Articles

What Are Fruit Ripening Systems? Types, Methods, and How They Work

August 6, 2026 at 4:22 pm | Updated August 6, 2026 at 4:22 pm | 12 min read

Artificial ripening systems are necessary for providing evenly ripened, high-quality fresh produce year-round. The ripening agent used is usually ethylene, but others like gibberellins, acetylene, ethephon, and calcium carbide are also applied. Simple ripening systems depend on natural internal enzymatic processes and lack environmental control. Advanced ripening systems use artificial agents and improve efficiency by… Continue reading…

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What Are the Latest Fresh Produce Storage Technologies Extending Shelf Life?

Technological innovations for storage have to slow the physiological processes that cause premature ripening, senescence, and quality loss, and shorten shelf life. Environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and gas composition must be tailored to specific fresh produce to extend shelf life and preserve quality. Stakeholders need precise control over environmental factors to slow… Continue reading…

Postharvest Mechanical Damage and Its Effects on Fresh Produce Quality

Mechanical damage occurs most during harvest, sorting, grading, packaging, and distribution transport stages. The mechanical damage types are impact, compression, friction, puncture, vibration, and cutting. The mechanical damage phenotypes can include bruising, tissue collapse, perforation, cracking, and breaking. Internal factors and external environmental conditions in the postharvest chain are crucial in determining the extent of… Continue reading…

How Do Postharvest Microbial Treatments Extend Fresh Produce Shelf Life?

Fruits and vegetables harbor a microbiome on their surfaces that interacts with them to influence fruit quality. Fruit/plant-microbial interactions can be used in postharvest management to control spoilage microbes, thereby improving fresh produce quality and shelf-life. These microbial-plant/fruit interactions include competition, mycoparasitism, volatile secretions, microbial biofilms, quorum sensing, and systemic resistance induction. Postharvest spoilage, quality… Continue reading…

What Is Postharvest Physiology and Why Does It Matter for Fresh Produce Quality?

The crucial postharvest physiological processes that lead to deterioration in the quality of fresh produce include respiration, transpiration, ethylene production, and enzymatic activity. Temperature, air gas composition, relative humidity, and handling are common factors that can be controlled to slow these physiological processes. Maintaining and controlling the environment is essential to preserving quality and shelf… Continue reading…

f-751 avo ai

AVO AI: De la medición a un sistema de decisiones para la calidad del aguacate

Durante años, la conversación sobre la calidad del aguacate ha sido la misma. Se invierte en mejores herramientas. Se recolectan más datos. Se refinan los métodos de muestreo. Y aun así, persisten las mismas dudas: ¿Estamos muestreando lo suficiente?¿Estamos tomando la decisión correcta de cosecha?¿Estamos detectando la variabilidad a tiempo? Porque el desafío nunca ha… Continue reading…

Dry matter in storage enviornment
Dry matter in storage enviornment

7 Metrics Every Postharvest Facility Should Track Weekly

Postharvest facility metrics should never be treated like background paperwork. They are one of the clearest ways to catch quality drift before it turns into shrink, claims, or rejected loads. A weekly review gives postharvest teams a repeatable way to connect room conditions, fruit physiology, and packout results. It also helps separate guesswork from actual… Continue reading…