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Vegetables> Cabbage
Grading :
Damaged or diseased wrapper leaves should be
removed during grading. Heads with insect damage
and other defects should be discarded.
Packaging :
Normally the produce is sent to the market loose
or sometimes it is packed in gunny bags. However,
it is advisable to pack it in bamboo or wooden
baskets to reduce damage in transit.
Storage :
After harvesting and grading the heads are immediately
dispatched to nearby markets. Cabbage should be
handled carefully from field to storage and only
solid heads with no yellowing, decay or mechanical
injuries should be stored. Before storage all
the loose leaves should be trimmed away leaving
heads with 3-6 tight wrapper leaves. For storage
upto 3-6 weeks, the optimum temperature of storing
early harvested crop is 0° C with a relative
humidity of 98% while the late harvested crop
is stored at 0° C with 95% relative humidity.
Late cabbage can be stored for 7-8 months at controlled
atmosphere at 0° C with 2.5-3% O2
and 5% CO2 .
Transport
In India, the heads are sent to the market either
by road or rail.
Cool Chain :
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.
The various stages of
the cool chain are:
- Coldstore at the farm.
- Refrigerated truck from farm to the airport
- Coldstore at the airport.
- Building up of the pallet in a coldstore at
the airport.
- Loading the aircrafts directly from the coldstore
in a short time.
- Cargo aircraft maintains coldstore temperature
in hold.
- Off loading direct into a coldstore in the
receiving country.
- Refrigerated truck to the customers.
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