May 2023 - 22

PACKAGING MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT
Cherry
packing
tech
Technology revolution in fruit
packing means a better product
BY CHRIS KOGER
MANAGING EDITOR
T
echnology upgrades have
swept through West Coast
fruit packinghouses, with
everything from stone fruit, apples
and citrus processed on more
sophisticated equipment than a
generation ago.
That includes cherries, which
present several special handling
needs: they're small and must be
handled gently because they're
fragile and damage easily.
Cherry lines with optic sizing
22 | MAY 2023
and sorting technology can
be found in cherry packing
facilities in California and the
Pacific Northwest. These include
machines from Unitec, TOMRA and
MAF Industries.
" The advent of electronic defect
sizing and sorting, or what we
call 'optic' sizing and sorting has
greatly increased consistency in
fruit size and grading over the
past '10-ish' years, " said Brianna
Shales, director of marketing for
Stemilt Growers, which grows
and packs Bings, Rainiers and
specialty variety Skyler Rae
cherries. " Prior to this technology,
we had sizing capabilities but they
weren't as precise. "
Packing line workers used to
be tasked with sorting the fruit,
she said.
" Sorting was done by people,
and success could vary because it
was done by the human eye, "
Shales said. " We've benefited
greatly from this technology
because we are able to pack
cherries into key sizes, color lines,
grades, etc. and do so efficiently. "
Norway-based TOMRA has a
location in Shelton, Connecticut,

May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2023

Editor's Letter
Crop management: A mighty shield
Pest management: Sparganothis fruitworm
Technology: FlightSensor provides pest surveillance
Technology: The new AI tool
Cover Story: The survey shows…
Packaging Materials & Equipment: Cherry packing tech
Berries: Singing the blues
Biocontrols: Advancing biologicals
Weather challenges: Never-ending rains
Farm Market & Agritourism: Seven takeaways from benchmark survey of markets
CMI
Ag Labor Review
Classifieds
Ad Index
May 2023 - 1
May 2023 - 2
May 2023 - 3
May 2023 - Editor's Letter
May 2023 - 5
May 2023 - Crop management: A mighty shield
May 2023 - 7
May 2023 - Pest management: Sparganothis fruitworm
May 2023 - 9
May 2023 - Technology: FlightSensor provides pest surveillance
May 2023 - 11
May 2023 - 12
May 2023 - 13
May 2023 - Technology: The new AI tool
May 2023 - 15
May 2023 - Cover Story: The survey shows…
May 2023 - 17
May 2023 - 18
May 2023 - 19
May 2023 - 20
May 2023 - 21
May 2023 - Packaging Materials & Equipment: Cherry packing tech
May 2023 - 23
May 2023 - 24
May 2023 - 25
May 2023 - Berries: Singing the blues
May 2023 - 27
May 2023 - 28
May 2023 - Biocontrols: Advancing biologicals
May 2023 - 30
May 2023 - 31
May 2023 - Weather challenges: Never-ending rains
May 2023 - 33
May 2023 - 34
May 2023 - 35
May 2023 - Farm Market & Agritourism: Seven takeaways from benchmark survey of markets
May 2023 - 37
May 2023 - CMI
May 2023 - 39
May 2023 - Ag Labor Review
May 2023 - Classifieds
May 2023 - Ad Index
May 2023 - 43
May 2023 - 44
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