LINKS BETWEEN HORTICULTURAL INDUSTRY AND HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE

TOPIC NO 1

What’s new in science and applicable to horticultural research?

Presented by: Professor Manuela Zude, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim (ATB), Humboldt University Berlin, Germany.

Applying optical methodology in the post harvest delivery and processing chains is a prime example of where new horticultural science can support the success of the horticultural industry.
Assuring (healthy) human nutrition and improving the economic success of farmers and processors are priority targets in the context of current global demands.
In the age of information technology, process-oriented data analysis is predicted to form the basis for economic growth.
The general consensus is that especially in food economics new innovative technologies are needed for effective process management.
This should help to maintain nutritional product quality and decrease losses due to produce decay along the supply chain of perishable agro-food and, therefore, make the processes more efficient.

Product quality during production is determined by the plant genome, environmental conditions and micro climate as well as the production system.
At the point of harvest fruit quality is heterogeneous resulting in variable postharvest behavior.
Monitoring site-specific plant and fruit development in the production phase provides valuable data with respect to direct measures, marketing, and modeling the product development.

Tools for non-destructive quality analyses are presently introduced in practice for such an adapted process management in the areas of production as well as postharvest handling of perishable products.
At the leading edge of plant and product monitoring optical methods are well-suited for use along the entire supply chain.
Machine vision systems have been devised for sorting as well as monitoring during the processing chain.
Research groups cooperating with industry have recently developed new sorting lines using spectrometry in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range.
These may be used for grading fruit and vegetables according to fruit soluble solids and pigment contents.
Also desktop modules and portable instruments for individual product testing have been developed in the last four years based on the same technology.
For instance, fruit and vegetable pigment contents can be assessed site-specifically on the plant and subsequently checked during the entire supply chain.
It is precisely this repeated analysis along the supply chain that is essential for developing methods to assess the impact of processes in production and postharvest on the product quality.

The presenter provided copious examples of the science that underlies automated and rapid quality evaluation of fruit and vegetables after harvest.
These included: vision systems, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), fluorescence spectroscopy using laser systems and x-rays (VIS / NIR spectroscopy), laser induced backscattering imaging.
Such technology is being applied by apple growers as a means to indicate and guarantee fruit sweetness.
Direct on tree measurement becomes an essential first step in the chain that culminates with the retail consumer.