The new state of the art controlled atmosphere facility at Stellenbosch University aims to answer questions never answered before.
Hortgro Pome recently invested in a world class CA research facility at the Stellenbosch University, Western Cape, South Africa.
The state of the art facility places Stellenbosch University at the front line of CA research and seeks solve post-harvest problems in the industry such as superficial scald prevention.
The facility includes 3 post-harvest storage systems from 3 industry suppliers. Gas At Site has partnered with Isolcell to deliver and install one of the three systems.
Gas At Site supplied and installed a research station that includes HarvestWatch DCA-CF; a fruit monitoring system that uses chlorophyll fluorescence technology to reliably detect the Low Oxygen Level (LOL) in the fruit. The station also includes capabilities to measure and scrub ethylene as well as measure the Respiration Quotient (RQ).
The current research aims to determine which atmospheric conditions will optimise post-harvest storage and answer questions for the industry such as whether ethylene scrubbing improves long term storage. The three systems are also being evaluated and compared against each other in terms of ease of system control and support.
Read more about the CA Research Facility at Stellenbosch University here: