According to ASOEX records, March 2022, in Chile there are 279 cherry exporters with a total of 354,952 tons (Portal Frutícola; Commercial results of the 2021/2022 season of the Chilean cherry).
For this coming season, an export volume of more than 420,000 tons is estimated; this forces us to improve the efficiency of the processes, through greater performance per lane/hour, which is achieved with adequate raw material, of large caliber, with an export performance of over 80%.
To achieve this, joint work between producers, packing plants and exporters is of utmost importance, where work at the orchard level is essential to achieve homogeneity in size, in turn directing the fruit towards a curve greater than Super Jumbo, as well as achieving an adequate selection of fruit at the time of harvest, in order to obtain an adequate packing performance.
In the processes, packing plants must be able to invest and work with cutting-edge technology, which allows optimizing the segregation of the fruit, achieving an export product, focused on the packed box, as homogeneous as possible in terms of color, size and free of defects; without leaving aside the importance of the fact that this fresh product must be safe for human consumption.
For this reason, different technologies have been implemented in processing plants from the fruit reception stage to palletizing.
On this occasion, we will detail the technologies focused on ensuring adequate sanitation of the fruit and the water used during the process and the technologies related to the application of fungicides.
Sanitization
Cherry processing uses water as a vehicle to cool and move the fruit within a processing line. Each circuit has tanks where the water is recirculated, so it must be ensured that it is not a vehicle that transmits contamination from microorganisms, whether bacteria or fungal conidia. Currently, the industry has evolved from manual dosing to automatic sanitizer application systems, providing safety and sustainability to the process.
In conversations with different providers of these technologies we can mention some of the proposals in terms of sanitizer dispensing equipment.
These proposals include the use of calcium hypochlorite, with an ORP dosing system and pH sensors to dose it as well. In this way, the use of the product becomes more efficient and the chlorine doses can be reduced without altering its sanitizing capacity.
Pace International (Sumitomo Chemical post-harvest division) has the Accu-Tab® automated sanitation system, a patented technology that combines a chlorinator design based on slow-release calcium hypochlorite tablets, in a system that delivers a constant and controlled supply for measuring oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and pH, providing protection and safety in the process.
Along the same lines, DECCO has technology related to the automatic application of sanitizers, using a mother tank with a high concentration, based on concentrated granulated calcium hypochlorite at 65%; from this tank, the system delivers the working dose to the different tanks with concentrations that, according to the company's requirements, range from 30 to 80 ppm. Regarding pH regulation, the equipment works with phosphoric acid at 85%.
Figure 1. Equipment for applying Decco sanitizers.
Another technology developed by DECCO is the Broth Recovery System (SRC), of Spanish origin, which aims at sustainability. The idea is to recover all the water from the post-harvest process in the plant and then return it sanitized, with a low microbiological load, without total soluble solids, in this way the water could be reused, reducing the generation of waste.
The Protecsa company, with its halogenated compound-based sanitizer, also offers automatic dosing equipment for the different tanks in the process and hydrocooler lines. These are delivered on loan for the purchase of supplies. Halogenated compounds are characterized by not requiring pH regulation since they do not react with organic matter and the equipment has a measurement system based on ppm.
Agrofresh, on the other hand, offers to work with another sanitizer, a biocide based on 15% peracetic acid, Bio-frut XF15, which is applied automatically from the hydrocooler to the fungicide tank, having compatibility with the rest of the products to be used and achieving an effectiveness and efficiency similar to chlorine.
II Application of fungicides
Commonly, fungicide application in cherry lines was done manually, but today different technologies with automation systems have been developed.
In this line, the company Pace International developed the Pace C&M-500 technologyTM that automates the application of post-harvest fungicides (Figure 2). The equipment is adapted to the fungicide well and has two tanks that play an important role in the success of the operation, in addition to sensors that measure different parameters of the process. This technology allows for safe control of pathogens, being more efficient and consistent in the residual level of fungicide compared to manual applications. Among the direct benefits related to this technology, the safety and high quality standard (traceability) of the process stand out, in addition to the reduction in the use of fungicide, labor, and energy and water resources.
Agrofresh tells us about its Control Tec technological line, used in the reception stages as well as in the processing lines, which allows for the optimization of water use through a system of reuse of phytosanitary mixtures, using a system of filters and particle elimination, separating and eliminating solids and organic matter; in this way, waste is reduced as well as savings in the use of fungicides are generated (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Agrofresh Control-Tec Eco and Dosifier System.
The DECCO DAF equipment, for its part, is responsible for the automatic dosing of the fungicide(s) (fludioxonil and/or tebuconazole), where it constantly, using software developed by Decco, delivers small quantities of product to the solution, obeying a minimum concentration required to maintain even and constant residuals (0.7 to 1.4 ppm) for the entire duration of the solution.
Protecsa's dosing equipment automatically applies fungicides, with the novelty of performing an online measurement of the concentration of fungicides (Fludioxonil and Tebuconazole). Based on this information, the system replaces the lost volume or film by recharging the correct amount of fungicide.
In summary, today the industry offers a wide range of technological solutions, applicable to the different stages in which we must sanitize and protect the fruit to achieve long-term storage. The choice of technology and equipment must be evaluated and validated according to the particular conditions of each user according to their own complexities.
