Role of post-harvest citrus degreening and cost prediction

Degreening of post-harvest citrus enables producers, suppliers, and distributors to react to market demands more flexibly. Nevertheless, until recent times, it was impossible to predict the costs of degreening. Inability to calculate total production costs beforehand is a huge obstacle for any grower. In this connection, the multidisciplinary team of scientists carried out study related to the topic.

Simple, yet effective study, provided important insights for the citrus industry. Now growers can predict the duration and costs of artificial degreening, and optimum date to harvest fruits, based on expected market prices. 

During the investigation, along with the other tools, scientists utilized the portable gas analyzer F-960 Ripen It!, designed and manufactured by Felix Instruments Applied Food Science, which provided quick, on site CO2 and ethylene measurements. To learn more about the study, see the webpage.

Why degreening post-harvest citrus fruit?

The color of the citrus fruit skin is not related to its inner ripeness, 

Therefore, citrus is harvested early, while it is still green, and degreened artificially.

Felix Instruments - Applied Food Science, a subsidiary of CID Bio-Science, Inc., develops and manufactures NIR assessment and gas analysis tools for growers, breeders and distributors to obtain critical data from fruit quickly and non-destructively. Their portable NIR spectrometers are capable of measuring dry matter, Brix, and titratable acidity, in addition to external and internal color of fruits. 

For more information about Felix Instruments, follow the link