Post Harvest Procedures
Harvest
The pak choi crop is harvested on Day 35. The individual pak choi plants
should weigh 1 pound (~450 grams) at this point in the production cycle.
It is easy to damage harvested plants with rough handling. Pak choi is very
turgid and brittle, and careful handling of the crop should be of high priority
to the grower.
The pak choi plants are removed from NFT troughs and are either packaged directly or placed in a cooler for packaging later. Packaging is determined by the grower and the consumer. A number of different forms of packaging are available. The technical details of harvesting depend on the type of packaging used.
Storage
Proper post-harvest storage is vital in pak choi production. Damage to
the crop at this stage can easily occur if the product is not placed directly
into the cooler after harvest to remove the heat from the crop. Ideal conditions
for storage are in a 1oC (34oF)
cooler. With daily transport of the product to market, the pak choi may
remain in the cooler for less than one day, but should be cooled for at
least 12 hours to remove the heat from the crop. For highest quality, the
pak choi should be moved to market almost immediately. Unfortunately, market
conditions are often not optimum for pak choi. Properly refrigerated pak
choi will retain high quality for at least 7 days. The cooler should be
kept at a high humidity level to avoid desiccation of the crop.
Transportation
The harvested product should be cooled before shipping. To ensure a high
quality product upon arrival at the market, the product must be transported
in a refrigerated vehicle.
