Storage and preservation of ginger

Ginger is the fresh rhizome of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), a perennial herb of ginger family, 40~100cm high. Alias ginger root, a hundred spicy clouds, hook loaded refers to, because of the Xin, Yanliang boy, fresh ginger, honey roasted ginger. Ginger rhizome (dried ginger), cork (ginger bark), leaves (ginger leaves) can be used as medicine. Ginger in traditional Chinese medicine has a divergence, vomiting, cough and other effects.

Ginger growth habits

Ginger originated in tropical areas of Southeast Asia, like warm and humid climate, cold resistance and drought resistance is weak, the plant can only grow frost-free period, the most suitable temperature for growth is 25-28℃, the temperature is lower than 20℃, the germination is slow, the frost plant will wither, the frost rootstock completely loses the germination ability. The annual average temperature of most counties in Guangxi's main producing areas is 18-19℃, the average temperature in July is 25.3℃, and the extreme high temperature is 39℃; the average temperature in January is 10.2℃, and the extreme low temperature is-4℃; the frost-free period is more than 330 days throughout the year. The annual rainfall is 900-1300 mm, and the relative humidity of the air is about 80%.

Like warm and humid climate, not cold-resistant, afraid of humidity, afraid of direct light. Avoid continuous cropping. Slopes and slightly shady plots should be selected for cultivation. The upper layer is thick, loose, fertile and well drained sandy soil to heavy soil.

How is ginger stored and preserved?

ginger storage

Ginger for storage should be harvested in sunny weather, dry tubers without mud, remove stems and leaves, and remove pestilence ginger, secondary ginger and ginger damaged by machinery in the middle and late November when the aboveground part begins to wither and the rhizome fully expands and ripens. The key to storage is heat preservation. Here are four methods:

1. Closed storage: strict selection of ginger, leaving good quality bulk piles in the warehouse, covered with straw curtains, ready for storage. Then build brick walls in the south direction of the warehouse, separate a small warehouse, and paint mud on the brick walls to block the brick cracks, prevent cold wind blowing, stack ginger in the brick walls, ginger pile height of about 2 meters, evenly put a number of reeds tied into the top of the stack to facilitate ventilation. When stacking, there is no gap in the corner, and the middle can be slightly loose. After stacking, immediately seal the top with mud or straw bags. The stacking warehouse should not be too large. Generally, each warehouse should be stacked about 5000 kg. The temperature is generally controlled at 18C-20C. When the temperature drops, the cover can be increased; if the temperature is too high, the cover can be reduced to dissipate heat and cool down.

Second, pit buried storage: where the groundwater level is higher, the pit buried method is used to store ginger. The depth of the pit is based on the principle of no water. Generally, it is 1 meter deep, about 2 meters in diameter, wide and narrow, round or square. A pit can store about 2500 kilograms. A straw handle is erected in the center of the pit to facilitate ventilation and temperature measurement. After the ginger is arranged, the surface is covered with a layer of ginger leaves at the beginning, and then covered with a layer of soil. Later, with the temperature decreasing, the soil is covered in stages. The total thickness of soil covering is 60 - 65 cm, in order to maintain the principle of proper temperature storage in the pile, straw is used as a dome on the top of the pit to prevent rain, drainage ditches are set around, and wind barriers are set up in the north to prevent cold.

Storage management, both to prevent heat and cold. The initial temperature of the pit is easy to rise, and the pit mouth cannot be completely closed. In the first month, it is required to maintain a relatively high pit temperature, which needs to be above 20C, and then it can be maintained at about 15C. Winter must be sealed tightly to prevent pit temperature from being too low. During storage, check ginger block frequently for any change, and there should be no accumulated water at the bottom of the pit.

III. Sediment burial: The burial pit is made of bricks and stones in the warehouse or basement. The height is about 0.8 meters, the width is about 1 meter, and the length is unlimited. When storing, first spread a layer of sediment with a thickness of about 5 cm and a water content of about 10% at the bottom of the pit, and then put several ventilation shafts, and then put the selected ginger on the sediment in the pit, a layer of ginger (four or five pieces of ginger thick) and a layer of mud, piled up to about 5 cm away from the pit mouth. Finally, cover it with sand to keep the ginger out of the air.

