featured Archives - Felix Instruments

Melon Fruit: Quality, Production & Physiology

Making Sense of the Magical, Mystical Melon Melons have been around for many millennia, and there are several varieties, both landraces, and new hybrids worldwide. Climacteric and non-climacteric ripening is seen in the various melon varieties. External inspection of sensory attributes like rind color or flavor development is not objective to decide ripeness or… Continue reading…

NIR Applications in Agriculture – Everything You Need to Know for 2023

A Guide to NIR Applications in Agriculture for 2023 Explore the “what,” “why,” and “how” of NIR spectroscopy in agriculture. From quality control to sustainable farming, breeding programs to disease detection, dive into all your questions about NIR as we look toward 2023 and beyond. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy using data collected by scanners… 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…

The 5 Most Important Parameters in Produce Quality Control

Quality control throughout the process of precision horticulture is vital to maximizing efficient food production. Five quality parameters are regularly relied upon for the most accurate assessment of produce quality: dry matter, soluble sugars, titrable acidity, color, and firmness. These parameters act as maturity index and can optimize quality and yield in the supply chain… Continue reading…

Irradiated Avocados: Testing Gamma Treatment for Postharvest Pest Control

Quarantine pests threaten avocado yield and export, but adequate methods of control do not currently exist. Gamma radiation of fruit as a possible postharvest treatment was evaluated, but the treatment was not found to be ideal. The experiment discusses the effects of gamma treatment on sensory and internal quality parameters and correlates it to physiological… Continue reading…

Guide to Fresh Fruit Quality Control

Quality control is essential because fruits are perishable and delicate and can be affected by handling, storage conditions, weather, pests and diseases, internal changes, and genetics. Accurate fruit quality assessment is critical on the farm, as well as during packaging, storage, transport, artificial ripening, retailing, and research. Internal fruit quality, ripening gas analysis in storage… Continue reading…

How Aging Affects Portable NIR Spectrophotometers

The use of precision tools, such as spectrophotometers, to measure fruit quality in farms is rising with the advent of affordable technology. Like any other tool, one could expect that age and improper maintenance might take their toll, affecting the accuracy of quality estimations. The study explored in this article was designed specifically to test this… Continue reading…

The Importance of Food Quality Testing

Fruit and vegetable zone in supermarket

Feeding the world’s growing population requires great quantities of food and accurately measuring the quality of that food is vital to sustained personal and economic health. Food quality testing is necessary to monitor and control quality parameters throughout the fresh produce supply chain to meet consumer demands and extend shelf life. What are Food Quality… Continue reading…

MAP Requirements by Product Type: Produce, Meat, Seafood & Dairy

There is ample research on Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) specification for storing and transporting a wide range of fresh and perishable food items like vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and dairy products. Passive MAP is useful for fresh produce, while active packaging is more relevant for non-respiring animal products. This packaging technology is becoming more important,… Continue reading…