Handling of Post-Harvest Chillies

To produce good quality chilies must be carried out the process of handling post-harvest chilies that are good and right through several stages, namely harvesting, harvesting, transportation to the harvest ward, pre-cooling, cleaning, sorting, grading, packaging, temporary storage and distribution.

This process is very important to reduce yield loss so that it can extend shelf life, increase competitiveness and the quality and continuity of chilies.

The following is a review of the handling of chili post-harvest.

HARVEST
Determining the harvest age is marked based on the shelf life and physical condition of the chili.

For ages, large chilies are 70-85 days after planting, cayenne peppers 60-90 days after planting.

Whereas for physical, they are at least 90% chili color and uniform chili shape. Pay attention to the weather when you are going to harvest the chilies, it should be done in the morning when the air is cold, the harvest should not be done when it is raining or in the hot sun.

HOW TO HARVEST
Harvesting is done by picking chilies and their stems by hand
Manually picked one by one
Picked chili is separated between the good and the damaged or diseased into different containers
When harvesting chilies workers must wear gloves
COLLECTION OF HARVEST RESULTS
Temporary collection is carried out in the production area and must be protected from direct sunlight or shade
Chilies are arranged neatly in a plastic basket
Chilies in the basket are taken to the post-harvest ward close to the production area
Pre-cooling by wetting the product with water
The chilies that have been harvested must be treated immediately or treated FIFO / First In, First Out (First In, First Out)
PRE-COOLING

Wash with clean running water when the condition of the chili is very dirty. If the chilies are clean enough to be wiped with a damp cloth then chill the cloth carefully with a dry cloth or aerated using a fan or blower, remove the chili stems manually if there is a special request.

Spread the chilies and separate the chilies that are damaged, cracked, rotten, chilies are too small and wrinkled.

Sorting can be done on a clean floor or a tarpaulin or a sorting table.

GRADING
Pemutuan is based on certain quality groups according to market demand, can be based on color, density, cleanliness, disease-free and damage. And classified according to market needs

Local market
Quality A:
Whole red chili, clean, healthy, normal without defects.

Quality B:
Small size (<10 cm for red chilies) mixed with abnormally shaped chili.

Supermarkets
Large size (> 10 cm), 85% maturity level, excellent quality without defects

Restaurant or home
Bright red color (100% full cooked), free size is not deformed

Export Market
Big Red chili

Quality 1: p 12-14 cm, d 1.5-1.7 cm

Quality 2: p 9-11 cm, d 1.4-1.5 cm

Quality 3: p <9 cm, d <1.3 cm

Curly red chilies

Quality 1: p> 12-14 cm, d> 1.3-1.5 cm

Quality 2: p 10-> 12 cm, d 1.0 <1.2 cm

Quality 3. P <10 cm, d <1.0

PACKAGING
The packaging material used is safe and does not damage chilies. Market share:

Outside the area uses perforated cardboard for air ventilation
Supermarkets are packed using a tray and covered with plastic wrapping or packaging with transparent plastic perforated with a weight of 0.25-0.5 kg
Restaurants or houses are packed with perforated plastic bags with a size of 5 kg
Exports are packaged with special boxes from exporters complete with trade names and harvest dates, boxes are given a small hole with a cardboard size for a capacity of 15-20 kg.

STORAGE
Prepare a clean storage area safe from pests and diseases and have good airflow. For long-term storage, a storage temperature of 0 ° C with a humidity of 95% can sustain red chilies for up to 40 days with a damage rate of 4%.

For temporary storage, it is sufficient in the warehouse with or without cooling temperature.

DISTRIBUTION
Things to consider when delivering products from producers to consumers are:

Product Characteristics Means of transportation
The duration of the trip
Stack of packaging during transportation
Road condition
A good driver and understands the quality of chili
By implementing post-harvest handling properly, we can reduce yield losses from 25-40% to a minimum and be able to meet consumer demand for healthy and quality products.

By improving product quality, we can have quality products with high competitiveness in the market and provide better financial benefits for all chilies agribusiness.

Similarly, a review of handling post-chili peppers may be useful and can add to your horizons in post-harvest chili care.

Baca Juga