Maturity Indices and Harvesting

Factors that Define Harvest Maturity

• Requirements of the target market
• Intended use,transport time or distance to market

Types of Maturity
1. Harvest maturity - any stage of development when a
plant meets the requirements of consumers ( e.g.
green papaya used as a vegetable

2. Physiological maturity - any stage of maturity before

the onset of senescence ( e.g papaya fruit showing
peel yellowing)

3. Optimum harvest maturity - stage at which some

quality is sacrificed to extend marketable life (e.g
bananas harvested at lower calibration for sea
shipment to Middle East)
Commodities Harvested at the Proper Stage of Maturity
Effect of Maturity on the Quality of Fruits
1. Longer Shelf life
Parameter Immature Mature
2. Greater resistance to
physiological disorders Rate of
slow fast
ripening
3. Greater resistance to
Shelf Life long short
mechanical stress and
water loss Susceptibility
high low
to disorders
4. Ripe fruits possess all moderate none to
desirable Shriveling
to severe slight
characteristics Peel color uneven uniform

Aroma weak full

Flavor inferior full

Reasons why some crops are harvested earlier:
1. to take advantage of the high price
2. to prevent theft or attack of disease
3. to avoid forthcoming typhoon
MATURITY INDICES
Maturity Indices - signs and indications of the
readinessof the plant for harvest
- basis for determining harvest date

Maturity Standards - characteristics of the commodity

at the different stages of maturity using a particular
type of index
Characteristics of a Good Index
1. quick and easy to determine
2. reliable
3. independent of ripeness for fruits
4. show a significant relationship with consumer
acceptance
Techniques of Maturity Determination
1. Subjective Indices - uses the senses, can be visual or physical means
( visual method/ texture/ aroma)

2. Objective Indices - measurable indices (time/ chemical constituents/

rates of physiological processes, computation/ physical
charcteristics)

3. Based on heat units - based on growing temperature

4. NMR( Nuclear Magnetic resonance/ Color Image Analysis/ X-ray

Computed tomography(XCT)/ Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)

* Refer to the maturity indices for various crops

Maturity Indices for Various Crops
AVOCADO
Ø Purple Cultivars fully colored
with appearance of reddish
streaks at the stem end
Ø change in color from green to
light green
Ø hollow sound when tapped by
the fingers
Ø 8% oil content
BANANA
Ø Drying of leaves
Ø fall of floral remnants
Ø pH of fruit ( 5.2 - 5.6)
Ø ridges on the surface of
fingers change from angular to
round
Ø fullness of fingers ( lakatan/
latundan/ cavendish)
Ø number of days from
appearance of false hands or
days from shooting
* shooting refers to appearance
of the bud
 MANGO

PAPAYA
immature half mature mature
Ø change in peel color at the fruit
Ø calendar days from flower apex
induction Ø number of days from flowering
Ø floatation in 1% salt solution Ø fruit size
Ø presence of bloom (white powdery Ø internal pulp color
substance) Ø TSS %
Ø change in shape
 Chrysanthemum (dendrathema) stages of maturity

Standard types - Flowers are harvested when 2 - 3 rows of rays florets are
perpendicular to the flower stalk.
Spray types - When 50% flowers have shown colour for distant markets; when
two flowers have opened and others have shown colour for local markets
Different Maturity Stages of Roses and Gladiolus
HARVESTING
Harvest - deliberate picking of the commodity at the
right level of maturity

Harvesting Methods
1. Hand Harvesting- usually use for fruits, vegetables
and flower crops

2. Mechanical Harvesting - use for root, tubers or

rhizomes and nut crops
Minimizing Stress During Harvesting

Considerations in Harvesting
1. Minimize mechanical injuries
Øuse appropriate harvesting tools and aids (e.g picking poles,
ladders,shears)
Øavoid dropping andd other causes of injury
Øuse pads or liners in baskets or containers

2. Avoid exposure to direct sunlight

3. Minimize latex flow and oil release ( harvest between
9:00 am - 3:00 pm)
* latex stain is the discoloration on the peel due to the
corrosive action of the latex

