Lily Storage and Preservation Methods and Key Technical Points
Lily, also known as yehe, zhongpenghua, suannaoshu, etc., is a perennial root vegetable of the Liliaceae family, native to the temperate regions of East Asia. China has a long history of cultivating lilies, with Lanzhou in Gansu, Yixing in Jiangsu, and Shaoyang in Hunan being famous lily-producing areas. The lily bulb is composed of many fleshy scales. The scales are thick and plump, rich in nutrients, and excellent in taste. They can stimulate appetite, aid digestion, and clear heat, moisten the lungs, and relieve cough, making them renowned both domestically and internationally, and exported to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Europe, and the United States.
Storage Characteristics
Lily is a storage-tolerant vegetable with a 3-month dormancy period. Lily prefers cool, shady, and dry conditions and has a wide temperature tolerance range. The optimal storage temperature is 0±0.5°C, and 5-11°C is also acceptable. Lily is a non-tunicate bulb. Although it loses water more easily than tunicate bulbs such as onion bulbs covered by a dry outer layer, each scale is wrapped by inner and outer coverings that can reduce water evaporation. Therefore, lily storage requires a relatively low humidity environment, with relative humidity of 75%-80%. Lily is not tolerant of wind; after harvest, if exposed to wind, the scales tend to turn red and shrivel. Freshly dug bulbs are also not tolerant of sunlight, and the scales tend to discolor and lose water.
Harvesting and Post-harvest Handling
China is the country of origin for lilies. The main cultivated varieties include Longya lily, Chuan lily, and juan dan lily (Lilium lancifolium), among others. Among them, Chuan lily has good quality and is storage-tolerant. Lilies are generally harvested around the Start of Winter (Lidong) after the stems and stalks have withered in autumn and winter and following a period of low temperature. During harvest, dig out the bulbs pit by pit in sequence, and promptly remove soil and fibrous roots. Note that freshly dug bulbs must not be exposed to sunlight or wind, to prevent the scales from discoloring or losing water.
After harvest, transport the lilies promptly to a cool place, spread the bulbs evenly on the ground to air-dry, so as to dissipate field heat and lower the product temperature. When air-drying, the pile height should be 2-3 bulb layers to avoid heating in the middle. Note that the air-drying time should not be too long, to prevent the scales from discoloring.
Bulbs intended for storage should be selected for white color, large size, freshness, round and neat shape, plump scales, no fibrous roots, no loose or scattered scales, and no brown scorched scales. During handling, handle them gently to avoid bruising the bulbs.
Storage Reference Indicators
Storage temperature Relative humidity Freezing point Storage life
5-11°C 65-75% -1°C 3-4 months
Storage Methods
Layered Sand Storage Method
Select a cool indoor space or storage room, build a burial pit or use baskets (boxes). At the bottom of the pit or basket (box), first spread a layer of yellow sand that has been sun-dried, air-dried, and screened to remove impurities, about 20 cm thick. Then arrange in the order of one layer of lilies and one layer of sand, and seal the top with sand so that the lilies are not exposed to the air. Burying lilies in sand can create a self-modified atmosphere effect to reduce nutrient loss and can maintain a certain humidity. During storage, prevent heating within the pile. During storage, spot-check once every 20-30 days. When spot-checking, first turn over and inspect a small pile; if problems are found with the product, continue checking further. If the product is intact, cover it again with sand. If the yellow sand is too wet, replace it promptly. During storage, maintain a storage temperature of 5-11°C. Generally, they can be stored until March of the following year.
Plastic Film Bag Storage Method
Seal and package the lilies in moisture-permeable plastic film bags 0.03-0.04 mm thick, 4-5 kg per bag, then place them in baskets (boxes) or on storage shelves. During storage, control the storage temperature at 0°C and maintain relative humidity at 65%-75%. With this method, lilies have a long storage life, relatively small weight loss, and good appearance and quality. Using this method, they can be stored until the following spring.