Temperature is one of the most important factors affecting quality and shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce is exposed to changing temperature conditions during the supply chain. This makes a big challenge in designing storage transport containers, which are supposed to provide optimum modified gas concentration inside. In this study, a system was developed to actively control CO2 and O2 concentrations inside a storage container under constant and changing temperature. A mini blower exchanging air between the container and external atmosphere controlled the internal gas concentration. This was done with the help of a thin and long tube, which prevented air from entering the container but facilitated air exchange when the blower is switched ON. The Blower ON Frequency (s h-1) was modelled as a function of storage temperature, taking the type and amount of fruit, blower and tube properties and the set point of O2 volumetric concentration into account. The model was then used in programming an Arduino microcontroller to control the blower in response to real-time measurement of storage temperature. The developed gas control system was then validated by storage of sweet cherries. The system could control the CO2 concentration at the set point level (12.5 ?for constant temperatures of 6 °C and 17 °C and changing temperature from 17 °C to 9 °C by applying the required Blower ON Frequency. There was a good agreement between the measured values of gas concentration and predicted values from the simulation so that the maximum RMSE value of predictions was 0.24 ?elated to O2 at changing temperature condition. |