Agsci 111 Module 3 - Harvesting and Field Handling

AGSCI 111 LECTURE
Module 3: Harvesting and Field

Handling
©2010 Acedo, A.L. Jr.. Postharvest Physiology of Perishable Crops (Hort 111). Postharvest Technology
Division, Department of Horticulture, Visayas State University, Leyte, Philippines
Harvest maturity
• Essential to optimize quality for consumers and
postharvest life
Vegetables harvested too old or too young do not keep long.
Source: Bautista and Acedo, 1987

• Harvest too immature: • Harvest too mature:
- poor taste and flavor - short shelf life
- fruit will not ripen - poor texture; soft fruit
- susceptible to water loss - overripe taste and off flavour
- susceptible to damage - susceptible to pathogens
- susceptible to pathogens
• Know your produce
- composition and changes during
development
-climacteric/non-climacteric
(respiratory pattern; role of
ethylene)
- evaluate different possible indices
for optimizing harvest time and
relate with consumer requirement
• Different markets may require

produce at different maturities.
Characteristics of produce harvested at proper stage
of maturity
✓ Better quality
- Ripe fruits possess all the desirable characteristics
Characteristics of produce harvested at proper stage
of maturity
✓ Longer storage life
- Maximum amount of respiratory

substrates
✓ Greater resistance to
physiological disorders
Characteristics of produce harvested at proper
stage of maturity
✓ Greater resistance to mechanical stress
Types of Maturity
✓ Physiological maturity
- state of development when the
commodity has attained maximum
growth and development
✓ Commercial maturity
- state of development when the plant
start possesses the necessary
Fancy Choice Jumbo
characteristics preferred by (3.5”) (3.5-4.5”) >4.5”)
consumers.
Physiological and Commercial maturity
• Physiological maturity
• stage in development of
plant or plant organ when
maximum growth has
been achieved (i.e. when
maximum dry matter is
reached)
• Commercial or
horticultural maturity
• stage in development of
plant or plant organ when
it meets market/
consumer requirement Source: KMUTT, 2007
• 6/15/21
Types of Maturity
Growth Maturation Ripening Senescence
Inflorescence
Fully developed fruits
Tips and Tops Broccoli, cauliflower,
Tomato, pineapple,
banana blossom,
sweet potato, kangkong, banana, squash
squash
asparagus, celery, Partially developed fruits
Sprouts pechay, squash
Cucumber, green beans, Storage roots and
mungbean, sweet peas, okra, sweet seeds
radish, mustard corn, jackfruit, squash sweet potato, sugar
beet, radish
Source: Esguerra and Bautista, 2007

APO National Training Courses on
Postharvest Operations
©2010 Acedo, forPhysiology
A.L. Jr.. Postharvest Vegetables, Fruits
of Perishable Crops (Hortand Meat Technology
111). Postharvest
Maturity Indices
✓ Signs or indications of the readiness of the plant for
harvest
✓ Types of indices
▪ Subjective – uses the senses
appearance, touch, smell, resonance, sweetness

▪ Objective – measurable indices
chemical constituents
computation
dimensional fullness of finger (banana)
Harvest maturity indices
• Subjective indices – rely on grower’s/picker’s experience; some
have been used as basis in developing objective indices.
1. Shape and size
Banana index fruit for harvest

maturity determination -middle
finger of outer whorl of second
hand: 38-46 caliper units
depending on export destination
(objective size measurement)
Source: Acedo, 2005a
Source: Sivakumar and Korsten, 2007; KMUTT, 2007
Light three Light full three Full three quarters Full
quarters quarters
✓ Change in shape
Banana caliper
Banana hand
✓ Change in shape
Immature Mature
Mango
2. Peel color
Source: Acedo and Thanh, 2006
Source: KMUTT, 2007
Pineapple/Durian Fruits Color Changes
Source: KMUTT, 2007

✓ Change in color
Papaya
Mangosteen
✓ Change in peel color
Pineapple
Tomato
3. Pedicel drying (honeydew melon) or abscission zone
development (cantaloupe melon – harvested full slip)
4. Bloom production – mango, mangosteen
Source: KMUTT, 2007
✓ Development of abscission zone
Durian Melon
✓ Appearance of Bloom
Mango Grapes
5. Compactness (solidity, firmness) – e.g.
cabbages. Over mature heads crack while
immature heads are puffy or have hollow
spaces inside.
6. Tenderness – e.g. leafy greens, beans,

peas
7. Days from planting or flowering – e.g. 110-120 days from full bloom
in ‘Carabao’ mango, 25 days from field planting for mustard greens
(combined with size)
8. Smell/aroma – e.g. ripe jackfruit emits sweet aroma
9. Acoustics (Resonance) – e.g. watermelon, jackfruit or durian

produced hollow sound when gently tapped by hand; commercial
acoustic and resonance detectors developed for mechanical grading.
✓ Compactness/solidity
Cabbage Cauliflower
Broccoli
✓ Drying of Plant Part
✓ Aroma
Salak Jackfruit Durian
✓ Sound produced when tapped
Durian Watermelon
Computational/phenological
Days from
shooting or
appearance of
false hand
Days from flower induction
Heat units (degree days)

