Post-Harvest calculators

Store wheat at about 12–13% moisture and paddy at 13–14% for long-term storage. Each extra 1% of moisture roughly halves safe storage life and sharply raises mould and insect risk, so dry to the target before binning. Use the Safe Storage Moisture and Equilibrium Moisture Content calculators to confirm.

Dried weight = wet weight × (100 − wet moisture) ÷ (100 − target moisture). For example, 1,000 kg of paddy at 22% dried to 14% yields about 907 kg — a shrinkage of roughly 9.3%. The Grain Moisture Shrinkage Calculator does this for any crop and shows the water removed and value.

Total milling recovery is typically 64–68% of paddy, with head (whole) rice often 50–58% and the rest brokens, plus husk (~20%) and bran (~8%). Higher head-rice recovery means more value. The Rice Milling Recovery Calculator splits your paddy into all fractions with values.

By the Q₁₀ rule, dropping temperature 10 °C typically 2–3× the shelf life. Precooling to remove field heat fast (the 7/8-cooling target) is the single biggest gain. The Q₁₀ Shelf-Life and Cold Storage Shelf-Life calculators project days kept at any storage temperature.

Size by refrigeration tonnage (TR) covering field heat, respiration, transmission and infiltration loads during pull-down. As a rough guide, plan around 0.5–1 TR per tonne of fast-cooling produce. The Cold-Room Refrigeration Load & TR Sizing tool computes it from your dimensions and crop.

For grains it is high storage moisture (mould, mycotoxins) plus insects and rodents — 5–16% of food grains in India. For fruit and vegetables it is delayed cooling, mechanical damage and broken cold chain — losses of 30–40%. Drying to safe moisture and fast precooling cut both the most.

Often no — ethylene producers (apple, banana, tomato) damage ethylene-sensitive produce (leafy greens, broccoli), and temperature or odour needs may clash. The Produce Mixed-Load Compatibility database (USDA AH-66) flags the binding conflict and splits a basket into compatible loads.

Keep grain below safe storage moisture (≈13% for cereals), cool it with aeration, and limit storage time at warm temperatures. Mould and aflatoxin risk is driven by water activity × temperature × time. The Grain Mould & Mycotoxin Risk tool maps your risk and the safe moisture target.

Compare the price discount for wet grain against drying cost (fuel + shrinkage). If the wet-sale discount exceeds your cost per tonne to dry plus the shrinkage value lost, sell wet; otherwise dry. The Grain Drying Cost and Grain Moisture Shrinkage calculators give both sides.

Value addition is processing raw produce into a higher-value product — paddy to rice, fruit to pulp or jam, cane to jaggery, oilseed to oil. It pays when added revenue exceeds processing cost plus recovery loss. The Value Addition Profit Calculator and the recovery tools test each specific chain.

Aeration airflow is set per tonne for the job — cooling needs ~0.05–0.2 m³/min/t, drying far more. The fan must also overcome the static pressure of the grain depth. The Grain Aeration Airflow and Cooling-Front calculators give the m³/hr, CFM and hours to push a cooling front through the bin.

Most fruit and vegetables keep best at 90–95% relative humidity to limit transpiration weight loss; onions, garlic and pumpkins prefer a drier 65–70%. Low vapour-pressure deficit (VPD) keeps produce from shrivelling. Use the Storage Humidity (VPD) and Produce Weight Loss calculators.