Food science articles
Harvest Index vs Harvest Maturity Index: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
The harvest index and harvest maturity index maximize yield and quality but involve different purposes, measurement methods, stakeholders, timing, and target crops. The harvest index is used during the research and cultivar development stage to measure plant function efficiency and estimates the carbon allotted to make harvestable products. The harvest maturity index estimates the best… Continue reading…
What Is the Best Packaging for Fresh Produce? A Guide to Types and Benefits
Various packaging and materials exist for transporting, storing, protecting, and displaying fresh produce. Different packaging is suitable for specific fresh produce. Modified Atmosphere Packaging that alters the inside atmosphere is most successful in maintaining quality and freshness and extending shelf life. A well-researched material choice and specific gas mixture are necessary for efficient MAP packaging… Continue reading…
Advancing Postharvest Science with Felix Instruments: A Spotlight on Dr. Karin Albornoz
Karin Albornoz is a postharvest biologist who focuses on the handling, storage, and transportation of fruits and vegetables after they are harvested. She has worked with a variety of produce, including leafy greens, tomatoes, and watermelon. In her current research at Clemson University, she is using an ethylene analyzer to study how ethylene production at… Continue reading…
What Is The Best Apple Harvest Maturity Index?
Apple harvest maturity indices are mainly based on physical and chemical attributes. The most reliable method is the starch index. The harvest maturity index values differ based on cultivars and the storage time. Each fruit is distinctive, and the methods used to fix harvest time must be customized for each cultivar. Determining the optimum harvest… Continue reading…
What is The Best Grape Harvest Maturity Index to Determine Harvest Time?
Harvest maturity indices overlap significantly, but as a standard practice to fix harvest time for grapes meant for winemaking, more parameters are used than for fruits for fresh consumption. Total soluble solids, titrable acidity, taste, color, and phenols are critical aspects of the harvest maturity index. Non-destructive near-infrared spectroscopy-based techniques are increasingly used to estimate… Continue reading…
Peach Harvest Maturity Indices for Better Yield
Crop chronology and fruit physical and chemical parameters are useful as peach harvest maturity indices. Firmness, size, color, sugar, and acidity content are objective and quantifiable indices. External colors estimated with charts are subjective. None of the peach harvest maturity indices can be used alone, and additional indices are needed to estimate maturity accurately and… Continue reading…
What Are Tomato Harvest Maturity Indices and Are They Crucial?
Tomatoes are harvested in five maturity or ripening stages, based on use and end-market. Different harvest indices are suitable for the varying ripening stages. Chemical, physical, and chronological harvest maturity indices are commonly used around the globe. Tomato has various uses and is grown for local and long-distance markets. The vegetable is harvested at different… Continue reading…
What are Harvest Maturity Indices? Why are they Important?
Harvest maturity indices can be fresh produce’s physical, chemical, physiological, or chronological attributes. The choice of harvest maturity indices will differ and must be based on species and economics. The optimum methods to measure harvest indices are objective, quantitative, non-destructive, and easy to use. Fresh produce suffers the maximum loss and waste. One reason is… Continue reading…
How to Use Mango Harvest Maturity Indices to Improve Fruit Quality and Yield
The mango harvest maturity indices can be physical, computational, physiological, and biochemical attributes. Physical indices are simple but subjective and unreliable. Biochemical harvest maturity indices are the most reliable, and standard NIR spectroscopy-based non-destructive estimation methods are the best. Mango fruits must be harvested at optimum maturity to continue developing internal and external quality attributes… Continue reading…
What Are Kiwifruit Harvest Maturity Indices and Why Are They Important?
Dry matter content and soluble sugars are two quality parameters widely used as harvest maturity indices for kiwifruits. Dry matter is increasingly becoming the standard harvest maturity index because it is correlated to postharvest taste, consumer acceptance, and storability of kiwifruits. The two harvest maturity indices are used as they can be estimated non-destructively in… Continue reading…
