NE1336: Improving Quality and Reducing Losses in Specialty Fruit Crops through Storage Technologies
(Multistate Research Project)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
Homepage
Statement of Issues and Justification
The Need
Fruits and vegetables are essential components of a healthy diet, and their consumption is associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases and in maintaining a healthy weight. Despite the widespread availability of fresh fruit, many Americans fall short of the recommended level of five servings per day. The foremost complaint of consumers is lack of variety and quality in fruit. To increase demand, producers have adopted numerous new cultivars and expanded production of other fruits to offer a wider array of high quality fresh fruit as a means of increasing profitability. Adoption of new techniques such as postharvest application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) has also improved quality, but application to fruits other than apples entails different protocols and may alter storage methods. Evaluation of fruit characteristics such as flavor, color, antioxidants and texture has been expanded to further understand consumer demand, ensure that growers will have better quality fruits and vegetables for high value markets, and provide information for breeders so they can better tailor breeding objectives to fit consumer desires. The key to achieving increased consumption of fresh fruit, higher grower income, a more viable U.S. fruit industry, and improved export opportunities lies in providing the consumer with a diversity of fruit that has superior quality, appealing flavor, long shelf life, and that is safe and nutritionally dense.
Throughout the United States, diversification to produce fruits for local markets, organic production practices, and new techniques for growing season extension has led to expanded cultivation of many small fruits and fruit-type vegetables, but the postharvest requirements of cultivars and genotypes suitable to these systems often differ from those used in traditional systems. Hence, postharvest technologies must be developed or modified to extend storage life and maintain quality and safety in new fruit cultivars, and in organically produced and extended-season fruits.
One of the principal desires of producers of specialty horticultural crops is to increase local consumption of agricultural products grown within the locality. Small-scale producers are often in a comparatively advantageous location that allows access to the most populated regions of the U.S. An emphasis on sustainability and health has resulted in increased popularity of locally grown and marketed horticultural products, with most small-scale producers depending upon direct markets to sell their product(s). Small-scale producers must maintain the quality of their perishable commodities and increase storage life in order to recover costs and make a profit. Pricing of perishables is difficult during a short season, being largely determined by supply and demand in the marketplace. Thus, these producers are at a disadvantage when negotiating prices during the peak, high supply harvest period. With the means to extend the storage duration of their produce, growers would have the option to sell when and where the prices are higher and still have the ability to supply top-quality products to the market.
The emergent eat locally(locavore) movement among a growing number of consumers is a concept favorable to small producers. As most consumers buy their produce at large grocery chain stores that offer only token local produce at best, small growers must rely on farm markets, schools, restaurants, home delivery and cooperative buying groups, including community-supported agriculture. Expansion of the locavore movement is creating new opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs. Based on research conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service, the movement was estimated to have generated $4.8 billion in sales in 2008, and it is projected that locally grown foods will have generated nearly $7 billion in sales in 2012. Thus, the rising locavore trend is gradually reshaping the economics of the agriculture industry and spurring a revival of small farms, something many thought would never happen. Additionally, the organic food industry in the U.S. has been growing at a rate of 20-30% per year for the past 10 years, with a commensurate increase in land farmed under certified organic management, and an increased need for research on organic production and handling systems, and organic produce marketing practices. For example, in Washington State, organic acreage has increased 8-fold since 1993 and the organic food industry is valued at over $200 million per year.
Deterioration of quality attributes such as texture and flavor, as well as development of storage disorders and rots, continues to cause losses for producers and marketers, especially with increased environmental variability during growing seasons. As a result, the fresh fruit industries rely on prophylactic postharvest chemical applications to ensure control of losses due to ripening, softening, senescence, decay, and development of storage disorders. While advances have been made in nontoxic alternatives or sustainable systems, changes in the types and amounts of available chemicals have created a need to modify storage technologies. New approaches are also required to meet needs of organic markets, minimize losses of fruit during storage and transport, and thereby maintain regional and global market shares for domestic producers as well as allow small-scale producers to maintain local market share. A better understanding of relationships between postharvest physiology of fruits and their susceptibility to physiological disorders and decay pathogens is essential for developing improved control measures and reducing chemical use.
