# Design and Performance Evaluation of a Cherry Tomato Calyx Remover
## 1 Introduction  
Recently, along with industrialization, the food sector has rapidly developed [1; 2; 3]. Cherry tomatoes are vegetables with high production and consumption rates because they can be consumed fresh or processed according to consumer preferences [4; 5; 6; 7; 8].  
A cherry tomato, _Solanum lycopersicum_ var. _crasiform_[9], is a vegetable with high sugar content, 90% moisture content, and high vitamin A, C, B1, and B2 content [10; 11]. Cherry tomatoes are an essential component of diets, and their quality is also important. Unfortunately, fresh fruit is susceptible to mechanical damage, and quality can be significantly reduced due to poor distribution and pre-and post-processing processes [10; 11; 12]. Once damaged, fruits and vegetables deteriorate quickly due to physiological effects depending on the distribution period, resulting in considerable deterioration in the quality of fruits and vegetables during distribution [13; 14]. Most of the circular shaped cherry tomato varieties are cultivated in Japan and exported at a high cost. However, the cultivation quantity of juibe-shaped cherry tomatoes developed in The Republic of Korea has been increasing recently [15].  
Cherry tomatoes are harvested by hand when the degree of coloration is more than 80% and harvested with the calyx attached to the peduncle connecting the plant and fruit. The calyx is firmly attached to the fruit in most scenarios [16]. For the best value, when harvested and distributed, the cherry tomatoes must be delivered with calyxes attached to them to be recognized as high in freshness [17]. However, it takes many man-hours to remove the calyx of cherry tomatoes before eating. According to a study by [PERSON] et al. (2013), diseases occur after five days of storage. The high number of bacteria and mold on the calyx of cherry tomatoes shorten the shelf life when maintaining the calyx and distributing cherry tomatoes. The storage period of juibube cherry tomatoes with calyx removed was about eight days, whereas cherry tomatoes with their calyx present wasabout six days [12]. In the United States and Canada, most tomatoes are packaged without a peduncle and calyx to prevent secondary spoilage infection due to lacerations caused by sharp calyxes or quality deterioration due to increased respiration [18].  
Currently, removing the calyx is performed manually and it causes economic losses from the inefficiency of human labor and deterioration of the cherry tomatoes. To mitigate these problems, performing this work at the factory instead of working outdoors was suggested. It will reduce outdoor labor and improve management and distribution while increasing annual yields [19].  
Furthermore, cherry tomato calyx removal relies on manual labor, resulting in high costs and difficulties finding skilled labor [20; 21]. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce an automatic process for removing the calyx of cherry tomatoes mechanically. This study designed and manufactured an automatic calyx remover for cherry tomatoesand conducted a performance test on it. The optimal design factors were analyzed by examining the cherry tomato calyx removal and damage rates through tests for each factor required to optimize the machine's performance.