POST HARVEST HANDLING OF CITRUS FRUIT IN NORTH

EAST

MD MANZAR HOSSAINPOST HAVEST TECHNOLOGIST

CIH, MEDZIPHEMA, NAGALAND

3RD ADVANCE ESTIMATE FOR CITRUS FOR NER (2012-13)

STATES 

LIME/LEMON

MANDARIN(M. ORANGE ,KINNOW,

ORANGE)

SWEET ORANGE(MALTA

, MOSAMBI)OTHER CITRUS TOTAL

A P A P A P A P A PARUNACHAL PRADESH             39.40 176.71

39.396

176.707

ASSAM 14.21125.8

9 15.85 195.82 0.14 1.68    30.19

7323.39

0

MANIPUR 5.16 36.61 4.88 31.73        10.03

7 68.335

MEGHALAYA 1.07 3.72 8.42 39.62     0.54 0.7610.02

9 44.108

MIZORAM 7.93 25.14 8.96 24.10 1.50 4.65 2.12 6.7820.51

0 60.674

NAGALAND 1.50 10.00 5.50 50.00 0.25 2.00     7.250 62.000

SIKKIM     9.46 16.85         9.457 16.850

TRIPURA 3.27 15.55 4.70 23.70 0.16 0.05     8.130 39.300

TOTAL 33.13216.9

2 57.77 381.82 2.05 8.38 42.05 184.25135.0

1 791.36

Source: http://nhb.gov.in/area%20_production.html

Area (000 ha) and production (000 MT)

Present status of post harvest handling of citrus in the region

Citrus orchards with zero management

Harvesting at improper/ over mature stage

Poor handling during harvesting and subsequent operations

No packing or packing in bamboo basket

Transportation(Open TATA Mobile/ Truck)

Wholesale market

No proper sorting and grading

Retail market

Consumer

Major causes of post harvest losses of citrus

ª Lack of maintenance of orchards

ª Faulty harvesting methods

ª Miss handling of the produces

ª Mould growth and rotting

ª Shriveling and weight loss

ª Loss of firmness

ª Improper means of distribution

ª Improper storage facilities

 Important sites where post-harvest losses are noticed in India are :• Farmer’s field (15-20%)• Packaging (15-20 %)• Transportation (30-40%)• Marketing (30-40%)

Important sites of post-harvest losses

Estimated loss of fruits            

Crop Estimated loss (%)

Papaya 40-100%

Grapes 27%

Banana 20-28%

Citrus 20-95%

Apple 14%Source: http://tnau.ac.in/eagri/eagri50/HORT381/lec01.html

DIVERSITY

Mandarin diversity

Maturity indices of khasi mandarin

Sl. No

Indices Values

1 Rind Color Yellow-orange, Orange

2 Juice yield > 49.00 %

3Days from flowering to harvesting

230-250

4 TSS (o Brix) 9.5-10.00

5 Titratable acidity (%) 0.75-0.81

6 TSS : Acid ratio 12.38-12.97

Harvesting Methods

Fruit should be harvested using a pair of clippers or by carefully twisting and pulling the fruit from the tree so the button remains attached to the fruit.

Stems left on the fruit should be cut off because

they can puncture other fruit, causing postharvest decay and fruit spoilage.

Harvested fruit should be carefully put into padded field crates, well-ventilated plastic containers, or picking bags.

Picking bags are either strapped around the waist or put over the shoulder and made with a quick-opening bottom.

Packhouse

Cleaning & Sorting

Washing

Grading

Packing

Pre-cooling

Storage

Packing house operations to minimize Post harvest losses

Preparation for Market

Cleaning

Fruit can be cleaned manually by hand rubbing individual fruit

dumped in a tank of sanitized water.

The wash water should be sanitized with 150 ppm hypochlorous acid (household bleach) maintained at a pH of 6.5.

Fruit can also be cleaned mechanically by passing the citrus fruit over a series of roller brushes wetted from above with spray nozzles.

Benomyl (500 ppm), imazalil (1000 ppm), or thiabendazole (1000 ppm) are the most effective postharvest fungicides and can be applied as high-pressure sprays after washing.

These fungicides can also be applied in water-emulsion wax, at double the concentration.

Grading/Sorting Citrus fruit should be graded according to size, shape, and

colour of the peel, and amount of scarring, insect damage, and decay.

This is typically done by hand in small operations, or semi-automatically in larger volume packinghouses as the fruit is passing down a slow moving conveyor.

Only fruit of like sizes should be packed in the same container.

Waxing

Most of the natural wax on the peel surface is removed during washing.

Waxing the fruit will add shine to the surface, reduce moisture loss, and extend market life.

Wax can be applied by manually rubbing it onto the fruit surface or by spraying/dripping it on a bed of slowly rotating horsehair-grade brushes.

Water-emulsion waxes do not require a completely dry fruit surface. Orange waxes are carnauba or shellac based.

Pre-harvest spray increases the shelf life of khasi mandarin

Decay loss (%) due to mould growth

Treatments Days after storage

7 11 20 30

Carbendazim (0.1%)

Nil Nil 6.30 11.42

Control 11.45 33.13 48.00 62.11

Shelf life extension of Khasi mandarin

Treatments Shelf life (Days)

Control 19.0

Stayfresh 29.0

Indofil-M45 21.0

Packing• Fruit should be packed in strong well-ventilated containers that can be

stacked without collapsing. • Most commonly used container for domestic market sales are large

sacks often filled with more than 30 kg of fruit.• However, they do not provide enough protection against bruise

damage and cannot be stacked without causing injury to the fruit. • Wooden crates/plastic crates provide much better protection to the

fruit.Temperature Management

The best postharvest temperature to store oranges is between 2°C to 3°C.

