Coinciding with the start of the citrus campaign, Valencia hosted a Conference on the Post-harvest and Storage of Citrus Fruits, organised by Tecnidex and Greenyard Fresh Spain. The event was a success in terms of attendance, with the participation of producers and marketers working in the citrus sector.
During the conference, which took place on 15 September, there was an analysis of the most critical points of the previous campaign, followed by an explanation of the guidelines for the start of the new early variety season. One of the main goals was to convey the importance of post-harvest management; a key aspect for the fruit's shelf life.
Valentín Turégano, General Manager for Business Strategy at Tecnidex, presented the work carried out by Tecnidex in the field of post-harvesting worldwide, with specific solutions designed for each market. This has been achieved after years of work and a strategic positioning in certain countries, where the company counts with its own subsidiaries and local management teams. This has given the company a close and real outlook at the problems that the fruit and vegetable sector faces in each country and has led it to innovate in its products and technologies in order to offer them the best solutions. Turégano explained that, in addition to the protection and care of citrus fruits, the company deals with a large number of crops, including pome fruit, stone fruit, kiwis, kakis, tropical fruit and vegetables.
Since the campaign has already started, during the first part of the Technical Day, the head of the Agro-biological Laboratory at Tecnidex focused on the early varieties and on how to successfully tackle the process of degreening.
In this line, there was a review of the stages that the fruit goes through from the moment it is harvested, with special emphasis on the importance of "a proper and careful management," both in the pre-harvest and in the post-harvest.
During the second part of the conference, an analysis was made of the main problems detected during the 2016-2017 citrus campaign, dividing it into three stages: the beginning, the campaign itself, and the end.
This served to identify the main causes for damage in the post-harvest, both mechanical and manual, as well as the diseases. At this point, Tecnidex compared the consequences of carrying out good or bad practices during the harvest, as well as of correctly or incorrectly applying the active substances, giving possible solutions to the different problems. It then stressed the importance of good treatments with quality, effective and adequate products to keep diseases under control and preserve the quality of citrus fruits until these reach the end consumer.