Lessons learned in
stockpile drying
With growers facing a wetter that usual harvest , Plant and Food Research Austrralia ' s Michael Coates put emerging stockpile drying technology to the test and shares his findings .
An example of an A-frame used on a 6m long stockpile .
DEALING with fruit that has either been rain-affected or sitting in an environment where the fruit will struggle to meet the processor ’ s kernel moisture requirements can be frustrating for both the grower and the processor . Previous trips to California brought back the idea of stockpile conditioning and trailer drying from some of the Northern California growers such as Cortina Hullers and Shellers and Almont Orchards . Since then , a number of early adopters have acted on some of these ideas in the form of drying sheds and container dryers , as well as stockpile conditioning to dry fruit . Conditioning fruit refers to small movements in moisture content ( MC ), where the equilibrium moisture content ( EMC ) or target MC might be at 5.5 % and the fruit in question is only out by 1-2 % MC . Drying is generally moving larger amounts of moisture > 5 % MC . Conditioning has limited consequences as the quantities of moisture involved are small , however , getting drying wrong can affect the quality of the product through moulds , staining and the potential for concealed damage . One of the many concerns of drying is the cost of infrastructure .
Building an A-frame tunnel
Plant and Food Research Australia recently completed a project ( funded by the Almond Board of California ) looking at the effectiveness of portable stockpile dryers ( essentially a stockpile ) built around an A-frame tunnel , connected to a heated fan . There were numerous fails ending with a bit of success , so here is some of what we learned if anyone is looking to try to build something to address all the recent rain events . We made our A-frame tunnels ( pictured above ) from standard 25mm SHS 1.2mm wall in 2m sections . Each frame was covered in 900mm
32 In A Nutshell - Autumn 2022 Vol 23 Issue 1