Game-changer for kiwi fruit industry to be introduced in early 2020

The all new Kiwi Quality Meter, designed and manufactured by US-based Felix Instruments, promises to make a difference for kiwi fruit market worldwide. The novelty instrument will be released in early 2020. The new measurement tool will enable growers and QA personnel to measure fruit dry matter and Brix more quickly and more accurately, while completely eliminating the destruction of measured fruit. Manufacturer states that the $7.6B kiwi industry has never seen anything like it, with validation studies showing highly accurate readings of less than 1 dry matter unit.

"We are very excited to be expanding our line of quality meters and making this new tech available to kiwi growers, breeders, and distributors," shares Scott Trimble, Marketing Director of Felix Instruments and adds “This device enables organizations at both ends of the agricultural spectrum – breeders and growers on one end and distributors and retailers at the other, to non-destructively measure the quality of their kiwi fruit”.

Scott explains that for growers, the meter offers straight cost savings in manpower and destroyed fruit, also additionally reduces guesswork and provides more data. Measuring more kiwi fruit, more often helps growers make better decisions at harvest.

For breeders, NIR can help better determine how different applications of nutrients or herbicide affect fruit quality.

For distributors, exporters and importers, NIR gives more visibility into the quality of the outgoing and incoming product, laying the groundwork for better decision making and cost savings.

The instrument was developed in partnerships with Central Queensland University in Australia, and commercial organizations in New Zealand and Italy. This critical development comes at a time when the industry is facing increasing demand for kiwi fruit, with market expectations set to continue an upward consumption trend of nearly 4 percent by 2025 - an equivalent market volume of 5.9 million tonnes.

Mr. Trimble clarifies that NIR technology is not new to agriculture. However, the new devices from Felix Instruments have a considerable advantage when compared against other NIR tools. Most NIR devices are negatively affected by light interference. Fruit are irregularly shaped, and this can lead to ambient sunlight entering the lens during the scan or near infrared light leaking out around the fruit.  While other NIR instruments may work in the lab under perfect lighting conditions, they fail in the field.

"Thanks to some very clever problem solving on the part of our engineering team, our instruments have overcome this hurdle. Our instruments deliver accurate measurements in the field, in normal weather conditions, where no others can. Which begs the question - if you cannot use the device in the field, what good is it?"

For more information or a quote on the Kiwi Quality Meter, contact +1 (360) 833-8835 or email: sales@felixinstruments.com, visit www.felixinstruments.com

Recently Felix instruments also introduced Avocado and Mango Quality meters, which are already popular worldwide and receive good feedbacks from number of companies. Earlier model F-750 can work with for number of products, like apples, pear, grapes, tomatoes, mandarins, persimmons, cherries, and of cause avocados, mangoes and kiwi fruit.