Produce Application

Citrus Degreening | Mushroom Growing
Vegetable Storage | Fruit Storage | Produce Applications

Aquafog fogging fans are widely used in the produce applications industry. Used for storage of potatoes, carrots, apples and more, the humidity produced by Aquafog foggers helps maintain the weight and appearance of stored produce. Aquafog units are also perfectly suited for produce applications on mushroom production areas.

Delivering much needed humidity for growing fresh mushrooms like shiitake, oyster and button, units can accept ordinary water supplies without clogging. Other uses for Aquafog fans include citrus degreening and cold storage facilities for produce applications.

The HRSM has the added benefit of allowing the user to add chemicals to the water for occasional treatments. Aquafog’s high quality fog and competitive price make it ideal for many produce applications.

Mushroom Humidification

Aquafog units provide ideal environment for the humid conditions of growing mushrooms in controlled environments. Humidification in growing mushrooms contributes to quality, quantity and profit on produce applications.

Both cold storage and mushroom production are high humidity applications and this is where Aquafog supports its largest customer base. Turbo XE’s are designed to endure 100% humidity levels. They can also handle temperatures as low as 31ºF. The corrosion-resistant design also allows for the use of chemicals to fumigate for sterilization, bruise mitigation or to inhibit rooting.

Fruit and Vegetable Storage

Many harvested crops in storage benefit from fogging and humidity control e1uipment. The Aquafog provides accurate, efficient humidification and is ideal for post-harvest handling and quality control for produce applications.

Potato Storage Produce Applications

Storage management must begin long before the first potato is unloaded into storage. Many decisions made in the spring and throughout the growing season influence how well potatoes keep. Factors which affect storageability before the tubers are placed in storage include: crop maturity, chemical vine desiccation, variety, tuber quality, soil moisture and temperature at harvest and the potato harvest and handling operation.

These factors must be properly managed to enable you to place a quality product in produce applications storage. Remember, the best that can be achieved is to maintain the quality level present at the time of initial storage.

Properly managed potato storages provide an environment to maintain the best possible tuber quality and appearance until the potatoes are sold. To accomplish this there are four basic periods of storage which must be followed: curing, cooling, holding and removal. Each period has a specific function.

The curing period immediately following harvest, often referred to as the suberization of wound healing period, is one of the most important storage phases. Weight loss is highest during the curing period due to moisture loss from cuts and bruises and high respiration rate.

As much as two to four percent of tuber weight can be lost in the form of water during the first month. If the produce applications storage is managed properly, this water loss can be used to maintain the high relative humidity needed during the wound healing period.

Wound healing is dependent on temperature and relative humidity. Cure sound tubers at a temperature range of 50-60°F with a relative humidity of 95% for 10 to 21 days. Tubers harvested with pulp temperatures lower than 50°F should be warmed to the desired curing temperature.

If the relative humidity is low in produce applications, suberization is poor and a starch layer may form over the bruise, thus preventing healing . Poor suberization encourages rot and excessive moisture loss throughout the storage season.

Uniform air movement is necessary during produce applications curing to remove respiration and field heat, to supply oxygen, and to prevent condensation within the pile. If available, a humidifier should be used to maintain the ventilating air at a relative humidity of 95%. Without a humidifier, use only the naturally occurring humid air for ventilation.

In a through-the-pile forced air ventilation system, fans should be operated minimally, usually one to two hours/24 hours. This will provide sufficient oxygen and minimize moisture loss in produce applications. Longer fan operation may be needed to maintain desired storage conditions.

Under good harvest and tuber conditions, suberization usually occurs very rapidly and tubers should be then cooled to the desired holding temperatures. Potatoes affected by freezing

The key fogging equipment that is generally used for…