Therefore, the intent of this project is to increase sales of specialty crops with a primary focus on apple fruit, the major fruit crop in most participating states. However, research with other important specialty crops is also critical to the project's success. The scale of industry ranges from large, in for example, the export-oriented states of Washington and California, to the smaller industries in the northeast, where a major goal is to extend the marketing period for local markets via improved shelf life. Therefore, while addressing the needs of large-scale operations, we will also extend and adapt knowledge, and solve new problems that arise, in order to meet the needs of smaller-scale operations.
Importance of the Work
The multistate project described here is focused on fruit, reflecting the continued investment in postharvest issues related to fruit by the Agricultural Experiment Stations. The project objectives address a range of postharvest issues of fruits throughout the US as well as Canada. Previous (NE103, NE1018) and current (NE1036) versions of this project have made major contributions to the fresh fruit industry. These include industry adoption of innovative applied methods developed by the group, and basic research on postharvest problems such as superficial scald and bitter pit in pome fruits, and chilling injury (CI) in stone fruits, which has led to more effective control measures and knowledge of the genetic and biochemical causes of the disorders. Nonchemical and reduced risk chemical methods of preventing losses have been studied as a way to extend storage life of highly perishable fruits such as berries. Over the past five years, members of NE1036 have conducted extensive research on postharvest nutritional quality of many types of fruits to identify and quantify antioxidative constituents beneficial to human health, and to determine how the content and composition of these phytonutrients are influenced by cultivar and storage methods. Studies on apples have continued with an emphasis on newly emerging problems such as browning disorders and CI, which cause major losses for producers. The commercialization of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), an ethylene action and ripening inhibitor, as a means to control ripening and maintain quality in storage of apple as well as an array of other fruits has developed into a critical area of research for this project.
Consumers prefer newer apple cultivars and are willing to pay more for them compared with older cultivars (Yue and Tong, 2011). New fruit cultivars such as the Honeycrisp apple have been widely planted in the U.S., and a number of physiological disorders limit continued expansion and threaten viability of the industry. As this cultivar is widely used in breeding programs across the United States, postharvest testing of Honeycrisp and its progeny, from different orchards and regions, will provide useful information to growers and shippers, especially those forming marketing cooperatives. Information on problems with both older, established cultivars and replacement cultivars in regional growing areas has become increasingly important as fossil fuels and food safety issues have made consumers more interested in regionally produced fruit.
Technical Feasibility of the Research and Advantages for Doing the Work as a Multistate Effort
As a group, NE1036 researchers actively collaborate to find solutions to problems faced by the fruit industry. The researchers in this project have an established track record for collaboration on projects across North America. The project continues to be active in developing solutions for industries that can be implemented quickly in order to maintain profitability, but the applied research is underpinned by a strong basic program that seeks to understand fruit physiology and biochemistry, particularly in relation to responses to technologies such as 1-MCP and CA storage regimes. The genetic and biochemical mechanisms involved in the induction of storage disorders, decay susceptibility, and fruit quality are being elucidated, often in association with grants based on research that was originally carried out under the auspices of this project. Future combined efforts hold the promise of developing new scald-resistant cultivars that do not require application of chemicals currently used to control the costly disorder, and in finding the causes of browning disorders such as bitter pit and chilling injuries. Increasing consumer appeal of U.S. fruit through improvement of texture, flavor, and aroma, and preventing losses for growers can best be approached by a broad array of sensory, physiological, biochemical, and molecular genetic techniques.
Storage protocols for temperate fruits are cultivar- and often region-specific, and must be optimized to reduce postharvest losses. The broad geographical distribution of the team in this project provides a unique situation where responses of cultivars to a wide range of growing conditions can be studied. To this end, several institutions have installed equivalent facilities, such as those for CA storage, enabling parallel investigations across regions. Through combined effort, the NE1036 works as a research and extension team to solve industry problems and to provide rapid dissemination of research results that would not occur without the organization of a multistate project. No individual state has the expertise and resources required to address all aspects and issues of fruit quality, but in a multistate project their respective strengths can be synergistically applied in a coordinated effort to investigate postharvest issues and problems, and provide much needed recommendations and solutions to the fresh fruit industry, both regionally and nationally.
