Where is grain stored: methods for industrial scale and not only, terms

Storage of grain is a complex measure aimed at preserving stocks. Proper organization and holding of storage allows you to maintain the quality of raw materials and minimize losses. Consider where and how grain is stored, what methods are used, the shelf life of grain reserves. What storage problems can you encounter and how to avoid them.

Where grain is stored

Storage success depends on how well the storages and the grain itself are prepared, how the storage mode is observed. The grain mass is stored in warehouses (elevators). Before laying products there, the room must be disinfected.Preparation is carried out in different ways: wet, gas, aerosol. It is necessary to completely disinfect all the premises, equipment, containers and transport.

Preparation of grain includes drying, cleaning of grain from weed seeds, earth and other things, after which it is cooled to at least 12-15 ° С.

Methods

There are several ways to store grain crops. Some of them are used more often, others less often. It all depends on the type of storage and its capabilities, on the volume of raw materials stored for storage. The storage type can be closed or open.

Closed - this is the placement of products in concrete warehouses and metal containers. Outdoor involves placement in piles and trenches on the street with mandatory shelter from rain and sun. This is how the fresh grain of the current crop is stored, the closed method is used to save stocks for a long time.

In bulk

Storage in bulk is the main and effective way of long-term storage of grain stocks at receiving, sorting and cleaning points. Warehouse and store grain, simply pouring it into heaps on the floor of the warehouse. The method has many advantages over others:

storage area is used rationally;
rational use of granary resources;
convenient to ship products for transportation;
allows effective pest control;
convenient to monitor and check the status of products in storage;
saving packaging costs.

The bulk method is practiced in covered warehouses and open areas for temporary storage. Grain is poured into containers or stored in heaps, which are surrounded by a fence and covered with a dense material that does not allow water to pass through. Seed material is not stored in bulk.

Dry method

The drying method, full or partial, is used on an industrial scale for long-term storage in granaries. It is based on the fact that when moisture is extracted from grains, pathogens that are on the surface cannot develop. The possibility of developing diseases is sharply reduced, such grain should only be protected from being eaten by rodents and insects.

Dehydration is carried out in two ways: with and without heat. The most profitable method shows the method in which the grain is poured into containers, where it is treated with air and heat.

Oxygen Free

The method is mainly used where the quality of the stored raw materials is of great importance. Enterprises use it because in the absence of oxygen in the grain, almost all pathogens and insects die.The oxygen-free method does not adversely affect the quality of raw materials, all nutrients are preserved. The method is used in flour mills and bakeries.

Oxygen-free storage involves storing the product in airtight containers. To speed up conservation, carbon dioxide or dry ice is sometimes used, which releases carbon dioxide on contact with air. The oxygen-free method is not suitable for saving seed material, which loses its germination capacity without access to air.

Chilled

This method is popular with farmers or small warehouses. The mode is convenient if it is not possible to quickly dry the grain, but you can save it in a chilled state.

Technology is economical, it is characterized by a small loss of production. The principle of the chilled method is similar to the drying method and lies in the fact that at low positive temperatures, as well as when exposed to heat, microorganisms stop their development.To preserve chilled grain in warehouses, the temperature is artificially created and maintained at 5-10 ºС.

Usually, supply and exhaust type ventilation is used for this, in summer the system works at night, in other periods of the year - around the clock. Sometimes the grain is mixed on conveyor belts and cooled with fans. But this method is expensive, so it is not as popular as the usual one.

Bagged

Seeds of elite varieties of cereals or the first crop harvested from a new variety of cereals are stored in the package. Ordinary planting material is often stored in bulk. Grain of expensive varieties with a thin-walled shell is also stored in bags. Fabric, polypropylene or nylon bags are used, resistant to moisture and damage. Bags with contents are stacked on pallets from boards, the height of the stack is no more than 10-12 tiers.

In ears of corn

The method of harvesting and saving the crop in the ears involves cutting the ears in the field and forming ventilated bales from them. Then they are transported to a warehouse with ventilation, where they are stacked on pallets. Bales are cooled, left to dry and ripen. Spikelets are stored chilled until threshing.

Shelf life

Wheat food grain can be stored up to 4-6 years. Winter seeds save 13-14 months, spring varieties - 7-9 months. Grain from seed banks can be saved for more than 2 years.

Possible problems

When storing grain, dampness can be encountered due to high humidity. Wet raw materials will begin to warm up and rot, moisture and heat provoke the rapid development of rot, mold and other diseases that spoil grain products.To prevent this, you need to monitor the temperature and humidity inside the pile or container, ventilate and cool the room.

Pests damaging stocks are also a common problem. Weevils, moths, mites, moths breed in the warm season. In winter, reproduction is suspended, but product spoilage continues.

Stock pest control measures: insecticidal treatment of crops before harvest, disinfection of warehouses before loading crops into them, sifting grain through sieves to remove small insects, controlling and maintaining optimal temperature and humidity in the warehouse.

External factors have a huge impact on the success of grain products storage in warehouses: temperature, humidity, lighting, oxygen level.If you organize all the processes correctly, you can significantly reduce the loss of products that are inevitable when the rules of saving are violated. Properly stored grain does not cause losses, its appearance and quality remain high, no matter how long it is stored.