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.
