Farming News – Understanding technology Post-harvesting

July 3rd, 2009 by Steve Evans

When it comes to processing perishable crops, what is done to the crops the moment they are uprooted from the ground determines the final quality of the said crop, to a very large extent.
As the name suggests, the act of processing the crop ( Dusting, sorting, cleaning and packing the crops) after the harvest, is called Post harvesting. It becomes a critical part in processing perishable food crops because these crops have a tendency to deteriorate from the moment they are uprooted from the farms.
Processed food items, fresh farm produce or whatever it is that the crop ought to be sold for, the out put of the post harvesting technology largely determines the caliber of the processed food crop.

Though it might seem like an obvious thing to do post harvesting the crop, it is still a difficult task to be achieved either due to lack of awareness or due to the lack of infrastructure. Post harvest usually consists of cleaning up of the crops, removing moisture and bringing down the pace of the chemical reactions that usually occur then.
These chemical reactions can also occur, in some cases, when two crops are stored together, given a particular temperature. To avoid this and also to streamline the post harvesting operations a lot of expensive equipment has to be put in place like complicated sorting, packing, storing and facilities for moving perishable crops about in storage areas are duly put in place, more so,if we are talking about a fully functional industrial size which comes equipped with conveyor belts for moving these crops around, cold-storage facilities,atmosphere-controllable storage equipment and advanced sorting and harvesting machinery. For more please visit Harvesting wallnuts

The above mentioned sophisticated equipment, coupled with state-of-the-art technology managed efficiently with superbly trained staff should be able to battle with the time constrained challenge of being able to produce the best quality output, especially with regards to the perishable food crops and hence becomes an important element in the food processing chain.
Be it your home garden which delivers some kind of perishables or an industrial unit, a few things have to be considered carefully and attended to. Firstly, the crops need to be culled (removal of damaged crop elements). Secondly, the perishables need to be cooled immediately and maintained at that temperature to avoid further possible degradation of crops and finally, the crops have to be handled expertly and with care.
In tropical and subtropical countries, the development of the fruit is affected by the temperature. Maturity of the rind and maturity of the flesh of the fruit are not synchronized. The fruit is edible even when the rind still remains green.
Mature fruit vary in size, even those on the same tree With sweet oranges such as Valencia or Liucheng, harvesting should begin with the smaller fruit which mature first. For more please visit Pecan Peaker

With mandarins such as Ponkan, it is the end of the fruit furthest from the stem which turns yellow first. Harvesting should begin with the large fruit. Smaller fruit, or those which are slow to turn color, should be harvested later on in the season.
It is best to harvest citrus on a clear, sunny day with low humidity. The fruit should be harvested as soon as the dew has evaporated. On a cloudy day, the fruit should be harvested in the afternoon. Fruit should not be harvested at all on a rainy day.
Fruit of different sizes should not be mixed together, or the market price the grower gets may be only that of the smallest fruit.
The optimum size for fruit varies from one variety to another. Generally, large fruit fetch the highest price. However, in the case of mandarins such as Ponkan, large fruit (8.5 cm in diameter) and extra large fruit (9.0 cm in diameter) have a low level of total soluble solids and low acid content. They have a thick peel and little juice, and do not store well. They should be consumed soon after harvest. For more please visit Pecan Harvester