EDN #156 Now Available

In this issue:

• Extending Postharvest Life of Fresh Fruit: Harvest for Quality
• Chicken Compost System
• Echoes from our Network: Microcontroller use
• From ECHO's Seed Bank: Allium cepa ‘Awahia’ A Short-Day Onion Option
• Books, Websites, and Other Resources: Discount on Roland Bunch's Second Edition of "Restoring the Soil"

Download EDN 156

Extending Postharvest Life of Fresh Fruit

Harvest for Quality

Tim Motis

Excerpt:

Papaya fruit have thin skin susceptible to abrasions and punctures. Skin injuries lead to green blemishes (that remain when the fruit is ripe), weight loss, and disease infection (Quintana and Paull, 1993; Sugano et al., 2013). A poster by Sugano et al. (2013) illustrates the following techniques to minimize papaya fruit damage:

• Use both hands when harvesting a fruit, to keep the fruit being harvested from rubbing against remaining fruit on the tree.
• Wear clean gloves to avoid fingernail damage and buildup of dried sap.
• Trim fruit stems before putting fruit into harvest containers.
• Remove dried sap and soil particles from fruit and harvest containers; this can be done by cleaning with a moist cloth.
• Line harvest bins with material like foam, newspaper, or cardboard. 
• Place fruit into harvest containers with the stem ends facing downwards. This minimizes blemishing caused by sap leaking out of cut stems.
• Cover the bins with a blanket to shade the fruit and minimize abrasions during transport. 

[Read the full article]