Immediately after washing the lemons should be sorted into different grades based on
external appearance. The main characteristics used
in categorizing the fruit are intensity and uniformity
of yellow colour, size, shape, smoothness, and
freedom from damage and decay. The fruit within
each grade should be uniform in appearance and
void of noticeable blemishes. Lemons with
discoloured peels and bruised or wrinkled skins
should not be packed for the fresh market. Lemons
packed for export should have a uniform yellow
peel colour (Figure 3). The fruit should be separated
into different size categories ranging from 75, 95,
115, 140, 165, 200 and 235-count individual fruit
numbers per 18 kg (40 lb) carton. The 75-count fruit is classified as extra large, while the
235-count is considered small siz