Valley Natural Storage in Kütdiken Lemon is as Effective as Volcanic Natural Storage

Increasing food demand is a pressing issue due to global food waste and population growth. In Türkiye, high humidity in the volcanic storage of Ortahisar leads to significant postharvest losses of lemons. This study aims to highlight the storage advantages of Kütdiken lemons by comparing the conditions in Bolu's wide valley with those in Ortahisar. The lemons were stored in three environments: a mechanized cold storage, volcanic tuff storage, and valley storage in Bolu. Temperature and humidity were monitored with data loggers, while weight loss, decay rate, and quality characteristics were assessed periodically.The results indicated that both storage duration and environment significantly impact Kütdiken lemons. On the 30th day, weight loss was 6.03%, increasing to 10.27% by the 120th day. The lowest weight loss occurred in controlled conditions (5.90%), while the highest (6.64%) was in valley storage. The decay rate was lowest at 2.12% in controlled storage and highest at 2.74% in valley storage. Juice content was measured at 30.16% on day 30 and 35.06% on day 120, with volcanic storage yielding the lowest juice content (30.92%) and controlled storage the highest (32.79%). In conclusion, Bolu's favorable climate and logistical ease to markets like Istanbul and Ankara suggest that natural valley storage for lemons could be a viable alternative. Establishing natural storage facilities in this region could enhance capacity and competitiveness.