cherry's defects and blemishes

TOMRA Food Defect Glossary

Cherry Defects and Blemishes

About the TOMRA Cherry Defects and Blemishes Glossary

The cherry common defects and blemishes glossary was developed by the TOMA Food Applications Engineering, Research and Development, and Product Management teams. The information on this page focuses on defects and blemishes observed globally and includes notes on regional naming conventions and variations of defects.

Learn more about TOMRA's sorting and vision systems for cherry defects and blemishes.

Cherry Defects & Blemishes on this page:

The cherry defects and blemishes currently included on this page are:

Defects:

  • Cracks
  • Rot
  • Stemless
  • Insect damage
  • Bruising
  • Wind scar
  • Sunburn
  • Soft
  • Doubles
  • Spurs
  • Fresh split
  • Pitting
  • Stem decay

Blemishes:

  • Cosmetic blemishes
  • Bird peck

Cherry Defects

Cherry Cracks

Defect Name

Crack

Other Names

Medialuna; partidura; sutura abierta

Corona leve; rajada

 

Subcategory

Stem crack; severe stem crack; nose crack; severe nose crack; suture split; edge crack

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Cracks appear as a split in the skin in the cheeks, stem cavity, and the stylar scar region.

Cause & Disease Development

Cracking occurs when pressure applied to the surface of the cherry causes it to split.

 

Cherries are sensitive to cracking, and it is possible for cracking severity to reach 90%.

 

Cracking may be caused by:

  • External water uptake through the fruit cuticle.
  • Internal water relations influenced by the soil water content (and unaffected by water on the surface of the fruit).
  • Water sitting on the steam area for a period of time after rain.

However, rootstock, fruit size, cultivar, stage of development, and skin characteristics are all factors that can contribute to cracks.

 

More Information

Some cherries (like Bing, Rainier, Santina) are more susceptible to cracking than others.

Additionally, the shape of the fruit contributes to the type of crack developed.

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

26 July 2024

 

Cherry Rot

Defect Name

Rot

Other Names

Prodrido

Subcategory

Decay; brown rot

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Infection that has reached the fruit often presents as small, firm brown spots in the infection’s early stages. With time, the cherry will dry out and become shrivelled.

Cause & Disease Development

More Information

Rot can spread both during ripening and storage and leave most of the fruit inedible.

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

Stemless Cherry

Defect Name

Stemless

Other Names

Sin pedicelo ; desgarro

Chapulin

Subcategory

Stemless; stem pull/tear

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

The fruit is missing its stem.

Cause & Disease Development

This is generally caused by poor picking practices. It can also be caused by the machine during the infeed phase (some cluster cutters for example pull the stem off the cherries) and general mal practise. It especially happens when cherries are not cold and strong to their stems so it’s recommended to run system with cold water.

More Information

 

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

Cherry Insect Damage

Defect Name

Insect damage

Other Names

Dano insecto

Gusano

 

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

 

Cause & Disease Development

A range of different insects which damage the fruit

More Information

Drosophila Suzuki is the “fruit fly” that can develop eggs under the skin of the cherries and cause long-term rot/shoulder soft.

Virosis in Chile is also a known bacteria that causes rot (pudricion) of the fruit.

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

Cherry Bruising

Defect Name

Bruising

Other Names

Machucon 

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Soft spot on the fruit.

It can also be referred as “shoulder soft” so present only on the area around the stem. Generally visible in infrared images.

Cause & Disease Development

Cellular damage caused by mechanical impact from picking, transport or processing

More Information

 

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

 

Cherry Wind Scar

Defect Name

Wind scar

Other Names

Golpe de viento

 

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Appear like a “brown” spot/darker spot.

Cause & Disease Development

Wind scars are caused by rubbing of the fruits during harvest/picking.

More Information

 

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

 

Cherry Sunburn

Defect Name

Sunburn

Other Names

 

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Appear like a “brown” spot/darker spot.

Cause & Disease Development

Sunburn is caused by a sudden change in temperature.

More Information

 

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

Cherry Soft

Defect Name

Soft

Other Names

Blando

Subcategory

Severe

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

The fruit is soft.

Cause & Disease Development

The fruit is generally over ripe.

More Information

 

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

 

Cherry Doubles

Defect Name

Doubles

Other Names

Dobles

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Cherry doubles or doubling occurs when two cherries fuse together.

Cause & Disease Development

Doubling is the product of stress on the cherry. It can be caused by higher-than-normal summer temperatures that occur during the period where flower buds begin to differentiate. Some cultivars are more susceptible to doubling than others.

More Information

Double cherries are packable in California

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

Cherry Spurs

Defect Name

Spurs

Other Names

Espolon; hijo

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Cherry spurs present as a full cherry attached to a much smaller fruit.

Cause & Disease Development

Like doubling, cherry spurs occur due to stress on the flower buds early in development. The stress is usually environmental and is the result of high temperatures.

More Information

Cherries with a spur are packable in California.

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

 

Cherry Fresh Split

Defect Name

Fresh split

Other Names

Medialuna; partidura; sutura abierta

Corona leve; rajada

 

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Split cherries typically have a visible thin crack or opening in the skin of the fruit. As it’s fresh so the contrast to the skin is lower than dried cracks.

Cause & Disease Development

Usually, cherry fruits split open around the stem bowl where water accumulates, but they can also split in other areas on the fruit. It may also be caused by already weak fruit running on the lines with “too cold” water than splits the cherries during the processing.

More Information

Some cherry varieties are more prone to this than others, like Bings.

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

 

Cherry Pitting

Defect Name

Pitting

Other Names

Partidura

Corona leve

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Bruises form where the flesh breaks down and the skin covering the area sinks to compensate.

 

Damage often only becomes apparent after several days post-injury when stored close to room temperature. It can take longer to appear if the fruit is stored at low temperatures.

Cause & Disease Development

Pitting occurs when the cells in the flesh closest to the skin begin to break down. When this happens, the fruit experiences a loss of moisture.

 

The cause is typically stress in the form of compression or mechanical impact. However, several factors can help reduce the cherry’s susceptibility to mechanical damage, including temperature, use of gibberellic acid pre-harvest, and protecting fruit during harvest and post-harvest.

 

More Information

Pitting is the most common defect in cherries and is often caused during harvest when the picker touches the fruit rather than the stem.

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024



Cherry Stem Decay

Defect Name

Stem decay

Other Names

 

Subcategory

 

Type

Defect

Symptoms and Signs

Related to rot

Cause & Disease Development

See rot

More Information

 

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

Cherry Blemishes

Cherry Cosmetic Blemishes

Defect Name

Cosmetic blemishes

Other Names

Mancha marron/browning

Subcategory

Browning, Bronzing, Shrivel

Type

Blemish

Symptoms and Signs

Noticeable skin color and texture change but no skin break. Shrivelling often accompanied by a leathery texture

Cause & Disease Development

Browning or bronzing of the fruit skin, often on the side exposed to the sun, these could be called sunburn as well. Shrivelling mostly due to inconsistent watering or drought conditions.

More Information

 

Approved by

 Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Application Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

 August 14, 2024

 

Cherry Bird Peck 

Defect Name

Bird peck

Other Names

Herida pajaro

 

Subcategory

Type

Blemish

Symptoms and Signs

Cause & Disease Development

Bird peck is a fruit injury caused by birds.

More Information

Approved by

Dr. Chris Johnston, Manager, Applications Engineering, TOMRA Food

Last Updated

24 July 2024

 
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