Transport practices for papaya

Many aspects are important when transporting papaya towards their final destination. One of them is maintenance of roads to minimize mechanical damage during transport. Careful loading of trucks to prevent fruit movement and collapse, using good shock absorbers and low-pressurized tires. Another aspect is avoiding transport of papaya with ethylene-producing or sensitive commodities and ensuring the fruit has uniform ripeness stages. Refrigerated trucks and air transport should regulate temperature according to ripeness to prevent chilling injury and maintain > 95 % relative humidity to reduce water loss.

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Optimal transport conditions

At the packing house, the papaya is graded and packaged for market delivery. Papaya, harvested fresh, undergoes local processing practices tailored to the end user and market delivery timelines. Rapid transport to the market is crucial. Long-haul transportation of papaya typically involves air travel from major exporters such as Mexico, which exports mainly to the US and Canada, and Brazil, which exports primarily to Europe.

Attention points during loading and transport of papaya

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    Loading

    Fruit is mainly exported by air or transported domestically in refrigerated trucks. Quality preservation is vital also during loading operations. Uniform fruit is hand-packed into shipping cartons and loaded onto trucks by forklift. It is important to prevent ethylene cross-contamination, especially where gasoil forklifts are used.
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    Temperature and humidity

    When choosing for the ideal temperature for papaya transport, the balance between risk on ripening (at higher temperatures) and risk on chilling injury (at lower temperatures) should be considered. The greener/less ripe the papaya is, the higher the chance on chilling injury. Partially ripe papaya and especially green fruit should therefore be transported at higher temperatures (10-13°C). Still, 12-13°C is more safe to transport partially ripe papaya without chilling damage. However it limits transport time due to faster ripening. Temperature monitoring is essential during transport, along with well-calibrated and controlled humidity. This is needed to maintain 90-95% relative humidity to prevent water loss.
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    Ripening, O2 and CO2

    Papaya has medium ethylene production and sensitivity, with a storage life of 1-3 weeks. Ripening varies by cultivar, taking 7-16 days from color-break. Softening, respiration, ethylene production, skin colour, and flesh colour development differs among cultivars. Shelf-life can be extended by 1 to 1.5 days with reduced oxygen and increased CO2. However, CA rooms are rarely used due to staggered harvests, cost, and low international trade volumes.
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    Unloading

    From harvest to final market delivery, papayas require careful handling to prevent damage, particularly during unloading. It is essential to maintain precise cooling and ventilation. Preventing ethylene contamination is also crucial. Pallets should be moved directly to cold storage upon unloading, where they are promptly inspected. Standard samples are taken for immediate temperature checks and visual assessments, documenting the fruit's condition, ripeness, color and any defects or damage, both external and internal, through photographs. Temperature recorders are also collected at this stage.