Today on “Let’s talk about the field” we speak with Alfonso, one of our technicians, who explains the process of harvesting table grapes. This season we are harvesting our much-awaited strawberry-flavoured Candy Snaps™, member of our ‘Las chuches de Uvasdoce’ line, followed by Ivory™ and Sweet Celebration™.
Harvesting is a challenge as it depends on several factors, from the time of harvesting to the weather. For this reason, the staff must be highly specialised and must know the customer’s specifications very well.
Harvesting is programmed according to four basic trimming parameters: timing of the variety, Brix degree, size, and colour. When these parameters are met and there is a considerable volume, the grapes are selected to be harvested the following week, and depending on their characteristics, they are pre-assigned to a client.
Unlike other companies in the sector, at Uvasdoce Fresh we do not harvest a whole plot at the same time, nor do we mix grapes with different specifications. We harvest the right number of kilos for each order, following the specifications of each of our clients.
Every week, both the farm managers and the harvesters carry out exhaustive monitoring to find out when the optimum time for harvesting is. This is what we call the timing of the variety. In addition to following the specifications demanded by the client, the characteristics and times set by the variety breeders must be followed to harvest. If a first harvest has already been carried out, we make a study of how much is left per plot and how the fruit that has not yet been harvested is evolving.
Colour can be one of the most complex things to achieve, as some white varieties tend to tan, while other red varieties have a harder time achieving a full and homogeneous colour. This is why, normally, the same plot of land is passed over at least four times, depending on the variety, sometimes even six. It is true that this reduces productivity, profit and entails great logistical efforts, but better results are achieved.
Another important parameter to consider when deciding on the harvest is the brix degrees. It is very important to take into account the minimum set by the breeder, so that the variety has its characteristic flavour and, of course, reaches the final consumer with its sweetness. And even though not in all varieties, the size is also important, but the brix or flavour always come first. All varieties have a minimum number of millimetres to be commercialised.
In the field, we always try to facilitate the work in the packhouse. However, when, after going over the same plot several times, the colour of the bunch is not totally homogeneous despite having good brix and size, and we see that not being harvested can lead to phytosanitary problems, we harvest those bunches. Then, thanks to the good job of production, they meet the needs of our clients.
Despite having worked in this sector, new workers are surprised when we explain our selection process to them, but this is Uvasdoce’s philosophy. We work to achieve the best quality for all our customers and often people are not aware of the effort that goes into making sure we see a perfect bunch of grapes on the shelves of the supermarkets.
