BackgroundInternational Development Enterprises(IDE) works in India, mainly in the field ofsmall-scale irrigation. It is involved in aproject funded by the DFID Crop PostHarvest Programme that seeks toinvestigate improved methods ofpackaging and transporting tomatoes. Thetomatoes are produced by small-scalegrowers in the vicinity of Shargaon inHimachal Pradesh. Growers traditionallyuse wooden boxes called peti to pack andtransport their produce. The Himachalgovernment, however, has recentlybanned the felling of trees to make theboxes in order to reduce deforestation.Neighboring states have not followed suitand wood will continue to be available forsome time, but eventually an alternativeto wood will be required. Research by IDEidentified corrugated fibreboard boxes(CFB’s), recently developed for growers inGujarat, as being a potential replacementfor the wooden peti. IDE carried out aseries of trials of the boxes with the localgrowers in Solan area. They selected abox with a 15kg capacity (code VC-15) forthe initial trials. Core Emballage, acompany in Ahmedabad that hadpreviously collaborated with the IndianInstitute of Management, Ahmedabad(IIMA), manufactured 2500 boxes for thetrials.

Aims of transport trial● To determine whether VC-15s could

withstand the rigours of the 350km, 12hour road journey from Solan to Delhi

● To compare the degree of protectiongiven to the produce by the VC-15 ascompared to the peti

● To obtain feedback from growers,traders and others on various featuresof the boxes such as ease of filling,handling, price etc

● To develop second generation boxessuitable for the Solan area, taking intoaccount the results of the trial andfeedback.

Tomato in the Solan areaFarmers in this region grow tomatoes insmall fields on terraced slopes. The crop isready for the market in June andharvesting continues until August. Duringthis period, this region is the only sourceof supply to Delhi and other markets.Growers therefore get a good price fortheir crop.

HarvestingPickers move along the rows with smallbasket or plastic crates. When full theseare emptied into a larger basket called akilta, which is made of fine bamboo splitsand has a capacity of around 30–40kg. Thetomatoes are taken to a shed, where theyare sorted and packed.

EnvironmentThe region experiences frequent rainsfrom mid-June to August, which coincideswith the main harvest period. During thisperiod, the weather is humid and sky iscloudy. The average temperature in Juneis 33–34°C, falling to 25°C in August. Therewere concerns that the local damp climatemight reduce the strength of the CFBboxes.

Mode of packagingWooden boxes (390x280x200mm) calledpeti are the present main mode ofpackaging. They weigh about 1.5kg, havea capacity of 13–14 kg tomatoes and costaround Rs.18–20 per box. Petis are readilyavailable in kit form, which the growerspurchase and assemble as required. Thereis a well-developed and efficient networkin the area that supplies the growers withthe peti kits. Suppliers deliver the kits at aconvenient pick-up point and growersneed only a hammer and nails toassemble the peti.

A peti has provision for aeration and asmooth inner finish, though nails maysometimes be protruding.

There are efforts underway to developalternatives to the peti. In the Delhi marketthere are already 5-ply CFB boxes fortomatoes available. These boxes have thename of the grower, the variety, lotnumber and ‘Himachal Tomato’ printed onthe side. The boxes are a similar shapeand volume as a peti with 8 vent holes (25mm diameter) on both the longer side-walls and on the top and bottom. Ovalgrips are provided on the smaller walls.

New packaging options for transportingtomatoes in India

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UK £1 = Rs 69.7

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aIn this article the authors describe the results oftrials to transport tomatoes in specially designedcardboard cartons, rather than in the traditionalwooden crate.

Keywords

Tomato, quality,packaging,transport

Current packing practiceTomatoes of a relativelyuniform colour and sizeare selected and packedin layers in a peti. Pineneedles or dry grass isplaced at the bottom andbetween the layers toprovide cushioning andprotection for the fruit. Asheet of newspaper isplaced on top and thebox is closed by nailing.Codes of the grower andthe commission agentand the total number ofpetis being sent on that trip are stampedon each peti. Growers carry the petis ontheir back or on mules to the road-side,where they remain on damp ground forup to four hours until pick-up by thetransporter.

Vehicle, load and roadFive tonne single axle trucks, with leafsprings and no dampers are used totransport the boxes of tomatoes to marketin Delhi. Each truck can hold around 600petis, which are stacked in columns of upto 8 tiers. A tarpaulin covering is placedon top to protect the cargo from rain(Figure 1).

Hill roads are narrow, have numeroushairpin bends and gradients with manypotholes. Journeys along such roadsexpose the load to vertical, lateral andforward and backward sway of thecolumns.

Unloading at the market in DelhiTwo workers typically unload each truck –one in the truck handing boxes to anotherworker on the unloading platform wherethey are stacked. Initially the two workersare close enough for the boxes to behanded down (figure 2). As unloadingproceeds the boxes begin to be thrownacross large distances. Being experienced,the boxes are expertly tossed and caught,but occasionally there is a miss and thebox falls onto the hard floor.

Some of the produce reaching Delhimarket may terminate its journey here.Some may be loaded onto another truckto be taken to other terminal markets inthe country. For produce ending itsjourney in Delhi, the transport distance(from Solan) is about 350 km. For thatgoing onward to other destinations itcould be twice as much.

Trial procedureSeveral small-scale growers wereinvolved with the initial trials. The new

cartons (250 in total) weretaken to Shargaon and thefarmers were shown howto assemble and usethem. Tomatoes that werein the ‘breaker’ stage, i.e.the blossom end had juststarted to turn pink, wereselected for the trial.The cartons were placedon level ground andcarefully filled withtomatoes. The box wasshaken once or twiceduring filling to ensureproper settling. Cartonswere secured with straps

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Figure 1. Truck transportingthe tomatoes.

