Question

Storage of produce is an important task. Justify this statement listing various agents causing spoilage of stored grains.

Answer 1

As soon as a plant is harvested or a plant product is detached from its parent plant it starts deteriorating. Proper storage of grains etc after harvesting is very important because post harvest loss of the grains may occur due to various reasons such as:

• If the storage place is humid then the plant products may be affected with microbial infections and will rot.
• Plant parts like leaves, fruits etc will rot if not kept at low temperatures.
• If the storage place is not free of pests like rodents etc then they will eat up the produce and cause damage.

All this results in economic loss and if occurs at a larger level then may cause food supply shortage. Thus, post harvest storage is a very important step in agriculture.