Impacts
The accomplishments of the NE1036 project include extensive evaluation of fruit cultivars and development or modification of methodologies to best enhance storage life, quality, and flavor; and the elucidation of mechanisms involved in flavor and storage disorder development in fruits. 1-MCP was discovered by Sylvia Blankenship in partnership with Ed Sisler. Blankenship was a former member of this project. The pioneering research carried out by members of this project provided the research basis for industry confidence in the new technology. Another excellent example of impact resulting from our collaboration is the concerted effort of at least six research units participating in NE1036 to establish the best postharvest practices for the prized and profitable Honeycrisp apple in various regions of the U.S. and Canada; this one cultivar has changed the focus of North American growers as they have realized the return of investment from new and exciting cultivars. The NE1036 program has generated key information that has at least provided short term solutions to storage of this cultivar. In addition to successful transfer of information to researchers and industries via peer-reviewed publications, grower meetings and trade publications, a website has been developed.
The proposed new project will make similar valuable contributions, continuing to develop and improve methods and technologies for evaluation, maintenance, and genetic enhancement of postharvest quality of fresh fruits. The primary goals of our new research project are to increase competitiveness for domestic fruit production and preserve 'fresh-picked' sensory and nutritional quality, which in turn will increase the availability of locally grown and highly perishable fruit. To meet these goals, we will evaluate the economic potential and storability of new cultivars, make better use of existing storage technologies, and develop new, safer technologies requiring minimal use of chemicals. Economists involved in the project will aid in defining economic benefits of these technologies. The overall impact of this project will be to improve the long-range health of the American populace via greater consumption of fresh fruits, and to increase profitability of large-scale national as well as small-scale, local and organic fruit production.
One of the most valuable aspects of this Multistate Project is connections among members conducting basic research and those involved in applied science. Fundamental information relating to fruit physiology, molecular biology, and biochemistry is developed by some members of the Technical Committee and then used by other members to guide their more applied research. Examples of such collaborations include work on ethylene action and ripening, quality loss, biosynthesis of aroma and flavor compounds, and storage disorder development. Conversely, the applied research identifies and defines problems in a way that helps refine inquiry at the fundamental level. Techniques and methods developed by NE1036 members have led to advances in maintenance of fruit quality and consistency, reduction in pesticide use, and practices that are easily tailored for regional and small-scale fruit production systems. Annual reports are available on the NIMSS project website (http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/home.cfm?trackID=10057), and publications resulting from this project for 2008-2012 are listed in Appendix B.
The Need
Fruits and vegetables are essential components of a healthy diet, and their consumption is associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases and in maintaining a healthy weight. Despite the widespread availability of fresh fruit, many Americans fall short of the recommended level of five servings per day. The foremost complaint of consumers is lack of variety and quality in fruit. To increase demand, producers have adopted numerous new cultivars and expanded production of other fruits to offer a wider array of high quality fresh fruit as a means of increasing profitability. Adoption of new techniques such as postharvest application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) has also improved quality, but application to fruits other than apples entails different protocols and may alter storage methods. Evaluation of fruit characteristics such as flavor, color, antioxidants and texture has been expanded to further understand consumer demand, ensure that growers will have better quality fruits and vegetables for high value markets, and provide information for breeders so they can better tailor breeding objectives to fit consumer desires. The key to achieving increased consumption of fresh fruit, higher grower income, a more viable U.S. fruit industry, and improved export opportunities lies in providing the consumer with a diversity of fruit that has superior quality, appealing flavor, long shelf life, and that is safe and nutritionally dense.
Throughout the United States, diversification to produce fruits for local markets, organic production practices, and new techniques for growing season extension has led to expanded cultivation of many small fruits and fruit-type vegetables, but the postharvest requirements of cultivars and genotypes suitable to these systems often differ from those used in traditional systems. Hence, postharvest technologies must be developed or modified to extend storage life and maintain quality and safety in new fruit cultivars, and in organically produced and extended-season fruits.
One of the principal desires of producers of specialty horticultural crops is to increase local consumption of agricultural products grown within the locality. Small-scale producers are often in a comparatively advantageous location that allows access to the most populated regions of the U.S. An emphasis on sustainability and health has resulted in increased popularity of locally grown and marketed horticultural products, with most small-scale producers depending upon direct markets to sell their product(s). Small-scale producers must maintain the quality of their perishable commodities and increase storage life in order to recover costs and make a profit. Pricing of perishables is difficult during a short season, being largely determined by supply and demand in the marketplace. Thus, these producers are at a disadvantage when negotiating prices during the peak, high supply harvest period. With the means to extend the storage duration of their produce, growers would have the option to sell when and where the prices are higher and still have the ability to supply top-quality products to the market.
