Mango Production, Postharvest Physiology and Storage - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 254

from the tree. At that time, nearly 80% of 'Alphonso'
mango fruits both by number and weight had attained a
specific gravity above 1.0. The chemical components, such
as moisture, acidity, ascorbic acid, and tannins, decreased
with the increase in the specific gravity of fruits at the
time of harvest. These components showed further decline
during ripening. However, the TSS, sugars, carotenoid pig-
ments, and pH were directly proportional to fruit specific
gravity (maturity) both at harvest and during ripening. The
starch content increased with increase in specific gravity
of the hard green fruits, however, the fruits were free of
starch when ripe. In cultivar 'Baneshan,' the maturity of
the fruit in relation to specific gravity showed that majority
(86.40%) of fruits had

is unfit for marketing should be removed. The rejected
produce should not be allowed to remain on the ground for
a very long time as it becomes a source of infection. The
time of harvest is one particular factor that is frequently
neglected but which often affects the produce quality and
shelf life. It is advantageous to harvest the produce during
the cool part of the day so that the fruit temperature can be
kept as low as possible during subsequent handling.
Grading mangoes after harvest is important from market-
ing point of view. The US Department of Agriculture has
developed a classification of defects for grading mangoes
(Table 14.4). On the basis of this classification, mangoes
are given the following three grades.
“ US Fancy ” consists of mangoes of similar varietal
characteristics which are mature, clean, well formed, well
trimmed, and free from decay, overripe, freezing, internal
discoloration, insects, larva, insect or larva feeding, skin
breaks that are not healed, and injury by healed skin breaks,
bruising, scab, shriveling, external (surface) discoloration,
sunken discolored areas, scars, russeting, other diseases, or
by mechanical or other means (USDA, 2007).
“US No. 1” consists of mangoes of similar varietal char-
acteristics that are mature, clean, fairly well formed, well
trimmed, and that are free from decay, overripe, freezing,
skin breaks which are not healed and extend into the flesh,
insects or larva, and free from damage caused by insect or
larva feeding, bruising, shriveling, scab, external (surface)
discoloration, internal discoloration, sunken discolored ar-
eas, scars, russeting, other diseases, mechanical or other
means (USDA, 2007).
“ US No. 2” consists of mangoes of similar varietal char-
acteristics that are mature, clean, fairly well formed, well
trimmed, and which are free from decay, overripe, freezing,
skin breaks which are not healed and extend into the flesh,
insects or larva, and free from serious damage caused by
insect or larva feeding, bruising, shriveling, scab, external
(surface) discoloration, internal discoloration, sunken dis-
colored areas, scars, russeting, other diseases, mechanical
or other means (USDA, 2007).

< 1.00 specific gravity even at tapka

stage (Narayana, 1989).

Harvesting
Mishandling during harvesting results in damage and
bruises to the fruit. Harvesting of mango with the help of a
hooked pole and then picking them off the ground results
in excessive internal fracturing (Ledger, 1991), and contact
with soil and soilborne pathogens lead to spoilage during
storage and marketing (Johnson et al., 1990). The stem ends
of picked mangoes exude large quantities of latex/sap with
low pH and high oil content. The sap burns the surface of
the fruit (Bagshaw and Brown, 1989). Mangoes are to be
harvested with 1 cm peduncle attached to the fruit in order
to avoid rupture of the resin ducts, which results in unde-
sirable blemishes (Lakshminarayana, 1980). Latex usually
does not exude from the longer stems because there is no
continuity between the fruit and mango stem resin duct. An
improved mango harvester developed in India was found
to be better than traditional harvesters because of its shape,
cutting blade, light weight, and fruit-conveying nylon chute
(Anon, 1992).
In most developing countries, including India, normal
harvesting is in vogue using ladders, poles, clippers, and
so on. A number of harvesting aids have been developed in
some countries to eliminate the use of ladders, as, for ex-
ample, mobile platforms that place the picker in the correct
harvesting position. The large-size fruit trees pose a great
problem in manual harvesting, resulting in more damage
to the fruits. However, with the concept of dwarfing the
fruit trees and high-density orchards, manual harvesting
will become easier and more efficient.
Buckets, sacks, baskets, and boxes are used to collect the
produce from the plant for transfer to a central collection
point. During the harvesting and field operations, a high
degree of field hygiene should be maintained. Produce that

Tolerances
To allow for variations in the proper grading and handling,
not more than 10% (for all three grades), by count, of the
mangoes in any lot may fail to meet the requirements of
this grade, including in this amount not more than 5% (“US
Fancy” or “US No. 1”) shall be allowed for defects causing
damage, including in this latter amount not more than 2%
(for all three grades) shall be allowed for decay (USDA,
2007).