The fruits after harvesting
are graded as per their colour, size and weight.
The different grades are as follows-
| Grades
|
Fruit
Characteristics |
| Super size |
Fruits are attractive, very
large, dark red in colour, without blemish
weighing >750 g. |
| King size |
Fruits are attractive, large
without blemish and weighing between 500-750
g. |
Queen size
|
Fruit are large, attractive
without blemish and weighing
between 400-500 g. |
Prince
|
Fruits are attractive, blemish
free and weighing
between 300-400 g. |
| 12-A |
Fruits having 1-2 spots and
weighing between 250-300 g. |
| 12-B |
Fruits weighing <250 g. |
All the graded fruits are
wrapped in paper and packed in corrugated fibreboard
(CFB) boxes. Brown coloured 3 fold CFB boxes are
used for local market while, white coloured 5
fold CFB boxes are used for distant markets. Paper
shreds are used as padding material. For 'Super'
and 'King' grades, boxes of size 32.5 x 22.5 x
10 cm are used. 'Queen' grade fruits are packed
in 37.5 x 27.5 x 10 cm size boxes while 'Prince'
and '12-A' grades are packed in 35 x 25 x 10 cm
size boxes.
Fruits can be stored at 5°C
with 90-95% relative humidity for 2 months. In
case of storage beyond two months, temperature
should be maintained at 10°C to avoid chilling
injury. Pomegranates are very susceptible to water
loss resulting in shriveling of the skins. Storing
fruit in plastic liners and waxing can reduce
water loss, especially under conditions of lower
relative humidity.
Cool chain is essential during
the transport of export quality commodity all
the way from the farm to the customer. This helps
in maintaining the temperature inside the box
at the same low level as in the cold storage.
