Quality management involves maintaining quality throughout the logistical chain until the product reaches the end consumer. Knowledge of preharvest factors, such as water deficits and fruit ripening patterns in the orchard, aids in making informed decisions regarding postharvest treatments, storage durations and regimes, and marketing strategies. The work conducted by Daniël Viljoen and his team at ExperiCo on deficit irrigation, as well as the ongoing research by Jason Ladegourdie on apple starch concentration and its rate of conversion in the orchard, addresses these industry needs and shows promising results. Shrivel, a major postharvest defect for both pome and stone fruit, remains a key research focus area. Due to logistical challenges between harvest and cooling, breaks in the cold chain, extended fruit storage periods, and growing concerns about plastic packaging, innovative projects and solutions to manage moisture loss in different cultivars will continue to be a priority for the postharvest research programme.
Expertise: Quality management workgroup
Research team
- Dr Mariana Jooste
- Dr Alemayehu Tsige
- Dr Anél Botes
- Dr Elke Crouch
- Ms Heleen Tayler
- Mr M Addison
- Mr Jason Ladegourdie
- Mr Handré Viljoen
- Dr Zinash Belay
Projects list
POME FRUIT PROJECTS
- Improving the post harvest quality of cherries (A Botes)
- Moisture loss studies in pears (A Botes and E Crouch)
- Evaluate edible coatings on plums and nectarines currently used worldwide (H Viljoen) - see Packaging and Logistics
- Assessment of apple starch concentration and rate of conversion during maturation at different canopy positions and the effect thereof on post storage quality (J Ladegourdie)
- Digital twin for the Hortgro phytosanitary facility (M Addison)
- Scanning plum cultivars for CO2 sensitivity and the effect of closed vents in shipping containers on relative humidity and CO2 levels (H Viljoen)
- Integrated postharvest ethylene management along the value chain (Z Belay)
- Assessment of the use of the DA meter to increase the rigour of fruit sampling for release date determination in strip-picked orchards and to generate additional information for packhouses on the maturity of select pick fruit (D Viljoen)
- The effect of a water deficit on fruit tree phenology, fruit production, fruit quality and storability of Fuji and Cripps' Pink apples (D Viljoen)
STONE FRUITS PROJECTS
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Mouton, A. Bring bruising under control
- Fresh Quarterly Mar 2024: Mouton, A. The link between pre- and postharvest quality
- SAFJ Dec/Jan 2024: Mouton, A. Verminder vrugverliese as gevolg van kneusings: p. 60
- Fresh Notes 213 – 26 March 2024: Forelle Early Market Access (FEMA) Programme
- Langkloof Seminar – 22 November 2023
- Hortgro Technical Symposium – 3 June 2024