How to Store and Preserve Fresh Peaches? Practical Tips Shared

Fresh peaches have a short storage life and are prone to rotting and spoilage. If the following preservation methods are adopted, the supply period of fresh peaches can be extended and economic benefits improved.

1. Harvest without injury, grade and package. To judge the maturity of peach fruit: first, after the fruit has fully developed, the skin begins to lose its green color, the flesh is slightly firm, and colored varieties have basically reached full color - this is the firm-ripe stage. Second, when the background color of the fruit is green or light green and the fuzz on the fruit surface begins to color - this is the seven-to-eight-tenths ripe stage. Fruit at the firm-ripe stage and the seven-to-eight-tenths ripe stage stores better and tolerates long-distance transport. Because peach maturity is uneven, most varieties require 2 to 3 pickings. During harvest, strictly prevent bruising and puncturing, and pick the fruit with the stem attached. Harvesting at low temperatures in the morning is best; process immediately after picking, remove fruit that is damaged, injured, inferior, misshapen or dirty, and grade by size and package separately. Commonly used packaging capacity is 5 kg to 10 kg; line the box with paper or polystyrene foam paper; for premium fruit, use foam net sleeves. Handle gently during transport, load and unload gently, and prevent bruising.

2. Preservation treatment to prevent rot diseases. During storage, peaches are prone to brown rot, soft rot, penicillium rot and green mold rot. Secondary butylamine series preservatives can be used to kill Penicillium and Trichoderma fungi. Commonly used are 15-fold diluted carbendazim solution (fruit washing), and a mixture of 100 to 200 mg of benomyl and 450 to 900 mg of dichloronitroaniline (DCNA) per kg of peaches (fruit dipping). When washing or dipping fruit, use clean water to prepare the solution; after dipping, wait for the moisture on the fruit surface to evaporate before packaging.

3. Choose a good environment and store with controlled temperature. The suitable temperature for storing peaches is 0 to 3°C; for mid- and early-maturing varieties, the temperature should be slightly higher. For example, Baihua and Honghua honey peaches are stored at 1 to 2°C, while Dongxue honey peaches, Zhonghua Shoutao and winter peaches are refrigerated at 0.5 to 1°C. Because peaches are relatively sensitive to low temperatures, storing at 0°C for a long time can easily cause chilling injury. To prevent chilling injury, use facilities with high temperature-control precision or an intermittent warming refrigeration method. That is, store the fruit first at 0°C for 1 to 4 weeks, then raise the temperature to 18 to 20°C for 2 days, then cool to 0°C for storage. Choose a wall-mounted automatic cold storage room with a temperature-control precision of 0°C, fast cooling speed, uniform warehouse temperature, and automatic adjustment of cooling and warming as needed, which can reduce or avoid chilling injury.

When storing peaches, the suitable oxygen concentration is 1% to 3% and the carbon dioxide concentration is 4% to 5%. When using physiological small packaging bags to store peaches, the carbon dioxide concentration should be lower than 8%, and the oxygen 5% to 14%. Check regularly after storage. For short-term stored peaches, observe once a day; for medium- and long-term storage, check once every 3 to 5 days.