The traditional harvesting techniques and tools in Eritrea are adapted to collect fruit from tall plants. The fruits are no subject to quality control, because they are recognized as wild fruits, and are meant to be consumed at home or from the nearest market. However, it has been observed that as the urban centres grow the demand for beles fruits increase as well. Therefore a few modifications could greatly improve the quality and shelf life of the fresh fruit. When gathering fruits intended for the market:
avoid using hooks, tin cans allow collection of fruits with less damage. Pierced or wounded fruits are prone to early rotting;
collect fruits at the breaker stage because they are firmer than ripe and overripe fruits (Plate 16);
if possible, arrange fruits according to variety and ripening stage or;
after cleaning, arrange fruits in the collection bucket in layers, placing those at the breaker stage at the bottom, then the ripe, and finally the overripe at the top.