Days from
mango: 1000 anthesis
cabbage: 1000-1050
cucumber: 607
gladiolus: 1121-1665
Harvest maturity indices
• Objective indices
1. Color – use of electronic colorimeter; L*, a*, b*, chroma (C*) and hue angle (ho);
often expressed as ho; on-line color sorting machines used in citrus, mango, tomato
and apple packinghouses function similar to lab equipment.
Source: KMUTT, 2007
2. Soluble solids content (SSC) – sugar content; use of refractometers (hand-held,
benchtop, electronic); ranges 0-5, 0-20, 10-50; need regular calibration
Minimum SSC (%) for selected fruit
Apple 10
Cherry 14-16
Kiwifruit 6.2
Litchi 16-17
Papaya 15
Pineapple 12
Watermelon 10
Source: KMUTT, 2007 Source: Sivakumar and Korsten, 2007
3. Acidity – measured by titration; sugar to acid ratio (SSC:acid) often better related to
fruit palatability than either SSC or acid level alone.
Minimum SSC (%)
Cherry: 14-16
Litchi: 16-17
Hand-held refractometer
Papaya: 15
Pineapple: 12
Watermelon: 10
Source: Sirakunar and Korstan, 2007
Digital refractometer
4. Firmness – use of penetrometer/pressure tester or Instron instrument
(compression); best to automate to remove bias of individual testers; e.g.
apple firmness should be 14 lb force.
For tomatoes For sweet corn
For mangoes For apples plus starch test

Source: Acedo, 2005b; KMUTT, 2007; Sivakumar and Korsten, 2007
5. Starch content – iodine test (iodine reacts with starch resulting in blue to black
color); 2% iodine solution; used mainly for apples; rating scale:
1 = Full starch (all blue-black)
2 = Clear of stain in seed cavity
and halfway to vascular area
3 = Clear through the area
including vascular bundles
4 = Half of flesh clear
5 = Starch just under skin
Source: Sivakumar and Korsten, 2007 6 = Free of starch (no stain)
6. Juice content – increases with maturity; used in citrus
Minimum juice content of different citrus species
Minimum Juice Content

Variety
(%)
Clementines 40
Grapefruit 35
Lemons 25
Mandarins 33
Novel oranges 30
Other oranges 35
7. Oil content – used in avocado cultivars high in oil content
8. Dry matter content – used in avocado and kiwifruit
9. Specific gravity – relative gravity or weight of produce as compared to water

(specific gravity =1) at ambient temperature; increases with maturity; e.g. in
mango, sinkers more mature than floaters.
Avocado Fruit
Oil content = 8%
Mandarin Oranges
– Titrable Acidity = 0.5-0.6%
– TSS/TA = 8.1
✓ Specific gravity
Mango Floatation
Maturity indices of fruit and vegetables
• For most produce, combining different indices to determine

