In this section:
Harvesting: Storage
Disadvantages of storing fruit
Storing apricots before drying is not recommended. During storage fruit quality can only decline. Serious losses to postharvest rots can occur in storage if proper precautions are not taken. These losses and precautions add unnecessary expense to the production of dried fruit.
Apricots harvested for drying must be ripe to achieve a quality product and a satisfactory drying ratio. Even in cold storage the fruit will tend to soften. Soft fruit is more difficult to handle and cut, especially on a cutting machine, so it is always best to cut fruit as soon as possible.
Long-term storage of fruit is unadvisable from a weather perspective. The later in the drying season the greater the likelihood of slow drying conditions and/or rain. Changes in drying conditions (reflected as standard pan evaporation rates) as the season progresses based on long term averages are depicted in figure 3. High pan evaporation rates relate to fast drying conditions.
Storing fruit
Storage of fruit is sometimes unavoidable. In a heatwave more fruit may be harvested than can be processed. Fruit can be stored in picking buckets in the shade for up to two days without significant losses; this will, however, allow the fruit to soften, making machine cutting difficult. This fruit may need to be hand cut.
Cold storage, if it is available, can be used to level out peaks and troughs in the quantity of fruit available for cutting. Only short-term storage (less than four days) is normally necessary to achieve this, so no postharvest dips or treatments are required. Coolrooms used for this purpose must have sufficient refrigeration capacity to cope with regular loading with fruit at field temperatures. Apricots are best stored at 0° C.
If cold storage is available, use it for any fruit that will not be cut on the same day as harvest to help keep the fruit firm. Placing in the cold store fruit that is going to be cut that day is unnecessary and merely increases the running costs of the cold store. There are no proved advantages of cooling fruit before cutting and drying. Some growers believe riper fruit can be machine cut if it has been cooled.
Postharvest dipping
Apricots to be stored for more than three or four days should be dipped to minimise postharvest fruit rots. Brown rot (Monilinia fruticola) and rhizopus or transit rot (Rhizopus sp.) are the fungi chiefly responsible for postharvest losses of stonefruit. Bulk dipping in a fungicide suspension as soon as possible after harvest followed by prompt cooling of the fruit is the most effective method of control. For detailed information on dipping procedures contact the Department of Primary Industries.
Presence of fungal growth or a yeasty (shiny whitish) appearance in the centre of the fruit when cut is the primary cause of black fruit when dried. In a season where fruit develop holes at the blossom end, fungal rots can be of major concern. Carpophilus beetles use these holes as entry points, carrying fungal spores from one fruit to another. Storage allows these spores to germinate and develop, increasing the percentage of black fruit.
In summary, even if storage facilities are available, stonefruit should be cut and dried as soon as possible after harvest.
