Stems continue along the conveyor and under a cold water drench for precooling. Water temperature should again be 3oC to 5oC, with volumes of 10 to 15 gallons per minute per square foot, and contain 200 parts per million chlorine. Treatment should last approximately five minutes. Afterward, the stems are removed from the belt and size graded manually by diameter. At this point, whether manual or mechanized operations have been used, the asparagus must be graded, packed, and placed under cold storage as soon as possible.
Care is required because susceptibility to bruising is higher when the stems are cooled.
Allowing the stems to heat up again reduces both the storage and shelf lives. Grading is always in accordance with valid market standards and may be based on color and stem length and diameter. White Violet, having tips of a color between pink and violet or purple Green, having tips and a part of the shoot green Green-purple Shoots should also be whole, fresh, sound, free from damage, practically unbruised, clean, and free from external moisture and foreign taste and smells. Shoots should not be hollow, split, peeled, or broken. The diameter is measured at the midpoint of the stem.