optimum harvest maturity would be more ideal than relying
on a single index.
• A reliable maturity index of a specific fruit or vegetable
should be specific to a cultivar and should not be affected by
climatic variations, plant size and vigor, and soil and cultural
conditions.
• Given examples provide possible indices of common fresh
produce.
Maturity indices of selected fruit
Banana Citrus
• Top leaves start drying • Change in colour (green to orange)
• Color of finger axis- from dark to light green • Ease of separation
• Floral ends fall with slight touch • Starch content
• Fruit angularity-from triangular to round or sharp • Rate of respiration
• Days from flowering: 95-110 days
• Pulp to skin ratio – 120:1.2 • Days from blooming
• Seed color (green to brown)
• Change in organic acid
• Juice content – 50%
Mango
• Fullness of shoulders Pineapple
• Pedicel color-from green to brown • Yellowing
• Growth of fibers on stone/corrugations • High TSS and low acidity
• Latex flow from stalk (faster drying latex) (TSS-13%; acidity-0.5-0.6%)
• Days from flowering to maturity • Tips of bracts projecting as eyes start drying
• Appearance of bloom on fruit surface • Brix:acid ratio: 21-27
• Heat units or cumulative degree days • Specific gravity: 0.98–1.02.
• Change in lenticel morphology
• Specific gravity: 1.0-1.02 (Alphonso, Pairi) Papaya
• 33% color long-distance market
• 85% color for local market
• Yellow to purple color
Maturity indices: Mango
✓ days from flowering
✓ appearance of bloom
✓ change in shape
✓ latex flow from stalk
✓ heat units
✓ specific gravity
✓ change in color of pedicel
(green to brown)
Maturity indices of selected vegetables
Asparagus Carrot
• Spears grow above the ground • Size at least ¾ diameter
• Harvested before tops begin to spread • Proper color development, no zoning
• Spears not too long
Cauliflower Okra
• Head size and condition • Pods young, tender, show maximum growth
• Harvested before heads become discolored, • Readily snapped when picked
loose, ricy or blemished • Overmature pods are fibrous and tough
• Overmature flowers are too long, elongated, fuzzy
and ricy
Peas Tomato
• Sugar: 5-6%, sugar declines with maturity, • Breaker, pink, light red, red ripe
starch:protein increased • Mature green-pulp surrounding seeds jelly-
• Pods tender, young, well filled like, seeds slip away from knife
• Color from dark to light green • For long-distance shipment, mature green or
• Firmness: 5kg/cm2 breaker
Harvesting Methods
Harvesting method
• Proper harvesting/picking essential to avoid physical injury
• Use appropriate harvesting tools and containers
• Educate pickers about techniques and safety during harvesting
• Manual harvesting
- common in Asian countries
- labor and time consuming
- advantageous to minimize physical injury & for selective harvesting
• Mechanical harvesting
- shake and catch action
- could save labor and management costs as high as 30-45%
- increases physical injury
- increases cost in culling undesired produce and foreign matter
- only recommended for large-scale operations where labor is
scarce & expensive.
Manual harvesting recommendations
• Careful harvesting by hand.

• Use harvesting aids - knives, clippers, scissors, picking
poles, ladders, containers, trailers - they reduce labor,
improve harvest efficiency, speed up harvesting, and
help maintain produce quality.
• Protective clothing and hand gloves for pickers’ health
and safety.
• For repeated harvests, observe care not to damage
plant or developing fruit for succeeding harvests.
Hand harvesting tools

Harvesting okra and chili with
protective clothing to prevent Source: Esguerra and Bautista, 2007
skin allergy and irritation
• For large, tall fruit trees, use appropriate picking
pole, ladder or similar equipment.
Picking poles: a-mango (Philippines), b-

with clipper (Thailand); c-papaya pole
(Thailand), d-mango (Malaysia)
Not recommended - danger to fruit and picker
Harvesting Tools and Aids
Papaya Mango picking
picking pole pole
- Thailand - Malaysia
Picking pole
w/ clipper for Mango picking
fruits - pole -
Thailand Philippines
✓ Minimize mechanical injuries
▪ harvesting tools and aids
▪ use harvesting aids
▪ harvested produce must not be dropped
• Leafy greens must be carefully uprooted or cut at the base with a sharp knife to
reduce effort and picker fatigue.
Common harvesting operation for leafy vegetables in Asia; harvested produce left on
the ground for some time (potential food safety problem exists) to allow temporary wilting
(minimize leaf breakage during handling) and drying of cut base (good for cabbages and
other brassicas for soft rot control).
• Use small, smooth-surfaced field containers (e.g. plastic or metal bucket); total
weight per container <20 kg for one person to easily carry. Cotton bag or small
bucket tied to the picker’s waist as harvesting container.
• If wooden crates or bamboo baskets are used, use liners such as fresh leaves,
sacks or used newsprint to protect produce from damage.
• Harvesting/collection containers
Containers must be
clean, produce
protected from
damage, and not
overfilled.
Mechanical harvesting
• Shakers • Diggers
• X-ray detection device

• Wind machines
• Mobile orchard cranes
• Automated fruit picking
with robotic system
Harvesting time
• The time of the day when harvesting is done has impact on produce quality.
• Harvesting at cooler time of the day minimizes product heat load & increases
worker efficiency.
• Harvesting when sun is up exposes produce to high temperature, so they must
transferred to a shaded area and allowed to dissipate heat.
✓ Harvest at the right time of the day
Mango
delatexing
Sugar to starch conversion
Latex stain
Oleocellosis
Harvesting time (contd.)
• Early morning harvesting could increase damage since produce is turgid

