Development of safe storage guidelines for prairie-grown flaxseed

Abstract

Safe storage guidelines are essential to ensure that harvested commodities maintain the highest levels of quality during the varying environmental conditions through storage. These guidelines serve as effective tools for farmers to schedule appropriate post-harvest operations to prevent quality and quantity losses. The objective of this study was to develop safe storage guidelines for flax by investigating the effect of storage variables (storage temperature, moisture content, and storage period) on the seed deterioration parameters of flaxseed. The seed deterioration parameters include, germination, free fatty acid value (FAV), visible mould, protein content and moisture content (MC). To this end, flaxseeds were conditioned to 7, 8, 9, and 13% moisture content and stored at 10, 20, and 30 °C for a period of 16 weeks. Storage variables depicted statistically significant (P = 0.05) effect on the germination rate and FAV. Visible mould was apparent in the 4th and 3rd weeks for flaxseed with high moisture content (13%) stored at 20 and 30 °C. The protein content of flaxseed stored at different relative humidity conditions did not depict any statistically significant changes over the entire storage period but the significant changes were observed over the various temperature ranges. It was concluded that safe storage of flaxseed can be ensured at 10 and 20 °C for more than 16 weeks if the moisture contents are maintained at 7, 8, and 9%. Under rare scenarios, if the crop is to be stored at a high moisture content (∼13%) and at temperatures in excess of 20 °C, it must be dried to lower moisture levels to within 3 weeks of storage. When storing flaxseed for an extended period of time, it is recommended to keep the temperature below 20 °C to ensure high quality and to maintain seed viability.