Post harvest Management of Horticultural Crops (2+1)

Quality Grading

Fruits and vegetables are graded into different categories based on sensory quality as well as physical attributes like weight and size. While formal grades and standards are specified codex almintorious for certain fruits and vegetables, many commodities are not covered under this. Informal grading based on physical appearance and sizes are practiced in trade. Some of the standard used in export trade of important fruits and vegetable are listed below.

Weight grading standards of fruits for export purpose

Crop	A grade	B grade	C grade
Mango	200-350 g	351-550 g	551-800 g
Grape (Bunch)	300 (Extra class)	250 (Class I)	150 (Class II)
Pomegranate	350 g & above	250-350 g	<200 g
Figs	50 g above	40-50 g	30-40 g
Papaya	200-700 g	700-1300 g	1300-1700 g
Guava	>450 g	351-450 g	251-350 g
Pineapple (with crown)	2750 g	2300 g	1900 g
Litchi (diameter)	33 mm	20 mm
Lime	Minimum wt: 75 g and minimum diameter: 4 cm


Quality or grading standards for vegetablesCrop
	Specific requirement
Okra	Green, tender, 6-9 cm long
Chilies	Green, 6-7 cm long
Cluster bean	Green, tender, 7-10 cm long
Bitter gourd	Green, 20-25 cm long having short neck
Bottle gourd	Light green, straight, cylindrical, 25-30cm long
Tomato	Round, medium size in middle east, cherry tomatoes in European countries
French bean	10-12 cm long, straight, round green pods in bush beans Flat beans with 12-13 cm & straight are also demand in European markets
Big onion	4-6 cm, light to dark red, round , strong pungency for gulf & SEA markets Yellow/brown colour, 7-10 cm, round or spindle shape for European & Japan markets
Small onions	2-3 cm dark red and round
Garlic	White, round, 5 cm & above, bigger cloves of 10-12 cm & above with 10-15 in number. For Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 4-5 cm size bulbs also acceptable
Potato	White, oval, 4.5 to 6 cm. Bangladesh demands red type and Iran & Iraq demands potatoes with yellow flesh