Okra has a very high respiration rate at warm temperatures and deteriorates rapidly. It can be stored for around 10 days with careful attention to handling, temperature and relative humidity levels. Okra bruises easily resulting in blackening around the bruised area. It is also very sensitive to ethylene damage and is also sensitive to chilling injury at temperatures below 7ºC (45ºF). Okra should not be top iced or sprayed with water.
Packaging Method:
To protect the vegetable from damage caused by ethylene, we recommend that Peakfresh carton liners be used to package okra so long as there is reasonable certainty that temperature control can be maintained. The Peakfresh carton liners should be folded closed at the top to enclose the produce. Where there is a risk of poor temperature control, we recommend that okra be packaged using separate sheets of Peakfresh film to either individually wrap the okra or to use as a sheet underneath and over the top of boxed okra Pay careful attention to temperature settings to avoid chilling injury and surface decay.
Recommended Post Harvest Temperatures:
7ºC to 10ºC (45º -50º F) and 90% to 95% relative humidity.
IMPORTANT. Please read. All recommendations for the use of Peakfresh products are given in good faith and based on proven field experience. Packaging method storage temperatures and humidity levels, transit and destination conditions are factors likely to affect the performance of Peakfresh products and no liability for indirect or consequential damage can be accepted. We recommend that Peakfresh products be trialed under local conditions before introduction to large scale commercial applications.
