Citrus cold storages are insulated with CFC-free cold storage panels with a density of 40 kg/m³. It also provides great energy savings in dual regime cold room groups and warehouses cooled at A++ energy level. Citrus fruits must be stored under appropriate conditions until they reach the processing centers.

35-40% of citrus fruits are exported in our country. Due to some mistakes and lack of information in cultivation, harvest time and especially in storage, our products and therefore our country's economy suffer significant losses. Due to the fact that the harvest and preservation of citrus fruits in our country are not known fully and in detail, 20-30% of these products are rotten and thrown away from the producer until they reach the consumer, which causes billions of lira damage every year.

Citrus Harvest

Harvest is usually one of the stages where injuries are most common and pathogens are most contagious. Harvest time and shape are important, as well as the nails of the workers, the beating of the fruit, and even their psychological state are effective on the damages that occur during the harvest. After the harvest time is determined, citrus fruits should be carefully collected, classified and packaged without causing damage. Maximum attention and care is very important in harvesting. Not only does it have a significant impact on the current value of the fruit, the injuries and bruises that occur during this time and the resulting molds greatly affect the storage period of the fruit.

Cultural measures can significantly affect the harvest and cost of citrus fruits. In this respect, perhaps the most important factor is the training of trees. In European countries, trees are kept under control by frequent planting and careful pruning . Thus, all fruits can be picked with the help of a ladder of normal height and weight. The sensitivity shown in order not to break the eggs during the citrus harvest should also be shown in the citrus harvest. Damages occurring during harvest are as follows:

• Scratches on the shell made by the collector's fingernail
• Cracks and bruises on the face of the fruit when leaving the fruit in the collection container or emptying it into larger crates from these containers
• As a result of carelessly plucking the fruit from the tree, the stem is broken or the fruit tissue is damaged at the junction of the stem with the fruit.
• Damages that occur as a result of touching the branches or hitting the soil on the fruits that fall to the ground during the harvest.

In citrus fruits, pickers are asked to have short nails or wear gloves to prevent bruises and scratches on the peel. Citrus fruits should be collected by cutting the tip with blunt scissors, and cutting should be done just above the capsule (button) without damaging the capsule. These scratches on the bark and capsule usually cause mold in this part, as a result of which the whole fruit and possibly a few fruits next to it will rot together.

The start time of the harvest is early in the morning and care should be taken to remove the dew from the fruits. Although harvesting is not done in rainy weather, harvesting can be continued in cold weather. The collection should be started from the skirt branches, and the fruits on the skirt branches and high branches should be collected separately. The collector may not mind if the fruits fall into the collecting container from a height of 25-30 cm. However, even fruits that are hard or hard at harvest are seriously damaged in such falls. Damages are not only at harvest time, but can increase widely during the packaging process. Both the collector and the grower tend to collect the fruits that have fallen to the ground. Such fruits are generally not suitable for fresh consumption due to their bruising and tendency to mold. In order for this type of fruit to be disposed of, they must be separated from other fruits.

Baskets covered with sponge (padded) should be used as a collection container for citrus fruits. Well-made harvesting equipment can greatly help minimize harvest damage. If the fruits are to be transported to sorting and packaging houses, it may be desirable to unload them into large garden crates. Keeping the garden boxes clean, neat and tight is essential for good results.

Packing House Transactions

Some products are prepared to be sent to the market while in the garden immediately after harvest. In general, it is preferable to move it to a central location. Harvested fruits should be transported to the packing house under suitable conditions as soon as possible and after waiting at least 1-2 days, they should be processed and packed. During a one-two-day waiting period, the shell loses some water, as a result of which the damage to the shell cells is reduced. Before the lemons are stored, they should be kept in the shade for at least 7-10 days to remove the juice in the fruit peel, and then packaged and taken into storage.

The products arriving at the packaging house are subjected to the following processes.

• Pre-washing and spraying (Drencher)
• Yellowing (in early products such as Satsuma, enter)
• Selecting, Extracting
• Washing
• Waxing and Spraying
• Classification
• longitudinal,
• Packaging
• Take to Market

Citrus Storage

One of the most neglected aspects of citrus fruits is storage. However, storage has very important advantages. These;

• To preserve the quality formed on the tree until the fruit is consumed,
• To ensure price stability by regularly supplying fruit to the market,
• Procuring fruit in bulk and regularly, especially for export;

In order to benefit from these advantages, the fruits must be kept in cold storage. Citrus fruits are stored in ordinary warehouses or machine-cooled warehouses. In winter, any room that can be ventilated can be used as ordinary storage. After the weather warms up, fruit is not stored in these rooms. In our country, the process called "bed lemon making" is an example of this. Lemons harvested during the winter months are stored in ordinary warehouses where they were produced until March. When the weather gets warmer, it is taken to the natural caves in Ürgüp. In this way, lemons can be stored until August. Before the fruit is placed in ordinary storage or in modern machine-cooled warehouses, it must be packaged. Fruits to be stored must be sprayed against diseases before or during packaging. Likewise, it should be cleaned and sprayed in cold stores. For the drugs to be used, experts in official institutions should be consulted.

Fruits packed in cold storage should be stacked in such a way that air can pass between the packaging containers. In the storage of citrus fruits, the relative humidity is usually 85-90%. Storage temperatures and storage times are as follows in terms of species.

• Mandarins : 2-3 months at 3-4°C
• Orange : 5-6 months at 5-6°C
• Goldenballs : 6-7 months at 7-9°C
• Lemons : 7-8 months at 10-12°C

Citrus fruits can be marketed and consumed fresh, due to the fact that the harvest season is spread over a period of 9 months and they have a long storage period.