Effect of harvest-to-cooling delay and precooling on Kufri Jyoti (Solanum tuberosum) potato quality.

Precooling is the rapid removal of field heat in harvested crops to preserve their quality and increase their shelf life. The following study was conducted to understand the importance of precooling and to optimize the precooling condition to extend the storage life of potatoes. Therefore, the study was divided into two components.

Disinfestation of stored wheat grain infested with Rhyzopertha dominica by ozone treatment: process optimization and impact on grain properties.

Background: Ozone is a highly oxidative gas that has a long history of safe use as a disinfectant and sanitizer from producers of pharmaceuticals and many other organic compounds. In the current work, disinfestation of stored wheat grain infested with a common insect, Rhyzopertha dominica, was attempted through ozone (O ) treatment as an alternative to chemical fumigants.

Results: The optimized treatment conditions for ozone fumigation of stored wheat grain were 12% (w/w) grain moisture, 2.