Operations manager Hank Markgraf with the recently- installed optical sizer that will help ensure top quality for export cherries from the B.C. Tree Fruit Co-opt Kelowna packinghouse.


JUDIE STEEVES


New optical sizer now operational Part of $2million in equipment upgrades to co-op’s Kelowna cherry line.


chequered,” he explains. Different markets have different preferences in terms of colouring and size too, so it also helps to market the right cherries to the right customer so the co-op stays in the most lucrative markets.


By Judie Steeves T


hey’re treated like models or stars. Each little cherry is photographed 16 times in just seconds as it goes by the new optical sizer installed for this year’s harvest in the Vaughn Avenue packinghouse of B.C. Tree Fruit Co- operative’s Kelowna operation. Not only does it detect size so that immediately after leaving the machine a blast of air pushes it onto the right track to its next destination, it also selects for colour and defects in each piece of fruit, so they can be directed to the appropriate line.


The new optical sizer and new sorting and filling table are among $2 million in upgrades to the Kelowna cherry line, which is the one used for co-op cherries destined for export markets. Hank Markgraf, manager of field operations for the co-op, says the new equipment will take some getting used to and time to ‘teach’ the new computerized equipment all the flaws to look for, but its operation will get better daily. “It’s not just mechanical and it all helps to put the right cherry in the right box. Cherries should go in boxes with similar cherries so the appearance is not


The optical sizer replaces the old roller sizer installed more than a decade ago, which is not as accurate.


In order for co-op growers to target their fruit for the more-lucrative export market, they must sign up ahead of time and follow the export protocols, including guidelines for insecticide and fungicide use and a rigorous pre-harvest interval for applications. “Some countries have stricter requirements than others,” explains Markgraf.


Additionally, growers hoping for access to the new Chinese markets have to submit bi-weekly field inspection records and weekly spray records throughout the season. Field staff will also look at those crops prior to harvest and if a grower fails in any area, they’re out of the program.


Once the cherries are shipped to the packinghouse they are checked again for firmness and other qualities which can determine what market that fruit is destined for and how they’re shipped. All the extra work is worth more money to growers.


The new equipment went into operation at the beginning of July. With cherries, unlike apples, fruit picked in the morning is packed in the afternoon and shipped overnight or early


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2014


the next morning to ensure quality remains top, Markgraf says. Cherries are particularly perishable and time is of the essence between harvest and the mouth of the consumer.


Research done at the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre on the best techniques to preserve that top quality has all been put to use, with two hydro-coolers on the line, use of GA in the field and protection from bruising all along the line where cherries are handled, he explains. The automatic defect sorter is great— kicking out culls in seconds, he adds. Unfortunately, this year’s weather has done no favours for cherry quality, with temperatures as high as 44 C in some orchards, even in July. Then there was a wild rainstorm that dumped as much as 70 ml of rain in 24 hours and caused some splitting.


Although larger growers are more likely to be able to afford to hire helicopters to blow water off the fruit, smaller growers don’t usually have that option, so the co-op has seen a lot of splits this year.


All the equipment and new technology available can’t substitute for good husbandry, and the foundation of high quality cherries, which attract the highest prices, is careful farming practices from the end of the last season to post-harvest treatment of fruit the next year, warns Markgraf.


Saving a penny in the orchard can cost you a dollar at the packinghouse, due to lost quality, he adds, and those dollars can add up quickly.


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