Grain Storage: Methods and Measurements

Dr H N Mishra
Professor & Programme Coordinator (Food Technology)
President (P), Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India)

hnm@agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in

Agricultural & Food Engineering Department

Indian Institute of Technology
Kharagpur 721302, India

Grains in India
Food grain production in the country grew at
an average 1.98 % during 2004 to 2010,
which was higher than the average rate of
population growth of 1.50 %
232.07 million tonnes production in 2010-11
10% storage losses.

60-70% of food grain produced in the country

is stored at home level in indigenous storage
structures.
Rest enters the urban market channel and
public distribution system
1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Grain Production (million tonnes) in India

Rice

Wheat

Coarse
Cereals

1950-51

20.58

6.46

15.38

8.41

50.82

1960-61

34.58

11

23.74

12.7

82.02

1970-71

42.22

23.83

30.55

11.82

108.43

1980-81

53.63

36.31

29.02

10.63

129.59

1990-91

74.29

55.14

32.7

14.26

176.39

2000-01

84.98

69.68

31.08

11.07

196.81

2010-11

94.01

81.47

40.08

16.51

232.07

1 February 2012

Total food
Pulses
grains

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Factors Affecting Grain Losses

Moisture
Temperature
Insects and rodents

Quality before storing the grain

Type of storage bin
Use of pesticides and fumigants
Mechanical loss factors
General condition of location of
storage.

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Grain moisture
Single most important factor responsible for the
deterioration in the quality of the food grain.
Reduction in 1% of moisture content will double the
shelf life.
Higher moisture and temperature, the faster the
growth and more rapid the spoilage of grain.
At low enough moisture contents, all mold growth
stops even at favourable temperatures.
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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Upper limit of grain moisture content for safe storage

Commodity

Moisture content
(% wet basis)

Paddy, rice (raw)

14

Rice (Parboiled)

15

Wheat, Bengal gram

12

Sorghum, maize, barley, ragi, bajra, pulse, turmeric,

wheat atta, maida besan

12.5

Coriander, chillies

10

Groundnut pods

6-7

Mustard seed

5-6

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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Temperature
Temperature
controls
the
activities
of
the
microorganisms and its effect is also correlated to the
moisture present in the grain.
When grain in storage is cool, there is little likelihood of
spoilage.
Low temperature offset the effects of high moisture,
particularly as it affects the development of molds and
insects.
One of the greatest benefits of moving and turning grain
is cooling.
1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Storage environment
The grains usually contain initial internal infestation as
well as field and storage fungi.
The temperature gradient and moisture migration may
induce the initiation of due point and condensation of
moisture with in the bulk.
It may be responsible for high rate of respiration, mould
growth and threatened germination.

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Insects and fungi

The insects accelerates their growth up to 42oC but fungi
have tolerance limit from 20o C to a maximum 63o C.
These environment have to be avoided for safe storage
requirements.
Fungi are the most dangerous and extremely harmful
enemy for the grain as they can not be seen with naked
eyes and their harmful influence spreads very quickly.

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

Steps to reduce losses

The storage structure should be
Elevated and away from
moist places
Airtight, even at loading and
unloading ports
Rodent-proof & clean
Plastered with an
impervious clay layer to
avoid termite attack, or
attack by other insects.
1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

10

Storage Methods
Points to remember for safe and scientific storage

Site selection
Storage structure
Cleaning and fumigation
Aeration
Regular inspection of grain stock

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

11

Indian Traditional
Underground Storage Structures
Local
name

State

Material of
construction

Khani or
Patra

Orissa
A.P.

Dug out with

sides plastered Rectangular
with cow dung

D = 150 cm
Sides: 150200 cm

2-3 ton

Rajastan

Well, lined with

Circular or
stone / sandrectangular
cement

D = 600 cm
Dia = 600 cm

Upto 60
ton

Khai

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Shape

Dimension Capacity

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

12

Indian Traditional
Above-ground Storage Structures
Local
name

State

Material of
construction

Shape

Khothi

Bihar,
Punjab,
U.P.

Unburnt clay mixed

with straw and mudcow dung or brick and
masonary

Cylindrical
Rectangular

Varies in
diameter

1-50 ton

Kanagi

Mysore
and M.S.

Bamboo plastered
with clay

Cylindrical

Varies in sizes

1-20 ton

Kotha

Punjab
and U.P.

Small shed built with

brick and masonary

Vary in sizes

5-100 ton

1 February 2012

Cylindrical

Dimension Capacity

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

13

Indian Traditional
Above-ground Storage Structures
Local
name
Dholi

Thekka

State

Material of
construction

M.P.