During storage, the temperature changes in the pile should be checked frequently, and the method of thickening or removing the cover should be adjusted to maintain a relatively stable temperature and humidity in the storage environment. Do not turn the pile easily.

4. Shelter storage: a layer of sand and a layer of ginger, piled into rectangular stacks 1 meter high and 1 meter wide, each stack 1250 - 2500 kg, and a thin bamboo pole tied into a diameter of about 10 cm in the middle of the stack. Ventilation beam, and put in a thermometer to measure stack temperature. The stack is sealed with wet sand. After sealing the stack, cover the hole door and leave air holes on the hole to avoid cold wind blowing.

Storage management, after entering the callus period for a week, the temperature gradually rose to 25C-30C, after 6 - 7 weeks, the temperature gradually dropped to 15C, ginger color yellow, and has aroma, spicy taste, at this time can open the door, cold weather to close. In the late storage period, the temperature should be maintained at 12C-15C for a long time. After the beginning of spring, if the relative humidity is less than 90%-95%, some water can be sprinkled on the top surface of the stack. If there is budding phenomenon, it means that the storage temperature is too high, and ventilation can be adjusted; if the ginger stack sinks and has peculiar smell, it should be checked for disease and rot.

Fresh ginger

Cellar site selection and disinfection

Newly dug cellars should be selected in sunny, sheltered, dry terrain, convenient drainage places, deep 4~5m. The old cellar should first remove 2~3cm thick old soil layer, expose new soil layer, and then spray 800 times carbendazim solution for sterilization.

Ginger harvesting and selection

Storage ginger should be fully grown rhizomes, generally harvested before the first frost to avoid frost and freezing. Harvesting with soil too wet can be a little drying, pay attention to avoid excessive sun. Generally, immediately after harvest, storage in the cellar, can not stay overnight in the field. Can't harvest in rainy days or after rain, otherwise it can't be stored. The ginger used for storage should be strictly selected, and the frozen, injured, small, withered, diseased and rain-affected ginger pieces should be removed, and the healthy ginger pieces with neat size, good quality and no disease should be selected for storage.

Ginger placed in cellar

Before placing, lay a layer of river sand 4~5cm thick at the bottom of the cellar, erect 2~3 bundles of reed firewood or corn stalks per square meter for convenient ventilation. The graded ginger is stacked in a centralized manner according to grades, and the ginger is vertically arranged tightly when stacked, with a layer of ginger and a layer of sand, and the sand thickness is 2 - 3cm. The top layer of ginger is about 30cm away from the top of the cellar. The whole process requires light handling, do not bruise ginger blocks.

open pit heat dissipation

At the beginning of storage, ginger block breathes vigorously and the temperature in the cellar is relatively high, so do not completely close the cellar mouth and keep ventilation. At the beginning of storage, ginger is crispy and tender, easy to peel, and the temperature should be kept above 20℃ to make ginger callus aging, scar long flat, and no longer peeling. Shade should be placed at the mouth of the cellar to prevent sunlight from entering.

progressive pit covering

When the temperature in the cellar drops to about 15℃, put a layer of crop straw on the surface of ginger to avoid cold wind invading ginger when opening the cellar for inspection. Cover the cellar mouth with straw first, gradually increase the thickness of soil compaction with the decrease of temperature until it is compacted tightly, and put up straw curtains to keep out wind if necessary.

temperature control

Storage of ginger requires strict temperature. Ginger likes warm and humid environment, can not tolerate low temperature, can not tolerate cold, below 10℃ will suffer from cold damage, the best temperature for storage of ginger is 15~18℃. Ventilation should be strengthened when the temperature in the cellar is above 20℃.

humidity control

A psychrometer is hung in the cellar to check the temperature and humidity in the cellar regularly and control the humidity in the cellar at about 95%. Humidity is lower than 90% ginger easy to lose water dry shrinkage, humidity is too high easy to cause ginger plague.

Pick out the diseased ginger pieces

Check cellar at any time will be moldy rotten ginger pieces picked out of the cellar to prevent the spread of germs. At the same time, the ginger pieces around the diseased ginger are picked out and stored separately, and disinfected.