POSTHARVEST
Fruits, Vegetables and Ornamentals
POSCOSECHA.COM
Companies need to optimize their production costs and offer a quality product, sometimes with insufficient means to do so. Therefore, a strong commitment is needed between the industry, institutions, organizations and research centers to work in a coordinated manner and to offer alternative techniques that can solve the current problems. 
On the 31st of March will be announced which is the best Golden Apple the first international contest organized by the agrarian entity JARC-COARG and IRTA. The purpose of the contest is to recognize and stimulate the work carried out by producers and horticultural plants and to value the fruit for its high sensorial quality.
On Thursday the 30th of March, IRTA and the Agriculture Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya will organize a technical day: “Processed and minimally processed vegetables: an oportunity for your Company”.
In this day we will present the trends of a world-wide level in the processing of vegetables, which allows the companies of power go a step ahead and offer to the market new products with more added value.
The IRRIX system is being tested in 16 irrigation sectors in several areas of Spain. Each day data is collected through sensors and the system adjusts irrigation needs autonomously.
The IRRIX web platform for automatic monitoring and control of irrigation developed by IRTA will be applied in several areas of Lleida, Badajoz and AlmerĂa within a project financed by the National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA).
i3-food is an European project, with participation of IRTA, which main objective is the implementation of 3 innovative food processing technologies, assuring the validation of optimum process control under industrial conditions. The 3 different technologies used are: Pulsed electric field preservation of liquid food products (e.g. fruit juices or smoothies), High pressure thermal sterilization for ready to eat meals, Low shear extrusion of cold food products (e.g. ice cream)
Data from Eurostat indicates that 30% of the European population will be over 65 as from 2060, and one from every eight people will be over 80. The challenge for the food and restaurant industry is to develop innovative foods and services adapted to the nutritional needs of the aged. IRTA´s researchers have been engaged in the production of food prototypes based on fruit and vegetables that meet the specifications for use, as well as functional, in the elderly. Some of the developed foods are liquid, similar to a smoothie, and others are soft solid, such as soft apple rings. Some of these…
Researchers from IRTA and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) have developed a new water-dispersible granule biocontrol formulation for grape cultivation. The granules are dissolved in water and sprinkled over the plants; an eatable innocuous film forms on the crop surface, protecting the plant from the rot caused by Botrytis cinerea, one of the primary causes of deterioration and loss for the wine sector. Part of this study has been recently published in Biological Control and has received funding from the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) and the European Regional…