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Figure 2. Unloading thetruck in Delhi

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before loading on to the trucks. Tomatoeswere also packaged in the traditional petisto compare the efficacy of the new box. Afew sample boxes were weighed afterfilling and the gross weight was found tobe 15kg in both cases.

Loading the truckThe truck used was one that regularlytransports produce to Delhi The VC-15’swere stacked in columns of four and thepetis in columns of seven. The overallcolumn heights were almost the same.The truck held 187 VC-15’s and 247 woodpetis. The placement plan is shown infigures 3 and 4.

The truck left Shargaon at 9.30pm andreached Azadpur market (Delhi) the nextday at 8.00am, having travelled about350 km.Upon arrival in Delhi, the truck wasunloaded and the boxes and theircontents inspected for damage. All of theVC-15s were checked for damage to thepackaging. Only a sample of the cartons

(those on the floor ofthe truck which isconsidered to be themost vulnerableposition) were openedto check for damage tothe produce.

Results of the trial

Damage to containersThere was no damage(burst boxes orirreversible bulges) toany of the boxes. AllVC-15’s and the woodenpetis retained theirstructural integrity. This

is despite the fact that some VC-15s wereinitially exposed to a slight wetting due toa leaky tarpaulin.

Damage to Produce

Table 1. Damage to the produce duringtransport

Position in truck % damage——————————————————————————————

VC-15 Peti

Front 4.6 2.3Centre 0 0Back 0 4.1Overall 1.5 2.1

Damage to the produce is summarised intable 1. Overall damage to the producewas 1.5% in VC’s and 2.1% in the petis. Weconclude that this low level of damage isacceptable and is similar for both forms ofpackaging. The damage to produce islower than that observed in trials inGujarat that involved a 250km roadjourney. This is not surprising since thetransport trial in Gujarat was carried out inMarch when temperatures were 40°C.Higher temperatures increase the rate ofrespiration and accordingly the ripening.Also, growers in Gujarat usually packnearly red ripe tomatoes rather than theunder ripe ones. These external factorsincrease the susceptibility of tomatoes todamage in transit.

Modification requiredFollowing the initial trials and taking intoaccount the feedback from the users of the

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Figure 3: Stacking the VC-15s and petis in thetruck

Front of truck

Woodenboxes

Vastrapurcartons

Woodenboxes

Vastrapurcartons

2mFigure 4: Plan view of theplacement of VC-15 andpetis in truck

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cartons, several changes are now beingconsidered:

● Reduction in volume of box. On arrivalin Delhi it was observed that a gap ofabout 3–5 cm had developed in thecarton, due to settlement during thejourney. This suggests that a VC-15 canactually accommodate about 1.5–2 kgmore tomatoes. However, rather thanincrease the quantity of tomatoes perbox, a decision was made to reduce thevolume of the crate

● Placement of ventilation holes. The 8ventilation holes (four each on thelonger side-walls) are clustered closetogether around the centre of the longwalls. This weakens the area near theholes. The holes can be positionedfurther apart without affecting aerationof the carton

● Side grip. To improve handling, the sidegrip of the carton can be provided.

● Barrier to moisture intrusion. In viewof the local climate the boxes needto be made more impervious tomoisture

● Feedback from growers and traders.Growers in Shargaon and traders inDelhi suggested that the dimensions ofthe box be kept close to that of the peti.They also insisted that the price shouldbe kept close to that of the peti

In considering the question of volume ofthe new boxes and the need for them tomatch as far as possible the size of thepetis, the researchers made anassessment of the bulk density of thetomatoes.

Current practice is not to segregate thetomatoes according to size. However, asthe table below illustrates, tomatoes ofvarying sizes have very different bulkdensities.

VolumeThe bulk density of tomatoes wasmeasured at Ahmedabad and Shargaonby sorting tomatoes in different sizes-small, medium, large and also for themixed lots. A template with holes ofvarying diameter was used to determinesize. A CFB box was filled by hand, shaken5–6 times to ensure uniform settlementafter which the tomatoes were weighed.The measurements for each size werereplicated four times. Table 2 shows themean values.

Table 2: Bulk density of tomato arriving atAhmedabad APMC market (July)

Size Bulk density (kg/m3)

Small (below 5 cm) 681

Medium (5–5.5 cm) 638

Large (above 5.5 cm) 617

Mixed (as in lot) 642

Table 3: Bulk density of tomato at Shargaon

Size Bulk density (kg/m3)

Small 681

Medium 687

Large 619

Mixed 694

Dimensions of small, medium and large are not statedand may not be same as in Ahmedabad

The bulk density has clear implications onthe weight of tomatoes per box and is anarea that needs more study. In addition,there may be a premium price for largertomatoes.

Based on the results of the trial,prototypes of new boxes are beingfabricated with the following features:

● Volume as near as possible to 21.6 litres● Outer surface treated with varnish to

reduce moisture intrusion. Laminationwith plastic film is also beingconsidered

● Side grips to be included● Maintaining the volume and price as

close to the peti as feasible.

ConclusionsIn terms of protection afforded to theproduce, these transport trials wereconsidered to be a success. CFB cartonsoffer a viable alternative to the traditionalwooden boxes. It is a technology that canbe replicated throughout India and othercountries for the transport of horticulturalproduce and therefore have a massiveimpact on the felling of trees.

Girja Sharan and Kishor RawaleCentre for Management in Agriculture (CMA)

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad 380015,

India

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