Best Practices
Pepper Harvest & Post-Harvest Handling
Learn how to achieve premium quality and longer shelf life with these top 5 best practices for harvesting sweet and seedless peppers and their post-harvest handling. Follow these expert tips for timing, cooling, packaging, and transport to keep your peppers fresh from harvest to market, extending shelf life.
1. Pepper Harvest Timing
Pick peppers at 90% red maturity before 12:00 PM. For longer shelf life, harvest at 50% color maturity.
2. Immediate Precooling
Cool fruit right after picking to 10–12 °C. Always check fruit temperature to confirm cooling.
3. Smart Packaging Peppers
Use ventilated plastic bags (macro- or micro-perforated) to maintain airflow and prevent moisture buildup.
4. Post-Pack Cooling
After packing, drop the temperature back down to 10 °C before transport.
5. Protected Transport
Ensure your cool-chain shields peppers from dehydration and stress during transit.
- Soft fruit’s point may appear, often due to nutrient imbalance, irrigation errors, or stress.
- Consistency is key: follow this flow each harvest day to keep quality high and waste low.
- Optimal maturity + handling extends shelf life.