Back in the 70’s or thereabouts I read that picking fruits or veggies during the mid-afternoon would give you the most nutritional payback.
Is there any truth to that? Or is it just wishful thinking?
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Don’t know but it seems logical to me because the heat concentrates the liquid. I pick mostly in the morning because that is when I’m in the mood to do so.
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hmm, if the nutrients are more concentrated via dehydration, but the amount of nutrients hasn’t increased, then we’re merely playing with water. 
I don’t know whether this timing is good for other reasons, but i’ve read that picking fruit in the late morning allows the attachment point to dry out with less risk of fungal disease, as opposed to picking at night or early morning.
unless it rains or some such.
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Stress induces plants to produce more chemicals. in the case of lettuce and many leaf vegetables, the results are more bitter compounds. So picking during a non stressful period will likely yield more desirable results. In the case of peppers, tomatoes the response to stressful conditions would result in more flavorful fruits hotter sweeter. Now if you harvest a tomato in the middle of the heat you will be cutting its shelf life even if you are able to get it cooled rapidly.
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