Straw, bamboo,
palm leaves
plastered with mud
and cow dung mix

Punjab,
U.P

1 February 2012

Gunny or cotton
wound around
wooden support

Shape
Cylindrical

Dimension Capacity

Vary in sizes

2 ton

L = 240 cm
B = 390 cm
Rectangular
H = 210-330
cm

Upto
30 ton

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

14

On-Farm Food Grain Storage

Crop umbrella:
A flexible PVC sheet covering (30-50
micron size), used if storage time is
short (2-3 weeks).
For 2-3 months storage periods,
Pusa bin
Coal-tar drum bin
Domestic Hapur Bin
Pusa bin
LDPE (low density polyethylene)
sandwiched bin. Moisture migration
during storage is minimal because of
the good insulation properties.
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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

15

Pusa Bin

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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

16

Coal-tar Drum Bin

Low cost and easy

availability
Developed at the
Central Institute of
Agricultural
Engineering (CIAE)

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

17

Domestic Hapur Bin

Developed by Indian Grain

Storage Institute
Made of galvanised iron
and/or aluminium sheets
Capacity 200 to 1000 kg

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

18

Bulk storage of food grains in India

Food Corporation of India (FCI)

Central Warehousing Corporation
State Warehousing Corporation
Grain marketing co-operatives
State government agencies

Benefits:

Low running costs

Low labour requirements
Rapid handling
Low through spillage and rodents
Efficient and effective fumigation operation
Less land area requirement
Complete control of aeration
Possible to store the grain for longer periods
Possible to mechanize all operations
Possible to store moist grain for short periods

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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

19

Bulk Storage of Food Grains in India

Cover and Plinth Storage

Community Storage Structures

Rural Godowns
Silos
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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

20

Grain stays warm without aeration

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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

21

Aeration
Ambient Aeration
A process of forcing air through
grain to reduce its temperature in
order to preserve them from
deterioration
Requirements:
To provide some form of
perforated ducting on the floor
through which air can be blown
into the grain, and
Venting above the grain for air
exhaust
Refrigerated Aeration
Achieves much lower temperatures
when ambient conditions are
warm
Requirements:
Same as for ambient aeration,
except that no fan control is
required since the system will
operate 100% of the time until the
temperature front has passed
through the grain mass.
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Relationship of storage
temperature and grain moisture
Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur content

22

Controlled Atmosphere Grain Storage

Most insects cannot exist indefinitely

without oxygen or in conditions of
raised (greater than approximately
30%) carbon dioxide.

The required atmospheres can be created

either by:
adding pure gases carbon dioxide or
nitrogen or the low oxygen exhaust of
hydrocarbon combustion, or
using the natural effects of respiration
(grain, moulds or insects) to reduce
oxygen and increase carbon
dioxide Hermetic storage.

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

23

What determines grain quality?

Genetic
Chemical characteristics such as
gelatinization temperature, gel
consistency, and aroma
Grain shape and size
Bulk density
Thermal conductivity
Equilibrium moisture content

Acquired

Moisture content
Color and chalkiness
Purity
Damage
Cracked grains
Immature grains
Milling-related characteristics (head
rice recoveries, whiteness and
milling degree) are also included as
relevant measures of quality
because they are of concern to
consumers

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

24

Major quality changes during storage

Loss/gain of weight

Changing of physical appearance

Loss of nutritional/food value

Loss of culinary properties

Total destruction of the grain

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

25

Grain quality measurement methods

Visual inspection
Machine vision system
Near-infra red (NIR) system
Chemical & microbiological analysis
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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

26

Cracked, Immature & Discoloured Grains

Breakage occurs during harvesting and milling
Immature grains do not survive the milling process
Grains can ferment if exposed to wet conditions

All measurements can be made by physical

counting or using appropriate instrumentation

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

27

Measuring foreign matters

Screens in sieves consist of perforated metal plate
(national or international standards organizations)
Nominal aperture
(mm)

Recommended
volume of load (cm)

Typical grain
equivalent

8.0

500

300g Maize

4.0

350

250g Sorghum

2.0

200

150g Wheat

1.0

140

100g Millet

(Source: International Standard ISO 2591-1973)

1 February 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

28

Moisture meter
Factors to be considered while
selecting a meter
Resolution
Repeatability
Reliability
Stability
Range of commodity
Range of mc
Sample size
Sample weighing
Ambient effect
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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

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Machine vision system

Statistical or artificial neural network classifiers for pattern recognition
To determine
varietal purity
class identification
impurities or foreign matters
grain kernel morphology
grain discoloration
stress cracks &
insect damaged kernels
Soft X-ray system - for stress cracks, hidden insect infestation & sprouted
kernels
Transmitted light systems for stress cracks
Hardness testers - Susceptibility of breakage during handling
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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

30

NIR-Spectroscopy
It is a rapid technique requiring small sample size

Replaced the chemical intensive Kjeldahl method

For measuring moisture, protein and oil content in grains
Also being investigated for
hardness and vitreousness of grain kernels
grain color classification
identification of damaged grain
detection of insect and mite infestation and

detection of mycotoxins
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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

31

Conclusions
The indigenous storage structures are not suitable for storing grains for
long periods.
Thus, improved storage structures and scientific storage of grains in form
of warehouses is the need of the hour to strengthen traditional means of
storage with modern inputs and to provide cheaper storage to farmers so
as prevent enormous storage losses.

Over 420 standard test methods, including at least 75 internationallyapplicable methods, are available to test the quality of stored grains.

Of the wide range of properties used for testing, the bulk density and the
foreign matter are commonly assessed for most types of grains.

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Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

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14 January 2012

Professor H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur

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