Manual on good Agricultural Marketing practices for - Agmarknet

B) HARVESTING CARE
The following harvesting care should be taken:
Grape is a non-climacteric fruit, so it should be harvested only when the
berries are fully ripened on the vine itself. Maturity standards of grapes fixed
under the AGMARK states that the minimum TSS of 16 0 B and sugar acid ratio
of 20:1 and this has to be complied for export and domestic market.
The optimum stage for harvesting is indicated by the characteristic colour
development in coloured varieties.
Ratio of sugar/acid is the correct index of ripening.
Peduncle should be fresh and green.
The grapes should be harvested early cool hours in the morning or cool late
afternoon.
Harvest the bunches in early morning hours before the berry temperature
rises above 20°C.
It is advisable to close the harvesting by 10 a.m.
A day prior to picking, the broken, along with decayed, deformed, undersized,
and discoloured berries should be removed by cutting their pedicel from the
selected bunches, using a long nosed scissors.
In case of heavy dew in the night, harvesting should be delayed till the dew
has dried.
If rainfall has occurred just prior to harvest, the fruit should not be picked for at
least 3-4 days.
Long nose scissors should be used in harvesting.
The selected bunches are harvested by giving a cut above the knot present
on the stalk of the bunch.
Care should be taken not to injure other berries by the scissors.
Care should be taken to avoid erasing the bloom (waxy coating) of berries by
holding the stem of the bunch by hand.
Wear rubber gloves during harvesting to reduce erasing the bloom from the
berry surface.
Bunches should be trimmed by removing the decayed or defective berries
before packing.
Picker should be trained for harvesting. Harvesting should be done by skilled
workers wearing soft rubber gloves and using sharp secatures / scissors for
cutting.