What Causes Postharvest Senescence in Fresh Produce

Senescence is one of the top two postharvest processes that cause food loss of fresh produce by curtailing shelf life. Ethylene production, programmed cell death, and cellular energy supply are significant processes associated with senescence in postharvest fresh produce. The mechanisms by which the three processes cause senescence are not entirely understood. Premature senescence and… Continue reading…

How Do the Effects of Ethylene on Flower Quality Impact Floriculture?

Ethylene is one of the main factors affecting flower and ornamental plant quality and longevity in the entire floriculture supply chain. Ethylene inhibits growth, branching, flower bud abortion, and leaf and flower abscission, reducing the quality and longevity of floriculture products. Floriculturists can increase ROI by monitoring and reducing ethylene levels in greenhouses, storage, distribution,… Continue reading…

How Degreening of Citrus Fruits Enhances Appearance and Quality

Artificial degreening changes only citrus peel color and does not affect other quality parameters. Several citrus factors, like maturity at harvest and cultivar-specific ethylene sensitivity, will influence degreening success. Postharvest degreening is the standard procedure and requires careful consideration of cultivars to determine atmosphere conditions, ethylene concentrations, and exposure duration to achieve the desired results.… Continue reading…

Postharvest Technology for Non-Climacteric Fruits: Best Practices and Benefits

Non-climacteric fruits have a short storage life as they must be harvested ripe. Several steps, like precooling and treatments, prepare the non-climacteric fruits for quality retention. Modified atmospheric packaging, controlled atmospheric storage, and different packaging systems maintain suitable environmental conditions during storing, transportation, and marketing to extend shelf life. Ripening is the last stage of… Continue reading…

How the Fruit Ripening Process Affects Freshness and Quality

Respiratory rate, ethylene sensitivity, and production are the main criteria for differentiating ripening patterns. Respiratory peaks that trigger ethylene production start the ripening process in climacteric fruits. Ethylene sensitivity, production, and respiration hike are minimal or absent in non-climacteric fruits. Several fruits show varying degrees of ethylene sensitivity and production and defy neat classification in… Continue reading…

Understanding Fresh Produce Spoilage: Five Causes and Prevention

Various reasons are behind the fresh produce spoilage of the vast diversity of fruits and vegetables. Respiration, transpiration, microbial growth, damage and injury, and internal degradation are common causes. Product-specific temperature thresholds, relative humidity, ethylene, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are the five ambient conditions that determine the spoilage rate. Controlling ambient conditions helps to reduce… Continue reading…

How to Extend the Shelf Life of Fresh Produce: Innovations in Gas Monitoring and Controlled Atmospheres

Extend the shelf life of fresh produce: Oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ethylene are monitored in all postharvest stages, including controlled atmosphere storage and transport facilities and modified atmosphere packaging. Ethylene is monitored to manage and maintain fresh produce quality, ripeness, and shelf life by detecting ethylene accumulation hotspots. Oxygen and carbon dioxide estimation helps to… Continue reading…

Top 105 Essential Resources for Agriculture Professionals: Updated for 2023

In the constantly evolving world of agriculture, professionals must remain up-to-date with the latest information and technologies in order to maximize efficiency and reduce waste. Felix Instruments is committed to creating the world’s most precise, portable, and non-destructive measurement tools to support these goals. With this updated list of the top 100 essential resources for… Continue reading…

Preserving Freshness: A Conversation on Innovations and Challenges in the Fresh-Cut Produce and Leafy Green Industries

In today’s world, food waste and the preservation of fresh produce have become increasingly important. The conversation between Eric, the Director of QFresh Lab, and Galen, the Director of Applied Science at Felix Instruments, delves into the challenges and innovations in the fresh-cut produce and leafy green industries. They discuss the impact of microbial growth… Continue reading…

Ethylene Measurement & Rootstock Influence in Apple

How Rootstocks Influence Apple Fruit Quality and Yield   Besides influencing tree growth and yield of scion cultivars, rootstocks also affect fruit maturity in apples. The experiment found a climacteric pattern, where ethylene production, respiration rates, and oxygen consumption peaked after 5–7 days in fruits produced from all rootstocks. The 17 rootstocks have significant differences… Continue reading…