Chile is the largest exporter of cherries in the world, with China being the main destination of the fruit, where they consider this fruit as a symbol of good fortune and, therefore, it has been essential to study the production of this fruit.
At the CEPOC (Center for Postharvest Studies) of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the University of Chile, they study the postharvest treatment of this and other fruits. In the case of cherries and blueberries, they use HappyAgro’s FirmPro and AtmosFix to measure size and firmness, in addition to studying the optimal transport atmospheres for these products.
We spoke with Professor Victor Hugo Escalona, Director of the Center for Postharvest Studies since 2009, to find out his opinion on these measuring instruments created in Chile. Víctor Hugo indicated that “the FirmPro is very similar to other equipment that was used in the 80s and 90s, which measures fruit by compression, it is a measurement that is quite fast, reliable and logical. The beauty of FirmPro is that it is developed here in Chile, adapted in the country, with Chilean service, and that allows us to have the guarantee that we can maintain it, there is monitoring, backup and support for the operation of the equipment.”
In addition, he highlighted the importance of the FirmPro being the instrument most used in the fruit industry: “over the years it has become more massive in the industry, so when we give a value for the FirmPro of our laboratory it is a data that speaks very well with the data that the industry has, so it allows us to speak in the same language.”
Regarding HappyAgro’s controlled atmosphere system, the AtmosFix, Professor Escalona highlighted that “it has been a desire for many years, we had a fairly simple, versatile continuous flow system; but so simple that it forced us to make constant measurements to make sure it worked well. Now with AtmosFix we have the possibility of doing remote monitoring, we are sure that the cabin meets the requirements we want, that it is airtight in the sense that we can maintain the gasses stably; It is a system that injects as the concentration changes, it is not a continuous focus, therefore, it saves gasses.”
Another thing about HappyAgro is its experience innovating in technology for measuring fruit. “It seems to me that, without a doubt, they have been innovative, they have seen an opportunity in the market and they have handled it well. HappyAgro is a good company and I hope they continue to develop other equipment at the service of the industry and fruit analysis,” Escalona concluded.
