State of Israel Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

1. State of Israel Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Plant Protection & Inspection Services (PPIS)

2. Preparation of fruit and vegetables for the fresh market

3. Preparation of fruit and vegetables for the market • In-fieldpacking • Packing in a packing house

4. Field packing Harvest and packaging into the final package are made in the field

5. Advantages of field packing • Eliminates product handling • Less time between picking and cooling • Eliminates the expense of having a packing house

6. Disadvantages of field packing • Mechanical grading and sorting can not be done • Quality control is more difficult • Post harvest treatments can not be applied • Workers are working in less comfortable environment

7. Harvesting for central packing house Packed fruit ready for shipment Field bins upon arrival to packing house

8. Field containers • It is critical to protect the fruit and avoid dropping it into buckets or bins • fruit picked into buckets usually transferred to field bins • Wooden field bins must be protected with plastic liners to avoid rubbing and abrasion injury • Field bins need periodic washing to remove soil and dirt

9. Picking of table grapes

10. Picking of apples

11. Picking of apples

12. Hydraulic ladder for picking apples

13. Field containers at the packinghouse Plastic field bins for citrus

14. On the way to the packing house • Mechanical damage can occur during transport • Impact bruises occur when fruit bounces during transport • Overfilled boxes cause compression bruises • It is necessary to have suspension system on all vehicles • Improve farm roads for eliminating holes and bumps

15. Transportation Transport of table grapes to the packinghouse Transport of sweet peppers from the packinghouse

16. Field containers Plastic field bins

17. Speed is important It is imperative to shorten the time from picking to cooling and handling of the produce as much as possible

18. Temperature protection • Produce can warm up high above air temperature • Harvest early in the day • Shade product after harvest • Reduce time between harvest and transport • Avoid delays, ensure frequent trips to packing house

19. Keep away from direct sun

20. Effect of sun exposure and position in box on field warming of cherries C0 38 32 27 21 16 Box in sun Box in shade

21. Preparation of fruit in the packing house

22. Careful bin dumping • Dry bin dumping • Water dumping to reduce mechanical damage • Control of the product flow • Control decay in water dumps by sanitation (chlorination)

23. Bin dumping

24. Dry bin dumping of oranges

25. Water dumping of apples

26. Pre sizing Pre-sizing of oranges

27. Pre-sizing for removing under sized fruit • To increase equipment capacity, product below minimum size need to be removed • Pre-sizers usually located after the dump • Fruit below minimum size directed to processing outlets

28. Pre sorting Hand sorting to remove unpackable product (decay)

29. Cleaning and washing • Detergent wash (sometimes with soft brushes) • Clear water rinsing • Tubers and roots vegetables need cleaning to remove soil

30. Cleaning and washing Detergent washing of oranges

31. Disease control

32. Disease control • Fungicide application must be in conformity with the law and regulations • Fungicide application in water tank • Fungicides incorporated into fruit waxes • Disease control by heat treatment (i.e. hot water treatment for oranges)

33. Waxing and drying Wax coating is applied in order to reduce water losses and provide gloss (shiny finish) • Use only approved “food grade” waxes • The most common waxes are mineral oil-based waxes and natural waxes • The wax coating on the fruit must be dried up immediately after application

34. Waxing Waxing of oranges

35. Drying Drying oranges after waxing

36. Oranges after drying

37. Hand sorting: segregation of sub standard fruit • The speed of sorting belt should be adjusted according to product quality • The number of sorters depend on: • The product flow per hour • The amount of diverted product (sub-standard fruit) • The size of the product

38. Avoid sorting errors • Training of workers - workers must be familiar with fruit defects and the segregation limits to avoid losses due to “under sorting” or “over sorting” • It is essential to ensure good working conditions to reduce worker’s fatigue Segregation limit

39. Hand sorting Segregation of sub-standard oranges

40. For each defect define the limit allowed for the specific class

41. Shamouti oranges - the limit allowed for each class

42. Machine sizing and labeling • Mechanical sizers set apart the product by weight or dimension • Electronic sizers capture video image of each peace and calculate the volume • Video imaging can also detect color intensity and defects • Sizers must segregate product with required accuracy to meet size uniformity, marketing and legal requirements

43. Sizing by weight

44. Sizing Electronic sizer

45. Labeling Labeling the fruit

46. Packing the product

47. Hand-packing operation • Used when operators can not afford the expense of packing machinery • Essential for products requiring extra care and handling (strawberries, peaches) • Further sorting while packing is possible • Sizing must be precise (oversized fruit will cause compression damage, undersized fruit will cause vibration damage)

48. Packing the product Packing line of oranges

49. Packing the product Delivery of empty boxes

50. Packing the product Hand packing