One of the key moments of the year for cherry growers is the intense summer harvest period, as there are a number of determining factors for achieving good results, including: the supply and demand of labor in the area, climatic factors, heat and exposure of the fruit to the sun, coordination of large teams of people, the cleanliness of the general harvesting process and the quality of the fruit in the orchard.
Regarding the exposure of the fruit to the sun and high temperatures, it is necessary to point out that for cherries this plays a very important role, since it is one of the factors that is most important to be controlled in order to keep the fruit in good condition at all times, since failure to do so may cause damage to the fruit such as:
-Dehydration of fruit.
-Dehydration of the pedicel.
-Increased sensitivity of the fruit.
For this reason, it is always recommended to constantly keep the temperature of the fruit low during harvest, since the temperature of the pulp should not exceed 25ºC at any time. Specific actions to achieve this are:
-Place raschel mesh to provide shade.
-Keep the fruit in ventilated places.
-Maintain humidity in the fruit area (for example by placing wet sponges on the boxes and keeping them moist).
-Do not harvest during hours of excessive heat.
-Do not keep the fruit waiting longer than necessary, either in the orchard or in the loading yard.
-Dispatch the fruit from the field frequently.
-Do not harvest after 2:00 p.m.
This will allow for a high-standard harvest where fruit quality is a priority.
For the reasons mentioned above, it is also highly recommended to investigate what products are offered on the market in order to monitor the traceability of the cherry and thus be able to reduce the negative impact of the fruit's exposure to the sun and heat and have a high-quality harvest.