4. Minimize microbial growth and contamination -

discarding diseased, injured or ripened fruits
Sorting
Trimming can be done in the field
right after harvest
Delatexing
Field packing
Harvesting Container

PICKING BASKETS/ BUCKETS

BANANA CONVEYOR

STACKABLE/ REUSABLE CRATES

Harvesting Tools

Straight bladed hand shears for fruits and flowers Clipper for citrus fruits
Thin curved blade for grapes and fruits
Cut and hold hand shears

Pole mounted cut and hold picking shear Using a picking pole
Preharvest Modifiers of Quality
Quality
- external and internal characteristics properties
of a commodity for describing it relative to a
standard of excellence

Importance of knowing the Pre harvest Modifiers of

Quality
1. a large number of diseases and insect problems and
some physiological disorders have their beginning
before harvest
2. no amount of treatment can transform poor quality
produce into a good one
Genetic Factors
1. susceptibility to mechanical damage
e.g., round varieties of tomato such as BRCI are
less resistant to mechanical damage than oblong type such as
Improved Pope

2. storage or shelf life potential

e.g., 'Red Creole' onion has longer storage life than
'Yellow Granex'

3. susceptibility to decay
e.g., 'Carabao'mango is highly susceptible to
anthracnose than ' Katchamitha'
Climatic Factors
- numerous environmental factors during growth and
development of a fruit or vegetable that influence the
the expression of the fruit characters,both internal
and external
1. temperature
- favorable temp. for the growth of tropical plant
is 5˚C to 40˚C
a. color ( pigment) - lycopene in tomato= 16-20˚C;
carotenoids in oranges = < 12˚C
b. chemical composition - accumulation of protein
and starch in sweet potato is favored at low temp.
c. texture - rough-skinned potatoes are produced at
high soil temperatures (24-26˚C)
d. maturation rate - >120 days for mangoes induced
to flower in October to December; 105- 115 days
when induced in January and February
e. solar injury - softening, discoloration, collapse
and eventual drying of commodities
e.g., cabbage - blistering of outer leaves
cauliflower - discoloration of curds
muskmelon - sunburn
bell pepper - dry and papery skin,yellowing
f. physiological disorders
e.g., asparagus - feathering
onions - translucent scales
potato - blackheart
radish - pithiness
 g. quality of processed product - temperature of 10˚C
during the last few weeks before harvest results in
darker chips than those maturing at 15.6˚C

2. light - duration and intensity affect quality at harvest

a. color - brighter coloration but too much exposure
may cause scalding (mango)
b. nutrients - light exposure is favorable for Vitamin
C accumulation
c. composition and eating quality

3. wind - strong wind during fruit development results

in scarring
4. relative humidity (RH) - high RH favors disease
development (especially in dense canopies)

5. rainfall - low soluble content of melons when rain

occurs before harvest; fruit splitting in mango,
banana, and tomato; increased susceptibility to
decay
Cultural Practices
1. water management - susceptibility to decay of
onions when irrigated 2-3 weeks before harvest;
reduced green life of bananas grown in water-logged
condition

2. fertilization - excessess or deficiencies have varied

effects on quality
Example: high N - dull yellow peel color of Cavendish
bananas; bursting in cabbage, tip burn in lettuce
Ca deficiency - blossom end rot in tomato and
capsicum, cracking in carrots; tipburn in cabbage, lettuce and
strawberry
3. pre- harvest crop protection - integrated pest
management (IPM)

4. thinning of fruits and flowers - to improve quality

and control diseases ( e.g., "bugtok" in saba banana)

5. bagging
a. prevents insect damage
b. reduces mechanical injury
c. improves skin color
6. pruning of plant part
a. detopping of cassava 20-40 days before harvest to
control vascular streaking
b. dehaulming of potato vines a week before harvest
to hasten toughening of peel
c. removal of stem and tops of sweet potato14 days
before harvest reduced injury to roots

7. chemical strays other than pesticides

a. maleic hydrazide - applied 21 days before harvest
at 2000 - 2500 ppm to prolong dormancy of onion
b. ethepon - applied to pineapple 48 hrs before
harvest to hasten ripening ( for processing)

8. mulching - red mulch in strawberry increases berry

size