Effects of Harvesting Practices on Damage to Florida Grapefruit and Oranges

Abstract

A series of tests were conducted to assess damage of field harvesting and handling practices to fresh citrus. Respiration, weight loss, percent decay, and a dye score, related to abrasive damage, were measured. The respiration level and dye scores were monitored at various handling points while the weight loss and decay were evaluated for an overall handling procedure. Concurrent research was conducted with an instrumented sphere (IS) to measure impact points in harvest operations of fruit removal, bagging, and transfer to pallet bins. The most conclusive indicator of damage was the dye score which ranged from 1.1 (four-point visual scale) for hand-picked control samples to 2.4 for samples dropped to the ground, subsequently gathered and placed in pallet bins, and transported to a packinghouse.