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.

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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	Rot is the product of a fungal infection, including brown rot (Monolinia fruticola and Monolinia laxa), grey mould, and altnernaria alternata.
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 malpractice. 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 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

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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