Fruits are selected for harvest when 80 to 90 percent of the fruits on a panicle are full red or yellow for the yellow varieties with little or no green color. This is normally 14 to 28 days after color break, or 15 to 18 weeks after fruit set. The optimum harvest time varies according to the cultivar. In all cases, fruits harvested too early will not have the required internal quality, as shown with fruits picked 10 days after color break. Over-mature fruits have a very deep skin color with opaque, dry, and very firm arils with poor flavor.
Harvesting is carried out manually using secateurs or pruning shears.
The fruits are removed in bunches from the trees, not cut individually, because cutting each fruit is less efficient and increases mechanical damage and water loss. Where harvesting is carried out from the ground, the bunches are placed carefully into plastic field crates. Where ladders are used, the picker places bunches into a cotton bag around his or her waist. This bag should be small, never over-filled, and the fruit regularly and carefully lowered to the ground for transfer to the field crates. Picking tools can also be used to cut the panicles from tall trees, but these tools should include a bag attached to the pole, so that the fruit does not fall to the ground.