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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 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…

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…

Carbon Dioxide Technology in Food Preservation: Extending Shelf Life and Ensuring Safety

Carbon dioxide technology in food preservation lowers fruit respiration rate to maintain quality and extend marketing time. CO2 antimicrobial properties make food safe to meet consumer demands and protect crop yields. Carbon dioxide technology is useful during transportation, storage, and retailing. The food supply chain uses many strategies to increase food production, extend fresh produce… Continue reading…

Five Significant Developments in 2022 to Improve Fruit Quality

Non-destructive, accurate, and real-time collection and analysis of fruit quality data continue to grow more critical. Their applications are being expanded to new fruits and to improve scientific research. Another trend is the search for non-toxic postharvest treatments to keep fruits safe for consumption and augment fruit nutritional value to meet consumer demands. Fruit quality… Continue reading…

Empowering Small-Scale Farmers: The Avocado Society of Kenya’s Innovative Approaches

The Avocado Society of Kenya is the leading association for avocado growers, exporters, and other key players in the industry. They strive to promote efficiency and organized marketing to ensure long-term profitability for avocado agribusiness in Kenya. Their vision is to take a leading role in creating a sustainable and profitable avocado industry. The society… Continue reading…

Precision Techniques can make Horticulture Sustainable

Precision horticulture can increase yields with fewer inputs.  These techniques optimize growing conditions by improving decision-making based on analyzed data to maximize fresh produce quality and yield.  Monitoring quality in all stages is crucial for horticulture crops.  Precision horticulture techniques are suitable for outdoor and indoor farms.  Precision horticulture is becoming attractive as it reduces… Continue reading…

Improving Avocado Quality

Quality avocados must be safe for consumption and satisfy consumer preferences like appearance and taste.   Dry matter content is crucial in estimating maturity, storage, and transport conditions, ripening duration, oil content, and consumer satisfaction.  Management during the production and postharvest stages is crucial to meet consumer preferences for avocados.  Avocados of different qualities can be… Continue reading…

How Warmer Nights Change Dry Matter Accumulation in Apples

Dry matter is the total of all solids in fruit, starch, sugars, lipids, pigments, acids, etc. We know farm management practices can influence dry matter accumulation in apples. There are also regional dissimilarities due to weather and soil differences. New findings indicate nocturnal temperature variations can also change dry matter. So how would dry matter accumulation… Continue reading…