Market life at this temperature range will be up to 4 months, depending on maturity stage at harvest.

For short-term storage of several weeks and during transit, 10°C is adequate.

Storage at ambient temperature will result in rapid moisture loss, flavour deterioration, and decay.

Oranges may lose up to 10% of the moisture in the peel after 3 weeks at ambient temperature and relative humidity.

Oranges should be stored at their optimum relative humidity (RH) of 90% to 95%.

At a low RH, the peel becomes thin, dry, and shrivelled.

Packaging system for long distant marketing of Khasi Mandarin

• This box can accommodate 128 fruits• Cost per box is Rs 25.00• No loss during transportation• Easy handling and marketing• Environment friendly

Loss of oranges after transportation (1000 km) by truck

Type of boxes No. of boxes damaged

Bruising loss (%) Decay loss (%)

CFB boxes Nil Nil Nil

Bamboo boxes 5 3.00 4.22

Wooden boxes 3 6.66 4.16

Plastic crates Nil 5.33 3.11

De-Greening Citrus fruit can be treated with ethylene to de-green the skin to

improve external peel colour.

Important for the export market.

Ethylene treatment is solely cosmetic and does not alter the flavour of the fruit.

The de-greening process involves exposing green-skinned orange fruit to low levels of ethylene (usually between 1 ppm to 10 ppm) at 20°C to 25°C, 90% RH for several days.

Good internal air movement is needed so that the air circulates every 2 to 3 minutes.

The CO2 levels inside the treatment chamber should not rise above 2000 ppm.

Principal Postharvest DiseasesGreen Mould: Green mould is generally the worst postharvest disease of

citrus. The initial symptom appears as a soft, watery, slightly

discoloured spot on the rind. After the spot enlarges to a diameter of about 2.5 cm, olive-

green spores are produced inside a zone of white fungal growth and softened rind tissue.Blue Mould:

o Blue mould decay and symptoms are similar to green mould, except the fungal spores are bluer in colour.

o Blue mould grows better than green mould below 10°C. o Unlike green mould, blue mould spreads in packed

containers.Stem-end Rot Stem-end rot is caused by several different fungal species and

symptoms vary. Decay begins as water-soaked spots at the stem end of the fruit that

turn brown and continue to spread down the rind. Infected tissue shrinks & a clear line of separation is formed between

the diseased and healthy rind. The decay proceeds either evenly down the rind (Phomopsis), or unevenly, producing finger-like projections of brown tissue (Diplodia). Stem-end rot can be retarded by postharvest applications of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (500 ppm), which slow button maturity.

Postharvest Disorders

Oleocellosis (Oil Spotting): • Oil spotting results from damage to the peel that ruptures the

oil glands. • Extruded oil kills the rind cells, causing them to turn brown

and form spots on the fruit surface.• Harvesting in the early morning or while dew is on the fruit

should be avoided. • Oil spotting can be prevented or reduced by picking fruit when

the surface is completely dry, waiting to pick 2 or 3 days after a rain, using foam-lined or padded field containers, and having pickers wear cotton gloves.

Stem-end Rind Breakdown (SERB):• SERB is a collapse and subsequent darkening of the rind around the

stem end of oranges. • A narrow band of rind around the stem usually remains undamaged.

The collapse of tissue is due to excessive moisture loss from the rind. • The incidence of SERB is reduced by irrigating prior to harvest during

dry weather and waxing the fruit.

Harvesting method

Collection of fruits at field

Packaging on bamboo basket

Transportation of citrus

All family members are involve

Transportation By Different Mode

Middlemen collecting oranges from Wakro, Lohit district and exporting to Bangladesh

VALUE ADDITION

Fruits of sour lime (Citrus aurantium, are used

for making orange marmalades. The fruits ofassam lemon holds promise 'for extraction

ofpectin, oil and citrate. Citrus macropteraas a raw material in industry for preparationof juice/squash.

Mature fruit hasFlavedo: Outer colored portion.Albedo: Inner white spongy portion.Segment/carpel: Membrane and the juice sacs in the form of segments.

Different fruit components

JuiceCitrus juices are among the most universally accepted and desirable foods throughout the world.

Both natural and synthetic citrus flavoured products enjoy widespread popularity.

Mandarin juice in particular is a favorites for breakfast and at many other times during the day.

Processing of citrus fruits

Mandarin and sweet oranges → Washing → Peeling (By hand) → Separation and cleaning of segments → Juice extraction (Screw type extractor) → Straining → Heating at 80oC – Bottling (or) canning (Baby food cans) → Crown corking (or) can sealing →Pasteurization → Cooling → Storage.

• As per FPO specifications, RTS should contain 10% juice, 10% soluble solids, 0.3 per cent acid and preserved with sulphur dioxide (350ppm).

RAEDY TO SERVE (RTS)

• As per FPO specifications, squash contain 25% juice, 40-45% soluble solids, 1.2 to 1.5% acidity and preserved with sulphur dioxide (350ppm) or benzoic acid ((600ppm) or a combination of both.

• In India such beverages when prepared from cloudy natural juice, are called ‘squashes’ and from clarified juice, ‘cordial’.

• Lime Juice cordial is the only clarified beverage manufactured in India.

Juice Squash

Cordial

Osmotic dehydration of Mandarin segments

Fresh Fruits

Grading , Cleaning and washing

Separation of Segments

Preparation of sugar syrup

Straining syrup

Mixing of additive

Segments in syrup (650brix) 12 hrs

Segments separation from syrup

Segments drying in dryer at 600C

Packing in PE bags & store

THANK YOU

Thank you