AgronoBlog – Agriculture Blog The apple is a fruit with a medium water content, but a low transpiration coefficient, therefore, losses during harvest, packaging and transport are minimal. However, the practices carried out during its post-harvest handling have important areas of opportunity to guarantee its arrival in better conditions to the final consumer.
The apple has a very thin epidermis, so any chemical used during its cultivation or post-harvest penetrates the fruit and can threaten the health of the consumer, who in many cases is children. Hence, the care that must be put into the inputs used during cultivation, harvest and postharvest becomes so important.
The culture developed in apple packaging in Mexico for decades unfortunately gives rise to incorrect handling during post-harvest and packaging. These incidences occur, mainly because the apple corresponds to a non-exporting sector (only national consumption). This has caused a lack of phytosanitary requirements that is reflected in an inadequate treatment in the packing line, basically related to
- No washing
- Very little control in disinfection
- Use of inadequate fungicides even in the case of crops that are consumed with their husk.
With the ethical and sustainable commitment to bring better fruits to the market, here are some tips to achieve better management of apples from the tree to the consumers’ tables:
- Use a suitable soap for washing fruit in the first drawer soaking tub.
- Disinfect through showers at the exit of the initial wash tub
- Monitor the disinfectant solution, to maintain control of its biocidal effect
- Preferably use organic disinfectants, without residual
- Avoid the use of fungicides not approved in the MRL lists of the United States and Europe as a reference.
- Use natural biofortifiers with a biocidal effect to control fungi during storage and marketing.
- Coat with authorized protective waxes to preserve the fruit for longer and prevent dehydration.
PHS, through its PUREX and CLARITY lines, offers you a wide variety of solutions to improve the handling of apples in their packaging, transportation and storage stages. Learn more on the website: https://phs.fagro.mx
