The Italian kiwifruit harvest is starting and to maintain the just-picked quality and freshness of this fruit, AgroFresh offers in its portfolio two solutions that helps to reduce waste during fruit processing: SmartFresh™Quality System and Scholar®.
“SmartFresh™ has been used on kiwifruit for 13 years and is a solution in the quality management process of Italian kiwifruit growers,” says Ivo Secchi, Commercial Manager for Italy at AgroFresh. Kiwifruit is a highly ethylene-sensitive fruit, softening very quickly and causing important losses in this crop segment. SmartFresh™ provides inventory and marketing flexibility for green and yellow varieties in storage and during transport. It satisfies both controlled atmosphere (CA) and regular atmosphere (RA) guidelines. This technology helps to maintain better firmness levels and overall freshness during and especially after storage.
AgroFresh has developed robust use recommendations over time, including the adaptation of storage conditions and calibration of application time to optimize effects in relation to storage length and market request. Users find value in the fruit coming out of storage firmer with a fresher ‘green’ look. The fruit does not lose condition during packing and transport which gives more confidence in the inventory being packed and received at its destination at optimum firmness, resulting in less waste.
AgroFresh continues to work closely with kiwifruit market leaders and researchers to achieve the best results while ensuring full consumer satisfaction. Resolutely market oriented, the company is investing lot of efforts in research of SmartFresh™ use on the new yellow varieties.
To protect the crop against post-harvest diseases such as Botrytis sp growers can take advantage of the use of Scholar® 230SC . Developed by Syngenta and brought to the market by AgroFresh, this solution delivers contact and broad-spectrum protection in storage and transport.
Beyond these solutions, AgroFresh is offering two pieces of equipment to reduce the use of water. Control-Tec DOS DPF is a proportional dosage system for fungicide drenchers and tanks.
It maintains the concentration of the products at levels that are programmed during the entire application, and therefore its effectiveness. This system maximizes the use of the water and products, adjusting their consumption to the needs according to the quantity of treated fruit. It will automatically contribute to the mix (depending on the processed fruit), the product replenishment dose and the amount of water programmed. Control-Tec ECO R1 reuses waste water from drenchers and tanks. It employs the latest filtration technology to purge particles, solids and organic matter from waste water through a programmed operation. This system clarifies mixtures to reuse them and thus minimize discharges generated, and at the same time reduces the amount of underutilized plant protection products.
For more information: 
Patricia Borredá
AgroFresh
Tel: +34 961 323 415
Email: pborreda@agrofresh.com
www.agrofresh.com