Future directions in postharvest handling of horticultural crops

Short Course Postharvest Biology and

Technology of Horticultural Crops

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

October, 2011

Future directions in • Production

• Harvest

• Handling

• Packaging

• Storage

• Transportation

• Marketing

What do farmers want?

What do customers want?

Nutritious food

• High in antioxidants, other phytonutrients

• Existing plant materials • Genetically modified

plant materials • Nutrition life shorter

than appearance life! • Better understanding of

the links among food, nutrition & health

• Overcome anti-nutritional toxins in food

Safe food

• Chemical residues – Organic – Residue testing – Toxins (fumonisin, aflatoxin)

• Microbial safety – GAPS – Disinfection

• Hot water brushing • Pre-blanching • Real-time pathogen testing

Safe food • Gloves

– Releasing ClO2

• Clamshells

– Protect ourselves from our neighbors

Tasty food

• Crisp tender vegetables, with good characteristic flavor

• Crisp or juicy fruit with high sugar, good acid balance

• Good aroma

• No off flavors

Tasty food

• NIR analysis

• Sugar determination

• Other taste components

Tasty food

• Grow better varieties

– Heirloom, high flavor cultivars

– Genetically modified cultivars

Tasty food • Harvest for taste

• The glove

Tasty food

• Harvest fully mature

– Local production/farmers’ markets

– Just-in-time supply

– Less refrigeration

Tasty food

• Ripeness indicators on packages

• Flavor/taste indicators?

Tasty food New ripening technologies

Molecular regulation of ripening

– Antisense ACC synthase

– Fruits ripened with ethylene on demand!

Quality is the Key

Which do you buy?

• Strawberries

• Grapes

• Apples

• Peaches

• Apricots

Strawberry

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Apricots

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Blemish free food

• Better packaging

– Hammock pack for transporting ripened products

High quality food

• Robotic sorting –Color

–Defects

– Sugar content

– Flavor volatiles

• Cool sooner – In-line cooling

–Cool before pack

– Field cooling

Convenient to eat • No/easy peel

• Pre-cut

• Convenient portions

– small melons, large berries

• No seeds or tasty seeds

• Edible rinds or peels

Increased choice

Sustainability

• Economic

• Environmental

– Reduced, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and waste

• Social

– Worker/consumer health, safety, and quality of life

What do farmers want?

• Profit

• Profit = Market returns – Costs

• Costs (inputs)

– Labor

– Water

– Land

– Fertilizer

– Postharvest costs

• Packaging

Labor – a diminishing resource • Agriculture is labor intensive, hard, itinerant and

seasonal work – ag counties are poor counties

• More attractive incomes and working conditions in other sectors of the economy

• Increased concern about immigration

Machine systems for growing, harvesting and packing

Hortibot

Robots could assist in production

• Scouts and warriors

– Insects

– Diseases

– Fruit locations

– Maturity

– Freeze damage

Electronic sentries

• Chips in trees

– Monitor temperatures

– Water potential

– Nitrogen status

– Defense signals

Marketing

• Transport costs – Increased local production – CSA’s, Farmers’

markets,

– Shift from air and to rail/marine

• Marketing system – Concentration of wholesale and resale outlets

– Leapfrog for the developing world

• What about marketing of home produce – Electronic gardeners’ exchange

Underground freight systems

• Urban, Interurban, intercontinental?

• Pneumatic

• Maglev

Airships?

• Efficiency?

• Solar?

What will perishables marketing look like in 10 years?

So what will perishables marketing look like in 10 years?

• Service-oriented w/ high price produce – Convenience stores – Fast food stores – Institutional facilities - fresh fruit in school

vending machines • Entertainment-oriented w/ high price

produce – Farmers’ markets – Specialty produce store – Grocery store as theater

• Volume sales of low-price produce – Wal-Mart model – Club stores (Costco)

So what will perishables marketing look like in 10 years?

• Webmarkets – Convenience, 24 hour shopping

– Personal relationship and quality produce will drive • CSA-like

– Refrigerated ‘slot’ in the home

Produce handling is information intensive

• Optimal handling – Product

– Variety

– Production area

– Season

– Cultural practices

– Marketing chain

• New information technologies will transform quality management

• Precision Temperature Management

– Store very close to freezing or chilling temperature

• Time/temperature indicators

Information technology for perishables

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Temperature (F)

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• Active RFID technology

– Temperature

–Humidity

–CO2 & O2

IT for perishables

• Shelf life modeling

IT for perishables

Insert graph of flower life

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% Vaselife

Future research imperatives

• Robotic harvest

• Chilling injury

– Cause, Solution

• Just in time supply chain

• Effect of temperature on flavor

• Fresh cut fruits with flavor

• Application of molecular biology

– Controlled ripening

– Improved nutrition/flavor

• Internal quality analysis

• Online pathogen & quality monitoring

• Microbial ‘kill’ process

• Reduce food waste

Thanks for participating in the shortcourse!