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…

How Fruit Quality Monitoring Improves Sustainability and Reduces Food Loss

Fruit quality monitoring is an integral part of the fresh produce supply chain. Fruit quality monitoring improves productivity and reduces food loss on farm and postharvest stages to enhance food security and responsible production. The environmental impacts indirectly through quality monitoring are reduced carbon footprint, less water resource depletion and pollution, and better biodiversity protection… Continue reading…

Application of Handheld Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) as a Portable Phenotyping Tool in Horticultural and Agronomic Breeding Programs

By Galen George, Director of Applied Science at Felix Instruments. Introduction Plant breeding stands as a cornerstone of horticulture and agronomy, disciplines vital for the sustainability and advancement of agriculture worldwide. This scientific practice, which involves the selective crossing of plants to produce new cultivars with desirable traits, is fundamental in addressing the multifaceted challenges… Continue reading…

How Fresh Produce Quality Control Meters Save Money By Reducing Loss and Time

Perishable fresh produce is the food group with the most significant loss. Preharvest and postharvest quality monitoring can control quality to reduce losses at critical points in the supply chain. User-friendly precision quality meters based on near-infrared spectroscopy cut analysis time and give objective, accurate results to reduce working time. The fresh produce supply chain… Continue reading…

How to Test Pre-harvest Quality in Fresh Produce

All preharvest growing conditions and management practices affect yield and quality. Generalizations are challenging, as the same factor can have varying effects on different quality parameters of a single fruit. Recommendations for shared best practices to optimize yield and quality are given. A significant percentage of food loss is attributed to decreased yield and quality… Continue reading…

What You Need to Know About AI in Agriculture

AI, in combination with other technologies, is solving several modern problems caused and faced by industrial agriculture. AI applications are increasingly used in agriculture for soil and crop monitoring, farm operations, farm management, supply of food, and crop research. AI solutions in agriculture can improve productivity with less resource use and reduce environmental impacts. Integrating… Continue reading…

Maximizing Agricultural Quality and Efficiency: The Comprehensive Guide to Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) Applications

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is used preharvest for maturity estimation, nutrient and water management, and biological stress detection. In the post-harvest stage, NIRS is used for shelf life assessment, defects and disease detection, process monitoring, sorting, packaging, retailing, and authentication. Portable NIRS devices are seeing the most development for commercial use. The good fresh produce qualities… Continue reading…

Future-Proof Your Quality: How to Harness the Power of Spectroscopy in Commercial Agriculture – Part 5

Request a Quote | Schedule a Consultation Welcome to the fifth and final part of our webinar series on spectroscopy in agriculture! This 5-part series will cover the A-Z of internal quality assessment, spectroscopy, chemometrics, model building, model validation, and optimization in a commercial agriculture setting. In this final segment, our Director of Applied Science, Galen George,… Continue reading…