Monitoring rice storability using carbon dioxide and relative humidity sensors in gastight storage

Abstract: Storage of dried agricultural commodities in warehouses and in food reserves is a
major challenge. In many developing countries, quantitative losses are common in grains and
cereals of about 10-15 %, while qualitative losses are much higher. Hermetic storage in flexible gas tight containers has proven to be efficient in maintaining the quality of commodity during storage. Paddy, milled rice, rice seeds, and rice bran can be stored safely in self-generated atmospheres of low oxygen and elevated carbon dioxide as published in numerous publications on the subject. Monitoring of the modified atmosphere in the hermetic containers was accomplished using portable oxygen or carbon dioxide analyzers requiring operators to collect readings on a regular basis. Recently GrainPro developed its EcoWiseTM remote sensoring system, which enables the collection of data, including temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide in regular intervals varying from 5 minutes to 4 hours. With the help of scientific data that have been collected over the years on the performance of hermetic storage, a predictive model for storage can be developed which is verified with the data generated from the field, thus being able to not only monitor the stored grain, but also predict its conditions. Data collected from scientific publications on stored paddy and rice, can be matched with data from EcoWise and contribute to the development of a predictive storage model. Various field trials were conducted using the EcoWiSe wireless monitoring system to check the actual conditions of stored Basmati paddy in GrainPro Cocoons. The readings taken from the EcoWiSe enabled the users to monitor the actual conditions of the Basmati stored in Cocoons. EcoWiSe was also utilized in a small-scale testing of compostable hermetic pouch. Carbon dioxide levels were monitored using the EcowiSe which allowed the user to check the required level of carbon dioxide and the necessary period to maintain the required level to ensure that insects were fully
eliminated in a modified atmosphere set-up. Ability to monitor and predict storage performance will have major impact on the quality of the commodities and the capability to prevent spoilage, deterioration, and food losses.