Assessment of the physical properties of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) for post-harvest handling and processing applications

Abstract

Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L.) is a major citrus fruit of the Rutaceae family that accounts for about 64% of total world citrus production with Brazil, China, India, and the USA as top producing players. In India, sweet orange is cultivated area of 5.8 lakh hectares, a production of 62 lakh metric tonnes annually, of which Maharashtra state is leading producer. The current study has evaluated certain crucial physical properties which included length (56.03 mm), width (54.10 mm), thickness (52.36 mm), geometric mean diameter (54.13 mm), sphericity (0.96), weight (82.5 g) and juice content (46.7%). The obtained results will be useful to design post-harvest and processing equipment which is optimum, effective, and minimizes waste during operations.