University of Horticultural Sciences., Bagalkot

K.R.C.C H., ArabhaviTopic;

Presented By;Bommesh j. c

UHS09UG11

The fruits are ready for harvest between 135- 170 days after anthesis. pomegranate are non–climatic fruits.

fruits colour changes in summer to dark yellow & in winter to dark red .

Maturity indices

The persistent calyx at the anterior end of the fruits curves in word & become hard & dry at maturity.

Rind is very hard and red juice content.

The fruits outer rind becomes yellowish and the fruit when tapped produces a metallic sound.

Harvesting season Mrig bahar –(November – December).

Time – Harvest early in the morning or in eveninghours.

Harvesting by both mechanically & manually

Fruit harvesting should be done with the help of a secature by retaining 1 cm stalk with the fruit. and not by twisting.

handling

Pre-Cooling

• The fruit needs to be pre- cooled by forced air circulation system.

• The ideal pre-cooling temperatures must be 5-7° C at least

within 10 hours after harvesting.

• Chilling damage of fruit is possible if stored below 5° C.

Sorting.

Inspection on roller-cum-conveyer.

Fruits showing greenishColour , fruits with sunspots, affected by fruit borer, disease spot, rusting, rough surface to be eliminated.

Having cuts, damages must be rejected.

Washing Use of disinfectant-sodium hypochlorite @ 100-200ppm.

Potable water should be used

Waxing. Only good quality edible wax must be used.

Cleaning the fruits by mechanically

Shorting of fruits

The fruits should be graded according to maturity, weight, size and colour.

Both manual & mechanical graded.

Grading

manual Grading

Grade Fruit weight (g) Diameter (mm) A 400 90

B 350 80

C 300 70

D 250 60

E 200 50

Grading

Packing

All the graded fruits are wrapped in paper and packed in corrugated fiberboard (CFB) boxes.

Brown coloured 3 fold CFB boxes are used for local market while, white coloured 5 fold CFB boxes are used for distant markets.

Pomegranates are very susceptible to water loss resulting in shriveling of the skins. Storing fruit in plastic liners and waxing can reduce water loss,

Cool chain is essential during the transport of export quality commodity all the way from the farm to the customer.

This helps in maintaining the temperature inside the box.

             Transportation 

Road transport by trucks/lorries is the most convenient mode of transport due to easy approach from orchards to the market.