Spice Crops Harvesting, Post-Harvest Handling, and Marketing
Harvesting
Different types of spice crops show different signs of maturity and readiness for harvest. A good farmer should develop skills in determining the appropriate time to harvest spice crops to ensure that these will reach the market in their prime condition.
Onion and garlic are ready for harvest as soon as the stalks begin to wither and dry normally or at about 100 to 140 days. Harvesting onion can be done by simply hand-pulling.
Ginger matures in six to eight months. When the leaves of the ginger plant start to fall aside and begin to dry, the rhizome are ready for harvest. In harvesting ginger, the use of digging tools is advisable to ensure that rhizomes will be be pulled out intact.
Harvesting black pepper normally starts three years after planting. However, black pepper plants from marcotted stems start bearing fruit after a year. The berries or peppercorns in spike mature in five to six months. Peppercorns are ready for harvest when two or three of the berries in same spike change color from green to orange and when the seed is hard when pinched. the fruit spike is carefully picked by hand. To pick, twist off the spike while holding the peduncle steady so as not to break any branch. Separate the peppercorns from the spike immediately.
Pepper, on the other hand is harvested when fruit starts to turn red. This is also done by hand picking.
Post-Harvest Handling
1. Onion and garlic. These spice crops undergo the following post-harvest handling processes:
a. Cutting and cleaning. The upper parts and roots of the bulb are cut to a desirable length and cleaned free of soil.
b. Curing. This is done by sun drying the freshly harvested garlic and onion bulbs in the field or near the house to avoid pilferage. Bulbs should be sundried for an average of six hours daily for two to five days depending upon the intensity of the sunlight until the outer layer of the skin is completely dried.
c. Packing and braiding. The onion and garlic bulbs are sorted after cleaning. Those with uniform sizes are grouped together into small, medium, or large. Sometimes garlic is braided and bundled by hundreds. Onion is often packed in plastic nets.
d. Storing. Bulbs which are intended for future use are stored for it to command a better price. The storage room should be dry with relative humidity of 70% or lower to prevent mold and root development.
2. Ginger. Post-harvest handling of ginger includes grading, curing, and storing.
Ginger is classified and graded based on the soundness and size of the rhizomes. Each class is placed in a separate container. The ginger is then washed and stored or sold to the market at once if desired.
Curing ginger is done by subjecting the rhizomes to warm air with a temperature of 105oF under a shed which has all its side open. The process is done by arranging the crates containing ginger in such a way that an air tunnel is formed into which the warm air passes through the crates.
3. Black pepper. The harvested spikes are filed for drying. During the process, the berries turn black and can be easily separated from the spike by hand. spread-out blackened berries on mats or concrete flooring and sundry for several days. The berries should have a moisture content of about 12 percent before these are stored in sacks or sold to spice factories.
Efficient marketing is necessary to gain more profit. To provide an efficient marketing system the following pointers must be considered;
1. Observed proper timing. Crops can be stored and their harvesting period can be adjusted. With this knowledge, crops can be marketed at a good price if they are sold long after the harvest period when the supply of the crop is low.
2. Avoid selling through middlemen. Direct consumer trade is more effective than selling through middlemen. In most cases the middlemen gains better profit than the raisers.
3. Practice collective selling. If possible, a cooperative union should be organized to protect crop raisers. In this scheme, the members have more access to the current prices of the commodities and can bargain for a better price for their crops.
Different types of spice crops show different signs of maturity and readiness for harvest. A good farmer should develop skills in determining the appropriate time to harvest spice crops to ensure that these will reach the market in their prime condition.
Onion and garlic are ready for harvest as soon as the stalks begin to wither and dry normally or at about 100 to 140 days. Harvesting onion can be done by simply hand-pulling.
Ginger matures in six to eight months. When the leaves of the ginger plant start to fall aside and begin to dry, the rhizome are ready for harvest. In harvesting ginger, the use of digging tools is advisable to ensure that rhizomes will be be pulled out intact.
Harvesting black pepper normally starts three years after planting. However, black pepper plants from marcotted stems start bearing fruit after a year. The berries or peppercorns in spike mature in five to six months. Peppercorns are ready for harvest when two or three of the berries in same spike change color from green to orange and when the seed is hard when pinched. the fruit spike is carefully picked by hand. To pick, twist off the spike while holding the peduncle steady so as not to break any branch. Separate the peppercorns from the spike immediately.
Pepper, on the other hand is harvested when fruit starts to turn red. This is also done by hand picking.
Post-Harvest Handling
1. Onion and garlic. These spice crops undergo the following post-harvest handling processes:
a. Cutting and cleaning. The upper parts and roots of the bulb are cut to a desirable length and cleaned free of soil.
b. Curing. This is done by sun drying the freshly harvested garlic and onion bulbs in the field or near the house to avoid pilferage. Bulbs should be sundried for an average of six hours daily for two to five days depending upon the intensity of the sunlight until the outer layer of the skin is completely dried.
c. Packing and braiding. The onion and garlic bulbs are sorted after cleaning. Those with uniform sizes are grouped together into small, medium, or large. Sometimes garlic is braided and bundled by hundreds. Onion is often packed in plastic nets.
d. Storing. Bulbs which are intended for future use are stored for it to command a better price. The storage room should be dry with relative humidity of 70% or lower to prevent mold and root development.
2. Ginger. Post-harvest handling of ginger includes grading, curing, and storing.
Ginger is classified and graded based on the soundness and size of the rhizomes. Each class is placed in a separate container. The ginger is then washed and stored or sold to the market at once if desired.
Curing ginger is done by subjecting the rhizomes to warm air with a temperature of 105oF under a shed which has all its side open. The process is done by arranging the crates containing ginger in such a way that an air tunnel is formed into which the warm air passes through the crates.
3. Black pepper. The harvested spikes are filed for drying. During the process, the berries turn black and can be easily separated from the spike by hand. spread-out blackened berries on mats or concrete flooring and sundry for several days. The berries should have a moisture content of about 12 percent before these are stored in sacks or sold to spice factories.
Efficient marketing is necessary to gain more profit. To provide an efficient marketing system the following pointers must be considered;
1. Observed proper timing. Crops can be stored and their harvesting period can be adjusted. With this knowledge, crops can be marketed at a good price if they are sold long after the harvest period when the supply of the crop is low.
2. Avoid selling through middlemen. Direct consumer trade is more effective than selling through middlemen. In most cases the middlemen gains better profit than the raisers.
3. Practice collective selling. If possible, a cooperative union should be organized to protect crop raisers. In this scheme, the members have more access to the current prices of the commodities and can bargain for a better price for their crops.