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What is the right Carbon Dioxide concentration in apple and pear storage?

  • Jun 3, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: 17 hours ago

Key takeaways from Dr. Robert Prange’s Hortgro PAG 2024 presentation on carbon dioxide management in controlled atmosphere storage.


For anyone involved in apple and pear controlled atmosphere storage, this is a useful presentation from Dr. Robert Prange on managing carbon dioxide in CA rooms.


Watch the presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq4x3zFvRzc.


The key message is that there is no single “correct” CO₂ level for every room or every cultivar. CO₂ tolerance depends on factors such as cultivar, oxygen concentration, storage temperature, storage humidity, stage of the storage season, and whether post-harvest treatments such as 1-MCP or DPA are used. Too much CO₂ can cause both external and internal fruit damage.


This is why carbon dioxide should not be managed in isolation. It needs to be considered in relation to the oxygen programme, the fruit type, and the specific storage risk profile of the room.


Dr. Prange also highlighted the importance of timing. Elevated CO₂ early in the storage period is often more damaging than higher CO₂ later in the season. Where there is a history of CO₂ injury, operators may need to pay closer attention during loading, cooling, and oxygen pull-down, and consider cultivar-specific CO₂/O₂ ratios rather than relying on a generic set-point.


For storage operators, the message is a useful one: successful CA storage is not only about how low you can go on oxygen. It is about managing the full storage atmosphere well, including carbon dioxide.


At Gas At Site, this is exactly how we approach controlled atmosphere storage. Nitrogen generation, CO₂ scrubbing, room pull-down strategy, and monitoring all need to work together to support stable storage conditions and better fruit quality outcomes.


Links

Watch Dr. Robert Prange’s presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq4x3zFvRzc




 
 
 

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