The emergent eat locally(locavore) movement among a growing number of consumers is a concept favorable to small producers. As most consumers buy their produce at large grocery chain stores that offer only token local produce at best, small growers must rely on farm markets, schools, restaurants, home delivery and cooperative buying groups, including community-supported agriculture. Expansion of the locavore movement is creating new opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs. Based on research conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service, the movement was estimated to have generated $4.8 billion in sales in 2008, and it is projected that locally grown foods will have generated nearly $7 billion in sales in 2012. Thus, the rising locavore trend is gradually reshaping the economics of the agriculture industry and spurring a revival of small farms, something many thought would never happen. Additionally, the organic food industry in the U.S. has been growing at a rate of 20-30% per year for the past 10 years, with a commensurate increase in land farmed under certified organic management, and an increased need for research on organic production and handling systems, and organic produce marketing practices. For example, in Washington State, organic acreage has increased 8-fold since 1993 and the organic food industry is valued at over $200 million per year.
Deterioration of quality attributes such as texture and flavor, as well as development of storage disorders and rots, continues to cause losses for producers and marketers, especially with increased environmental variability during growing seasons. As a result, the fresh fruit industries rely on prophylactic postharvest chemical applications to ensure control of losses due to ripening, softening, senescence, decay, and development of storage disorders. While advances have been made in nontoxic alternatives or sustainable systems, changes in the types and amounts of available chemicals have created a need to modify storage technologies. New approaches are also required to meet needs of organic markets, minimize losses of fruit during storage and transport, and thereby maintain regional and global market shares for domestic producers as well as allow small-scale producers to maintain local market share. A better understanding of relationships between postharvest physiology of fruits and their susceptibility to physiological disorders and decay pathogens is essential for developing improved control measures and reducing chemical use.
Therefore, the intent of this project is to increase sales of specialty crops with a primary focus on apple fruit, the major fruit crop in most participating states. However, research with other important specialty crops is also critical to the project's success. The scale of industry ranges from large, in for example, the export-oriented states of Washington and California, to the smaller industries in the northeast, where a major goal is to extend the marketing period for local markets via improved shelf life. Therefore, while addressing the needs of large-scale operations, we will also extend and adapt knowledge, and solve new problems that arise, in order to meet the needs of smaller-scale operations.
Importance of the Work
The multistate project described here is focused on fruit, reflecting the continued investment in postharvest issues related to fruit by the Agricultural Experiment Stations. The project objectives address a range of postharvest issues of fruits throughout the US as well as Canada. Previous (NE103, NE1018) and current (NE1036) versions of this project have made major contributions to the fresh fruit industry. These include industry adoption of innovative applied methods developed by the group, and basic research on postharvest problems such as superficial scald and bitter pit in pome fruits, and chilling injury (CI) in stone fruits, which has led to more effective control measures and knowledge of the genetic and biochemical causes of the disorders. Nonchemical and reduced risk chemical methods of preventing losses have been studied as a way to extend storage life of highly perishable fruits such as berries. Over the past five years, members of NE1036 have conducted extensive research on postharvest nutritional quality of many types of fruits to identify and quantify antioxidative constituents beneficial to human health, and to determine how the content and composition of these phytonutrients are influenced by cultivar and storage methods. Studies on apples have continued with an emphasis on newly emerging problems such as browning disorders and CI, which cause major losses for producers. The commercialization of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), an ethylene action and ripening inhibitor, as a means to control ripening and maintain quality in storage of apple as well as an array of other fruits has developed into a critical area of research for this project.
Consumers prefer newer apple cultivars and are willing to pay more for them compared with older cultivars (Yue and Tong, 2011). New fruit cultivars such as the Honeycrisp apple have been widely planted in the U.S., and a number of physiological disorders limit continued expansion and threaten viability of the industry. As this cultivar is widely used in breeding programs across the United States, postharvest testing of Honeycrisp and its progeny, from different orchards and regions, will provide useful information to growers and shippers, especially those forming marketing cooperatives. Information on problems with both older, established cultivars and replacement cultivars in regional growing areas has become increasingly important as fossil fuels and food safety issues have made consumers more interested in regionally produced fruit.
