Collection and postharvest
Postharvest and cold chain
Hardness, Brinell, guidelines for cooling and packaging that preserve color.
Cherry, apricot, and peach can maintain quality for 10–14 days with rapid pre-cooling and modified atmosphere.
The harvest is conducted using the “cold chain” principle: if the field temperature is not rapidly lowered, respiration rates sharply increase. Hydro-cooling/forced-air cooling is preferred for cherries, while the gentle forced-air method is favored for apricots and peaches; the goal is to achieve a core temperature of 0–2 °C within 4–6 hours. RH 90–95%, CO₂/O₂ ratios are monitored in MAP packaging.
Sorting employs harmless UV sorting, calibrators, and scales to check mass; ventilated box-packaging improves heat exchange. Adsorbents are used for ethylene-sensitive varieties; a pallet-patron scheme is selected to reduce vibration and shock stress. IoT registrars provide tracing along the cold chain. These protocols significantly reduce returns and minimize delivery rejections.
Cherry, apricot, and peach can maintain quality for 10–14 days with rapid pre-cooling and modified atmosphere.
The harvest is conducted using the “cold chain” principle: if the field temperature is not rapidly lowered, respiration rates sharply increase. Hydro-cooling/forced-air cooling is preferred for cherries, while the gentle forced-air method is favored for apricots and peaches; the goal is to achieve a core temperature of 0–2 °C within 4–6 hours. RH 90–95%, CO₂/O₂ ratios are monitored in MAP packaging.
Sorting employs harmless UV sorting, calibrators, and scales to check mass; ventilated box-packaging improves heat exchange. Adsorbents are used for ethylene-sensitive varieties; a pallet-patron scheme is selected to reduce vibration and shock stress. IoT registrars provide tracing along the cold chain. These protocols significantly reduce returns and minimize delivery rejections.
