Assessment of physical, mechanical, and hydrodynamic properties in reducing postharvest losses of cantaloupe (Cucumis melo var. Cantaloupensis)

Today, preserving the quality and reducing the losses of agricultural products is an important topic and has attracted the attention of many scholars in the field. This study aims at investigating the engineering properties (physical, mechanical, and hydrodynamic properties) of cantaloupe in order to manage and reduce the losses that is produced postharvest. The results show that the mean values physical properties measured for the geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, sphericity, surface area, volume, and true density of the cantaloupes were 130.13 mm, 130.26 mm, 0.94%, 53,367.59 mm(2), 633.30 cm(3), and 0.83 g/cm(3), respectively. Maximum force required for bruising and shearing cantaloupes in the investigation of their mechanical properties were 248.20 and 108.30 N. The hydrodynamic properties of cantaloupes such as the terminal velocity, the cantaloupes' rise time in the water column, the buoyance force and the drag force were obtained to be equal to 0.12 m/s, 4.10 S, 6.21 N, and 0.11 N, respectively. The results obtained through this study can be used in designing harvest machines, optimization, processing, transport, separation of impurities, and grading equipment for the purpose of reducing cantaloupe waste. Practical applications Of the 67 million tons of agricultural production in Iran, 20 million tons of it are turned into waste in the postharvest stage. That is the equivalent of food of 20 million people. Fruits are among the most important horticultural products that play an important role in supplying human nutrition and human health. Failure to review the engineering properties of agricultural products (physical, mechanical, and hydrodynamic properties) are the most important factors in increasing the agricultural waste at the postharvest stage. The physical properties of agricultural products are essential for the design and optimization of harvesting and postharvesting machinery, separating, transferring, grading, and drying processes. Mechanical properties can be useful in designing machinery and equipment for transportation and displacement of the product. Hydrodynamic properties can be useful for transfer, separation and grading by water in order to reduce processing costs and reduce cantaloupe waste.