Optimising apple and pear outturn quality using industry best practices

March 2010 | Presented by Ian Wilkinson, JIGSAW Agritech & Imaging | Future Orchards® presentation

This Future Orchards® presentation by Ian Wilkinson focuses on the practices that protect apple and pear quality from harvest through storage and outturn. The central issue is not only how fruit looks at picking, but how well it retains condition through the post-harvest chain.

Outturn quality is influenced by harvest maturity, field heat removal, temperature management, handling and the storage environment. Good practice requires coordination between orchard, harvest and post-harvest teams so that fruit is not compromised during the transition from tree to cool store.

The presentation encourages the use of disciplined procedures rather than relying on end-point inspection. Monitoring fruit condition, maintaining appropriate temperatures and reducing delays and physical damage all help preserve firmness, appearance and eating quality.

For growers and packers, the resource provides a useful bridge between orchard management and post-harvest performance, reinforcing that final market quality depends on the whole handling chain.