How much of what is done in the garden is decisive for a good post-harvest? Are we doing things right or can packing be improved? What aspects should you pay attention to during the post-harvest? These and many other questions will be analyzed, debated and answered in the forum titled “Postharvest: key points and management experience to avoid fruit deterioration” at CherryTech, the largest technical meeting for cherries.
The event is on June 29 at the Sun Monticello Conference Center, where renowned specialists will offer three master classes and, in turn, will moderate three forums that will address the topics of nutrition, new varieties and post-harvest; The latter will be in charge of the Advisor and Consultant in deciduous fruit trees, Founder and Technical Director of Caducos Spa, Jordi Casas.
“Post-harvest in the case of a country like Chile, in any of the fruits that are exported, is key, not only the production and the field part, but the issue of post-harvest is key since the vast majority of our markets are distant, they are about 20-30 days of travel, so it is important that our fruit, both in the field, meets the basic quality standards, higher than even those that have to have markets that are closer or productions closer to its markets, such as Europe or North America; In the case of Chile, which is far from its markets, it needs to have good quality fruit and also optimal post-harvest handling, good cold chains, modified atmosphere conditions, well evaluated, well managed, as well as a logical moment of maturity, particular, therefore this post-harvest issue is key and I believe that the panelists fully meet expectations and the topic will be very interesting,” explained Jordi Casas.
Regarding the specific post-harvest of the cherry, the specialist referred to the advances that have been achieved to allow this fruit species to retain its ideal conditions for longer to reach its destination: “The cherry within the export fruit trees has a very short postharvest, in fact in a few years it managed to overcome the issue of only air travel thanks to the modified atmosphere, making the cherry last from a week to 30 days or more in some varieties; “cherries have a high respiratory rate, so it makes post-harvest work even more difficult.”
The postharvest panel will also be made up of three recognized experts in the field: Jéssica Rodríguez, Postharvest Advisor at Trío Kimün; Héctor García, Co-founder and General Manager of Laboratorios Diagnofruit; Sebastián Johnson, Johnson Industrial Project Manager; Juan Puntí, Prize export production and post-harvest manager.
Postharvest forum panelists
“Regarding the forum and the participants, I think there is a good combination, because on the one hand we have Jessica who is quite practical and fully focused on post-harvest associated with what plants are and a good vision of what gardens are as well; Sebastián Johnson who links practically everything that goes from the orchard post-harvest to the beginning of the process, everything that is the dehydration chain; Héctor García who contributes, without a doubt, everything that is associated with phytopathology; and I have a vision that complements all those areas as well, adding the commercial part,” said Juan Puntí, Prize production and post-harvest export manager.
But why is it relevant to analyze postharvest in cherry production? Héctor García, forum panelist, explains it simply and clearly: “There are fruit species that demand a simpler post-harvest and others that are complex; I believe that the cherry is a complex species, specialized lines, use of fungicides, sanitation, among other aspects make it a key part of the export process. However, aligning post-harvest with pre-harvest is a challenge that I believe has not yet been consolidated throughout the industry; Addressing it today is simply essential to obtain a high-quality product.”
And without all the processes well described by the researcher and Founder of Diagnofruit, it would not be possible for the cherry shipped to China, the main export destination for this fruit, and at the same time one of the most distant, to withstand the long processing times. travel without losing its quality. If the industry is thinking about addressing, for example, markets such as India where a sea shipment from Chile can take a week longer than to China, it is necessary to further refine the post-harvest techniques and handling of the fruit.
“In fruit production there is no one area more important than another, they are all part of a chain of events, in our marketing system the post-harvest has a longer duration to reach the consumer with the cherries, hence optimal procedures and management are keys to maintaining the quality that undoubtedly starts in the garden. At CherryTech it will be very interesting to be able to contribute to the forum discussion, with a group of professionals with technical and practical experience, to analyze procedures and management to maintain the quality of the cherry until the final consumer,” indicated the Trío Kimün advisor, a specialist in postharvest, Jessica Rodríguez.
Finally, Sebastián Johnson, Johnson industrial project manager, and also a panelist at the postharvest forum, takes a critical look at the industry and emphasizes the need to carry out a quantitative rather than a qualitative analysis of this important cherry production process.
“Do we carry out the post-harvest perfectly? Do we do the things that depend on us perfectly or do we suddenly hire people and train them the hour before the harvest begins? Do we have a number of tractors that are in the field that are not always the ones the cherry needs, but rather the ones I have, or do I decide on the cheapest truck and not the one the cherry needs? There is a very big world left to explore around the post-harvest; The number one enemy of us is time, more than metabolism, more than dehydration, from the moment you take the cherry off the tree it begins to die. In Chile we often evaluate and measure the post-harvest with words, with qualifying adjectives and if we consider that our main enemy is time, the first thing we must do in post-harvest is change the words for numbers, which is what they do in the agricultural part, where They talk about the number of twigs, about units, everything is a number,” warned Sebastián Johnson.
Different visions and expertise on the same topic: post-harvest; Without a doubt, an unmissable CherryTech forum that will feature the most important specialists in the field. All the details and ticket sales for the largest technical cherry event in www.cherrytechconvention.com