Seipasa, a company specialized in the treatment of natural solutions for an agriculture without residues, has concluded its participation in the Life+, Zero Residues project for stone fruit, which was co-financed by the European Union. After 4 years of research led by Dr. Rosa Oria Almudi of the Food Technology Area of the University of Zaragoza, the conclusions of this project were presented this morning at an event held at the Auditorium of the University of Zaragoza.
The Life+, Zero Residues project was launched in June 2013 with the aim of improving the sustainability and quality of the production of stone fruits so that the sector would become more competitive and healthy. Seipasa is part of the consortium that has driven this initiative led by the University of Zaragoza and Zerya. Seipasa has been responsible for providing natural products and solutions, as well as technical advice, in crop treatment programs.
Researchers worked for four years to implement a Zero Residue (Pesticide Residue Free) production method for stone fruits. In particular, they worked on 5 varieties: peach, flat peaches, apricot, nectarine, and cherry.
This method was applied to all the processes in the supply chain in order to produce, preserve, and market products free from phytosanitary residues. The Zero Residues method includes adaptations in production, post-harvest conservation, processing of derived products, and promotion in the market.
"Our goal wasn't only taking such an excellent fruit to the consumer in optimum conditions, but also exploiting it to the maximum, minimizing food waste, and their carbon footprint. The results are magnificent," said Javier Arizmendi, operations manager at Zerya.
Reduction in soil degradation
The results obtained after comparing the analysis of soil samples at the beginning of the project and at the end of the last harvest in 2016, indicate that there was a positive evolution of the physicochemical parameters. The pH values in some of the project's plots fell to 0.84 units, significantly improving soil characteristics. The structure and functional capacity of the soil also improved, increasing its fertility and conservation status.
In addition, the trees became more resistant to diseases, and there was an increase in productivity and quality. The application of the Zero Residues methodology to trees in productive decline, due to their advanced age, managed to improve their yield by one ton per hectare per year.
Better quality fruit
The fruit produced using the Zero Residues methodology complies with the four fundamental aspects that consumers take into account to accept the fruit and to verify its quality: firmness/crispness, a characteristic flavor intensity, a balance in sourness and sweetness, and an absence of foreign aromas or off-flavors.
The fruit's shelf life after the harvest increased thanks to the development of micro perforated containers and to the selection of optimum storage conditions for each fruit. Thus, researchers were able to increase the nectarine's life by up to 7 days by using controlled atmospheres and the cherry's life by 5 days in modified atmosphere containers.
More information:
Francisco Javier Puchades
Head of Communications
Tel. +34 683 328 004
e-mail: jpuchades@seipasa.com