Abstract:
Most of the post-harvest losses (PHL) occur on perishables due to lack of storage facilities and
high field heat through the period between harvest and consumption. The control of temperature
and relative humidity (RH) is the most important factors to reduce the PHL. Although refrigerated
cold stores are fulfilling this requirement, they are expensive to install and run. In addition, the
electric power to run refrigerators is not commonly available in the rural regions. The objective of
the study was to design and develop suitable evaporative cooling chambers for the preservation of
fresh fruits and vegetables for extending their shelf life. Six evaporative cooling chambers (ECC)
were constructed with 0.288m3 storage capacity using raw bricks and burnt bricks separately.
Sponge, saw dust and sand were used as filling materials of the wall. Temperature and RH were
observed daily during 1 hr interval using temperature - humidity meter. The raw bricks with sponge
filling material chamber has shown better performance. The inside temperatures were about 2 -
4°C less than the ambient temperature and inside RH was about 10% - 20% higher. The shelf life
of banana inside the ECC was extended by two to five days relative to ambient storage conditions.
