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Dry Flowers for Immediate
Use/Display
Receiving area environment - It
is essential to place cut flowers in proper cooler facilities
immediately upon arrival. This procedure is commonly done
when truckers using a lock box system deliver flowers. Namely,
truck drivers are instructed to place the shipments into
coolers. The coolers should be operating at the recommended
storage temperatures for the crops in question.
Temperature measurement - Using
a needle type temperature measuring devise, measure and
record flower head temperatures as soon as possible, before
the flowers are further processed. The number of measurements
that should be taken depends on the size of the shipment
and the number of shippers/growers. If flowers are coming
from more than one source, which is normally the case, make
sure temperature readings are taken of each source. In general,
10 to 25 or more readings would not take long and should
represent a good cross-section of the shipment.
Temperature measurement decisions
- Establish printed guidelines where temperature tolerances
or limits are established. For example, flowers that normally
store best near 32F (0C) should not be accepted and processed
further if the flower temperature is below 30F (minus1C)
or above 65F (18C). For chill sensitive flowers, temperatures
below 50 to 55F (10 - 13C) or above 75 (24C) should be rejected.
At worst, flowers arriving outside of these limits should
be monitored carefully as subsequent problems are likely.
Under such conditions, notify the supplier(s) and transportation
company immediately.
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