The use of bunkers for storage of cereal grain surpluses has been developed recently both in Australia (McCabe and Champ, 1981) and Israel (Navarro et al., 1984). Whereas in Australia the bunkers receive an initial phosphine fumigation (Banks and Sticka, 1981), the Israeli concept is based on the use of a 0.83 mm thick, white, non-reinforced, UV-protected overliner, and a 0.25-mm polyethylene underliner to obtain a level of hermetic seal that precludes the need for chemical intervention against stored product insects. The requirement for storage of surpluses of locally harvested grain and the similar typical Mediterranean climatic conditions - characterized by long hot summers, mild winters with winter rainfall - both contributed to adaptation of the Israeli-type bunker to storage requirements in Cyprus.
Two previous trials of bunker storage with barley, for periods of 7.5 and 9 months, provided basic information on sealing requirements and quality conservation (Navarro et al., 1993). They showed that storage was feasible on locally constructed concrete platforms instead of the earthen bunkers used in Israel, and it was on the basis of these findings that the long-term storage of barley was carried out. The objectives of this report are to: (a) evaluate the influence of climate on the grain storage ecosystem over a 34 months storage period; (b) evaluate the influence of hermetic seal on the composition of the intergranular atmosphere during storage; and (c) summarize changes in grain quality during storage and relate them to the storage system.
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