Feed Storage Structure 4q4f51

Traditional and modern farm level storage structure D.Desinguraja Department of animal nutrition CVAS, Mannuthy

Introduction • Storage : Keeping of ingredients for longer time without significant alterations in their physical form, chemical composition feeding value.

Characteristic of standard storage structure • Provide protection from insects, fungi, rodents, birds • It should not permit the absorption of undesired odours and extraneous material. • It could be made air tight • Adequate provision for controlled aeration • Sufficient protection from calamities. • Facilities should be made for periodic inspection. • Provision for proper cleaning.

• The structure should not posses cracks, furrows. • Provide sufficient insulation • Construction cost should be reasonable • Working life – suffciently long.

Traditional storage • In India, a large quantity of food grain is stored in villages, in different traditional storage structures and containers. • It is estimated that sixty to seventy percent of food grain produced in the country. • The storage methods range from mud structures to modern bins. • The containers are made from a variety of locally available materials differing in design, shape, size and functions.

The materials used for storage • • • • • • • •

Paddy straw, wheat straw, wood, bamboo, reeds, mud, bricks, Cow dung etc.

Advantage of indigenous storage • Bamboo structures made on a raised timber or stone platform protect grain from rat damage and prevent moisture absorption from the ground. • Regular mud plastering is required for a variety of indoor and outdoor storage containers and structures for increasing their life span and ensuring safe storage of grains. • The structures made of indigenous material like bamboo, straw and other plant material allow free flow of air. Dis adv: • Indigenous storage structures are not suitable for storing grains for very long periods

Method of storage 1) Indoor storage 2) Outdoor storage 3) Underground storage

kuthir • Traditionally store cereal grain in tall mud pods or bin • Made up of clay soil and plant fibres. • Sometimes husk of cereal grain were also mixed with clay – harden the structure. • Height of kuthir – 1-3 m • Narrow mouth opening

Kodambae • In a suitable backyard farm, placed a big stone at the base of the floor. • Above the stones, wooden sticks were placed to connect the stone to form a flat platform. • The wall raised at 1M – using clay or red soil or cement with bricks.

• Top portion of the structure was covered with conical shaped roof using bamboo and palm or coconut thatches. • One side of the roof had a small door like opening for collection. • Capacity – 1000 kg • Storage structure – up to 100 yrs.

Thombarai • Made up of wood. • Rectangular in shape. • Height – 1M from ground, with ing wooden structures. • Dimension – 2.43 * 1.52 M • Capacity – 1000 kg • Top of structure – small door like opening. • Ladder used to collect grain.

Kalangaiyam • Rectangular brick walls are constructed with strong concrete base / stone. • Brick wall – 20 cm thick. • Dimension – 2.43 * 1.82 M with 2 m height. • Expensive for poor farmers.

Macchu • Constructed granary room inside their house at a height of 2.43 M and desired length. • It would run along the top at the corner of house. • Platform is made up of wooden boards. • Side – bricks with cement. • Inside vessel filled with water to attract and kill the moth insects.

Paanai • Earthen pots are commonly used storing and consumption of grain. • The pots are arranged one above the other vertically in descending order. • Adv – reduced space requirement. • Farmers placed dried cow dung with their finger prints for identification of seed variety.

Urai • Use storage of baskets made with the locally available bamboo sticks. • The baskets resembled a long jar • After loading the grain, the lid was closed and whole basket was sealed using cow dung paste. • Storage life – 1 yr. • Structure life – 4 – 5 yrs.

Sakkupai • Store the seed material for future cultivation in jute gunny bags. • The jute gunny bags - bit cool. • Polythene gunny bags not preferred – for multiplication of storage pest.

Mara thombai • One such wooden structure used in large scale storage of grain. • It protects the grain from insects, moisture, mold, rodents, and birds. • The wall – 1.5 – 2 m • Floor – 80 cm above the ground level. Stands with four straight wooden poles. • Size – 2.13 h* 1.21 w

• Capacity – 1000 kg • Whole unit separated in to 4 equal parts. • This arrangement help to alter the height of structure by either removing or adding

Arisi petti • Wooden boxes for grain storage. • The compact square shaped boxes made up of acacia.sp • Capacity – 100 kg • Size – 1.21 M * 0.91 M

Saal • Traditionally stored grain in tall mud pot or bins. • Made up of clay soil and plant fiber. • Height – 1 – 3 M • Narrow mouth opening. • Placed over a circular ring like structure called pirimanai ( made up of paddy straw )

Underground storage of grains • Hagevu • It is a simple pit lined with straw ropes to prevent damage from moisture. • After filling the structure fully, the paddy straw is spread on top as a thick layer and the structure is sealed with mud plaster. • The inlet opening is above the ground level. • The advantage of this structure is that fumigation is not required for disinfestation. • Grain can be stored for a longer period. This storage method is • suitable for dry agro climatic zones.

Outdoor storage of grains • Bamboo structures are used for storing unthreshed and threshed paddy. • Gummi is an outdoor structure used for storing grains. • This structure is made with bamboo strips or locally available reeds. • It is usually circular or hexagonal in shape and plastered with mud. • The roof of the structure is usually made from loose straw. • The structure is placed on a raised platform.