and brittle and latex flow is high, so necessary care must be observed.
• Harvesting during or just after a rain must be avoided since produce is wet
and may have adhering soil particles, which favor microbial growth.
Otherwise, proper washing and drying must be done.
• Leafy greens (e.g. Pakchoi) have highest water content at 0400h and at
2000h, resulting in slower rate of wilting. Harvesting later in the day has
added advantage - sugar levels are higher (due to photosynthesis)
resulting in slower rate of yellowing.
Field handling
• Careful handling of produce in the field minimizes physical injury and preserves
produce quality.
• Avoid dropping or dragging harvesting/field containers, throwing produce into

the container, overpacking of containers.
• Keep produce out of the sun and move

rapidly to shaded well-ventilated area
or to packinghouse.
• Temperature of produce when exposed to

the sun can increase by 1oC per min.
• Field handling operations – sorting,

dehanding (banana), latex draining,
packing and transport (to packing Temporary shade for sorting and packing
house, customers or markets).
Tomato field handling (small farmer) – hauling to shaded area
but placed on the ground, sorting, packing, weighing and
loading to transport vehicle
Leafy greens field handling (small farmer) – sorting under shed
but on the ground, trimming base to remove roots (for some),
packing and transport (loose or in packs)
Banana hauling and transport (local market)
Guava field handling – sorting

and packing in baskets
Mango hauling to packing shed
Can you spot the potential quality/safety problems? Orchard packing of oranges
Longan field handling – sorting, packing and transport for SO2 treatment
Mango field handling (export) – stem trimming, latex draining, packing, transport to packinghouse
Banana field handling
(export) – dehanding,
latex draining in jute
sack-lined trailer,
transport to packing
house in trailer or cable
system for fruit
bunches
✓ Temperature management
▪ avoid exposure to direct sunlight
✓ Temperature management
▪ pre-cool within the shortest possible time
✓ Minimize microbial contamination
▪ harvested produce must not come in contact with the soil
Maintenance of harvesting equipment/tools/aids
• Regular repair
✓ harvesting tools
✓ collecting baskets/containers, bags
• Storage room/area must provide protection
from birds and rats
• Regular cleaning/washing
✓ soap/disinfectants
Hygiene for harvesting apparatus
• All tools/equipment must be checked for soundness and if damaged,

disposed of properly or repaired.
• Regular cleaning of all equipment is essential.

• Tools must be washed daily in soap solution or sanitized water.
• Harvesting bags must be washed at the end of harvesting season.
• Harvesting crates must be washed daily to remove dirt and debris.
• All tools/equipment must be stored in a closed facility protected from rats
and birds which are sources of microbial contaminants.
End of topic 4
(harvesting and field handling)

Agsci 111 Module 3 - Harvesting and Field Handling

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Agsci 111 Module 3 - Harvesting and Field Handling

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Agsci 111 Module 3 - Harvesting and Field Handling

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

AGSCI 111 LECTURE

Module 3: Harvesting and Field

Vegetables harvested too old or too young do not keep long.

Source: Bautista and Acedo, 1987

• Different markets may require

- Ripe fruits possess all the desirable characteristics

✓ Longer storage life

- Maximum amount of respiratory

✓ Greater resistance to mechanical stress

Source: Esguerra and Bautista, 2007

▪ Subjective – uses the senses

appearance, touch, smell, resonance, sweetness

1. Shape and size

Banana index fruit for harvest

Source: Acedo and Thanh, 2006

Source: KMUTT, 2007

Source: KMUTT, 2007

4. Bloom production – mango, mangosteen

Source: KMUTT, 2007

6. Tenderness – e.g. leafy greens, beans,

8. Smell/aroma – e.g. ripe jackfruit emits sweet aroma

9. Acoustics (Resonance) – e.g. watermelon, jackfruit or durian

Salak Jackfruit Durian

Days from flower induction

Heat units (degree days)

Source: KMUTT, 2007

Minimum SSC (%) for selected fruit

For tomatoes For sweet corn

For mangoes For apples plus starch test

6. Juice content – increases with maturity; used in citrus

Minimum Juice Content

8. Dry matter content – used in avocado and kiwifruit

9. Specific gravity – relative gravity or weight of produce as compared to water

• For most produce, combining different indices to determine

• Careful harvesting by hand.

Hand harvesting tools

Picking poles: a-mango (Philippines), b-

• X-ray detection device

Sugar to starch conversion

• Early morning harvesting could increase damage since produce is turgid

• Avoid dropping or dragging harvesting/field containers, throwing produce into

• Keep produce out of the sun and move

• Temperature of produce when exposed to

• Field handling operations – sorting,

Guava field handling – sorting

Mango hauling to packing shed

• All tools/equipment must be checked for soundness and if damaged,

• Regular cleaning of all equipment is essential.

You might also like