Study on ethylene-free storage of grapefruit

AIM

The aim of the project is to study the impact and effectiveness of KEEPCOOL ethylene filters for storing grapefruit.

The study consists in measuring various parameters that are indicative of ripening and ageing in grapefruit with and without the system to delay it while stored at 7-9º C.

METHODOLOGY

All the tests were carried out in a 200-m³ cold-storage unit at 7-9º C and no humidity control, storing 3 crates of grapefruit weighing approximately 7.5 kg per crate. The weight of the fruit was analysed at the beginning and after 3, 11 and 18 days. In another identical cold-storage unit, we did the test with the KEEPCOOL system, installing an M-CAM 200 machine with 2 filters behind the evaporator.

The following materials and teams were used to do the tasks:

MATERIALS

Grapefruit: 6 crates of fruit freshly harvested from the estate.

Filtro: As a system to delay ripening and ageing, we used 2 KEEPCOOL KC-7 filters inside the M-CAM 200 machine with 2 filters behind the evaporator.

Cold storage: The 200-m³ cold-storage room is equipped with a program that controls temperature, humidity and lighting. For the test, the produce was stored at 7-9º C.

GRAPHICS

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