Technical Feasibility of the Research and Advantages for Doing the Work as a Multistate Effort
As a group, NE1036 researchers actively collaborate to find solutions to problems faced by the fruit industry. The researchers in this project have an established track record for collaboration on projects across North America. The project continues to be active in developing solutions for industries that can be implemented quickly in order to maintain profitability, but the applied research is underpinned by a strong basic program that seeks to understand fruit physiology and biochemistry, particularly in relation to responses to technologies such as 1-MCP and CA storage regimes. The genetic and biochemical mechanisms involved in the induction of storage disorders, decay susceptibility, and fruit quality are being elucidated, often in association with grants based on research that was originally carried out under the auspices of this project. Future combined efforts hold the promise of developing new scald-resistant cultivars that do not require application of chemicals currently used to control the costly disorder, and in finding the causes of browning disorders such as bitter pit and chilling injuries. Increasing consumer appeal of U.S. fruit through improvement of texture, flavor, and aroma, and preventing losses for growers can best be approached by a broad array of sensory, physiological, biochemical, and molecular genetic techniques.
Storage protocols for temperate fruits are cultivar- and often region-specific, and must be optimized to reduce postharvest losses. The broad geographical distribution of the team in this project provides a unique situation where responses of cultivars to a wide range of growing conditions can be studied. To this end, several institutions have installed equivalent facilities, such as those for CA storage, enabling parallel investigations across regions. Through combined effort, the NE1036 works as a research and extension team to solve industry problems and to provide rapid dissemination of research results that would not occur without the organization of a multistate project. No individual state has the expertise and resources required to address all aspects and issues of fruit quality, but in a multistate project their respective strengths can be synergistically applied in a coordinated effort to investigate postharvest issues and problems, and provide much needed recommendations and solutions to the fresh fruit industry, both regionally and nationally.
Impacts
The accomplishments of the NE1036 project include extensive evaluation of fruit cultivars and development or modification of methodologies to best enhance storage life, quality, and flavor; and the elucidation of mechanisms involved in flavor and storage disorder development in fruits. 1-MCP was discovered by Sylvia Blankenship in partnership with Ed Sisler. Blankenship was a former member of this project. The pioneering research carried out by members of this project provided the research basis for industry confidence in the new technology. Another excellent example of impact resulting from our collaboration is the concerted effort of at least six research units participating in NE1036 to establish the best postharvest practices for the prized and profitable Honeycrisp apple in various regions of the U.S. and Canada; this one cultivar has changed the focus of North American growers as they have realized the return of investment from new and exciting cultivars. The NE1036 program has generated key information that has at least provided short term solutions to storage of this cultivar. In addition to successful transfer of information to researchers and industries via peer-reviewed publications, grower meetings and trade publications, a website has been developed.
The proposed new project will make similar valuable contributions, continuing to develop and improve methods and technologies for evaluation, maintenance, and genetic enhancement of postharvest quality of fresh fruits. The primary goals of our new research project are to increase competitiveness for domestic fruit production and preserve 'fresh-picked' sensory and nutritional quality, which in turn will increase the availability of locally grown and highly perishable fruit. To meet these goals, we will evaluate the economic potential and storability of new cultivars, make better use of existing storage technologies, and develop new, safer technologies requiring minimal use of chemicals. Economists involved in the project will aid in defining economic benefits of these technologies. The overall impact of this project will be to improve the long-range health of the American populace via greater consumption of fresh fruits, and to increase profitability of large-scale national as well as small-scale, local and organic fruit production.
One of the most valuable aspects of this Multistate Project is connections among members conducting basic research and those involved in applied science. Fundamental information relating to fruit physiology, molecular biology, and biochemistry is developed by some members of the Technical Committee and then used by other members to guide their more applied research. Examples of such collaborations include work on ethylene action and ripening, quality loss, biosynthesis of aroma and flavor compounds, and storage disorder development. Conversely, the applied research identifies and defines problems in a way that helps refine inquiry at the fundamental level. Techniques and methods developed by NE1036 members have led to advances in maintenance of fruit quality and consistency, reduction in pesticide use, and practices that are easily tailored for regional and small-scale fruit production systems. Annual reports are available on the NIMSS project website (http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/home.cfm?trackID=10057), and publications resulting from this project for 2008-2012 are listed in Appendix B.