Robotic cactus pear cryocauterization increases storage life

Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) is a highly perishable fruit that starts to deteriorate after several days of storage at room temperature. After two weeks, 70% of the fruit show signs of deterioration. A cauterization process used a pneumatic robotic gripper to press a cactus pear against a dry-ice wall inserted inside a thermally isolated chamber. Batches of 1800 cactus pears were processed daily under different environmental conditions (sun, cloud, and rain). The best cryocauterizing treatment for fruit was 150 kPa for 15 s, which on sunny, cloudy, and rainy days resulted in marketable fruit index of 0.86, 0.84, and 0.82, respectively, after 90 d (where 1.0 = 100% marketable fruit). Cryocauterization is a good alternative to increase storage life of cactus pear, but it should be applied early in the working day and without rainy conditions.