HARVEST AND STORAGE

HARVEST AND STORAGE

The period of post-harvest storage is potentially benign, potentially devistating. It is primarily a period of quality loss. The degree of loss in quality during this period is driven by the crop health pre-harvest, harvest practices, and the storage environment.

OPPORTUNITIES WITH HARVEST AND STORAGE

The payment model sugar beet is delivered to strongly incentivises well conducted storage – it can be profitable.

From a research professional perspective, the biggest opportunties include:

  • a lot of untapped protention within the horticultural sector

CHALLENGES WITH HARVEST AND STORAGE

From a research professional perspective, the biggest challenges include:

  • a small field of peers
  • the working environemt: besides cold, wet and windy, it is very difficult to measure what is happening within a clamp with a resolution higher than before vs after.

ME AND HARVEST AND STORAGE

This was my main focus when I worked at NBR, but is now just one of the areas I work in.

CURRENT PROJECTS

NBR656: Harvest and Storage Climate Risk in Sugar Beet Production in Sweden and Denmark

COMPLETED PROJECTS

NBR631: Root tissue strength and storage losses of sugar beet varieties as affected by N application and irrigation – COBRI

NBR631.1: Method for in-field texture analysis of sugar beet roots using a handheld penetrometer

NBR650.01: Clamp Environment Modelling – CFD v1; Airflow and Temperature.

NBR603: Quality and mass transport properties of sugar beet roots under short duration, high airflow post-harvest storage