The main internal quality defects receiving research attention are heat damage in plums, superficial scald and internal browning in apples and pears. Research is aimed at understanding the underlying causative factors (both pre-and postharvest) and biochemistry of these defects to allow the development of technology to limit or prevent their occurrence. Other aims are to generate best practice guidelines for handling fruit both pre-and postharvest and to develop indicators to predict the risk of various defects in each season. Dr Ian Crouch and his team at ExperiCo are developing much needed photographic compendiums of pome and stone fruit disorders which are in the final stages of completion. They are also compiling a document containing the symptoms and causes as well as control measures of pome defects.
Expertise: Physiological Defects Workgroup
Research team
- Dr Mariana Jooste
- Dr Elke Crouch
- Dr Ian Crouch
- Mr Handré Viljoen
- Ms Zandile Mthembu – MSc student
- Dr Monja Gerber – Postdoctoral fellow
Projects list
- Literature research and assimilation of descriptive text for pome disorder database including causative factors, symptoms and control (I Crouch)
- ‘Granny Smith’ superficial scald prediction (E Crouch, Z Mthembu and M Gerber)
- Influence of fruit micro-structure on gas exchange and tissue damage (E Crouch)
- Compilation of a photographic compendium of stone fruit disorders in a South African context (I Crouch)
- Quantification of the effect of near-harvest temperatures on pitburn and heat damage in cold stored plums and prediction method development (H Viljoen)
- Pitting in cherries: a literature review (M Jooste)
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Smith, C. A pack-house perspective on postharvest challenges
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Mouton, A. Improve postharvest outcomes with preharvest ethylene inhibitors
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Botes, A, Crouch, E, Crouch, I, Griessel, H, Marais, A, Mouton, B, Theron, A and Theron, D. Best practices to prevent superficial scald
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Mouton, A. Successful storage to prevent superficial scald
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Mouton, A. Low-oxygen strategies against scald
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Mouton, A. Save grannies from scald
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Mouton, A. Superficial scald 101