Modern storage • several problems associated with traditional modes of grain storage . • modifications have been done to offer improved grain storage structures to the farmers. • For small-scale storage of grains the PAU bin, Pusa bin and Hapur tekka

• PAU bin  designed by Punjab Agricultural University is a galvanized metal iron structure. The capacity ranges from 1.5 to 15 quintals. • Pusa bin It is a modification of the ordinary mud storage structure commonly used in villages.

• To provide moisture proof and airtight conditions, • polyethylene film of 700 gauge thickness has been embedded at the top, bottom and on all the sides of the mud bin. • The bin is constructed with unburnt bricks on burnt bricks or concrete floor to avoid rat burrowing. • The grain and seed both remain safe in the bin for more than one year with proper precautions.

Hapur pin •cylindrical rubberized cloth structure ed by bamboo poles on a metal tube base, • it has a small hole in the bottom through which grain can be removed. •Capacity – 2, 5, 7.5, 10 quintals

• Large scale grain storage is done in CAP and silos. • CAP Storage (Cover and Plinth) It involves the construction of brick pillars to a height of 14" from the ground with grooves. In which wooden crates are fixed for the stacking of bags of food grains.

• The stacks are covered with 250 micron LDPE sheets from the top and all four sides. • Food grains such as maize, gram, paddy, and sorghum are generally stored in CAP (cover and plinth) • storage for 6-12 month periods

Silo • The silos are either metal or concrete. • Metal silos are cheaper than the concrete. • In silos the grains in bulk are unloaded on the conveyor belts and, through mechanical operations, are carried to the storage structure. • The storage capacity of each of these silos is around 25,000 tonnes.

Godown management

• warehouse Warehouses are scientific storage structures.  especially constructed for the protection of the quantity and quality of stored products. It should provide maximum possible protection from ground moisture, rain, insect , pests, moulds, rodents, birds, fore etc.,

It should provide the necessary facility for inspection, disinfection, loading, unloading, cleaning and reconditioning.  It should protect grain from excessive moisture and temperature favourable to both insect and mould development.  It should be economical

Basic requirements • All holes, pipes and ducts and other openings shall be guarded by suitable means, such as gratings, etc., in order to prevent the entry of rats and other vermin. • The structure shall have smooth, crack free internal surfaces and shall have no unnecessary cavities and projections to prevent the lodgment from insects and vermin. • The structure shall be designed so as to facilitate its sealing for fumigation or have facility to seal a portion where fumigation has to be carried out, or it may be made completely airtight if required.

• Godown should have good ventilation arrangement to prevent moisture accumulation in pockets. • Moisture may be controlled by adopting methods of construction using non-hygroscopic material, by sound wall, roof and floor construction, by the use of vapour barriers, and by the use of aeration. • oriented that it will receive the minimum solar radiation.

Dos • Locate a godown on a well raised drained site. • Locate it near transport head. • Locate it away from pollution sources such as dairy, poultry, slaughter houses etc. • Locate it away from sources of fire such as kilns, factories etc.

• Provide suitable access, approach, internal roads and maneuvering and parking spaces for vehicles. • Provide ancillary structures such as office and services such as water supply, sanitary facilities and electricity. • Provide sufficient height of plinth to avoid flooding of stocks in times of heavy rains.

• Provide good ventilation. • Provide damp proof floor. • Provide leak proof roofs and sufficient projection of roof all round. • Provide suitable projection at plinth level and use portable steps to enter godowns in order to avoid rats.

• Provide the minimum fire fighting equipment. • Fumigate the stacks at the required intervals. • Maintain the buildings, roads and all equipment properly. • Maintain cleanliness.

Don’t • Do not allow poor specification for construction. • Do not extend stacking beyond the stacking lines. • Do not exceed stacking of bags beyond the specified limit. • Do not exceed the dosages prescribed for fumigation. • Do not keep the infested grains along with good stock.

STACKING • Food grains have to be stored and preserved on scientific lines in godowns till they are issued to consumer.

Why stacking • Te bags containing food grains cannot be just dumped inside the godown • Proper stacking ensures free access to the stocks in all parts of the godown for inspection and helps in effective disinfestations work.

Method of stacking • Simple stacking • Cross stacking • Block method.

Stake plan • Stack height depends upon , The purpose of warehouse is required . The nature of the commodity and the type of sack to be used Sacks made of woven polypropylene have a tendency to slide on each other, and therefore should not be stacked more than 3 metres high.

Jute sacks bind together better, and may be stacked up to 6 metres above the floor. The height of stacks should not exceed the height of the walls, and a space of at least 1 metre should be allowed between the tops of stacks and roof frames.

Estimation of storage capacity Based on, • The Specific Volume of the principal product to be stored; • The Maximum Tonnage of this product which it is desired to store; • The Maximum Stack Height desired; • The extent to which Separation of Lots is desired.

The Specific Volume of the Product • This is defined as the volume occupied by 1 tonne of the bagged grain. • Engineers find it more convenient to use Specific Volume rather than Bulk Density . • because large quantities of bagged grain in stacks or bulk grain in silos become compacted, and occupy less space than bulk density calculations indicate.

Commodity

Specific Volume (m³/t)

Bulrush millet

1.25

Beans, peas, lentils

1.30

Wheat, milled rice, coffee

1.60

Maize, sorghum, decorticated , groundnuts, palm seed

1.8

Soybeans, cocoa

2.0

Wheat flour, maize meal

2.1

Cotton seed

2.5