of Personnel
a. Take care of storage operation
b. Provide maintenance and repair of the storage structure
c. Prevent pest infestation
d. Modify the environment
e. Look after the safe condition of the stored product

Category of Staff
a. Engineers – to take care of the aspects and the problems of storage structure and the
environmental factors
b. Entomologists – to take charge of the biological aspects of product and pest
c. Technicians – to carry out the dirty jobs of operation maintenance and repairs
d. Managers – to orchestrate the various functions and operations and to liaise with the
top management
STORAGE IN COMMERCIAL-LEVEL POSTHARVEST SYSTEM