Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/769560
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower JANUARY 15, 2017 15 Silver lining The bright side of Honeycrisp's delicate nature is that it is showing growers and shippers the importance of postharvest diligence, a factor that may prove critical for understanding the best way to condition and store the many new and soon-to-come varieties that have Honeycrisp in their parentage. While storage damage in these new varieties hasn't been documented yet, he said, time will tell. Until then, Beaudry's research is helping growers and shippers learn how to avoid making missteps that lead to Honeycrisp losses. His group replicated the conditions that preceded the $1 million apple loss at the Yakima shipper's storage facility, and it's believed the problem was a very short span of elevated carbon dioxide. "Just a few hours of car- bon dioxide at a slightly high level were enough to induce the same type of damage that we saw in Washington. In that case, treatment with DPA would have completely protected the apples," Beaudry said. For the Michigan grower who called about losing a roomful of Honeycrisp after he felt he had done every- thing right, faulty monitoring equipment was to blame. "We made a couple of suggestions of what he might do next year, and that includes making sure that his darn temperature equipment is accurate," Beaudry said. "I have a feeling they were just a little below the threshold, and if you're off by just 1 degree, you can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of fruit." Research on Honeycrisp is far from over, especially since growers continue to add it to their orchards. "As production increases and additional fields are planted, we have more variables whether that be the weather or the soils, or the individual treatments from one grower to another," he said. That all adds up to uncertainly in terms of storability, and offers new avenues for research and ultimately better fruit. In addition to growers and packers, financial support- ers of this project include the Michigan Apple Research Committee, the Michigan State Hort Society, MAES (now AgBioResearch) and Project GREEEN, Michigan's plant initiative, among others. • Student Diep Tran looks over some Honeycrisp that arrived at MSU's laboratory from storage. The fruit shows carbon dioxide injury. "If you close the door on that room overnight and the carbon dioxide levels build up, then you can destroy your crop in the conditioning phase before it ever goes into storage." —Randy Beaudry NITROGEN GENERATOR • High purity output • Most effi cient energy to production ratio • Low total cost of ownership CARBON DIOXIDE ADSORBER • Large range of capacities available • Low energy consumption • Patented low oxygen operation ETHYLENE CONVERTER • Decomposes to PPM and PPB levels • No consumables • Proven technology ATMOSPHERE CONTROL SYSTEM • Control of O 2 , CO 2 , C 2 H 4 , temperature and humidity • Centralized controls via easy to use software • High accuracy sensors DCA - FRUIT OBSERVER • Based on chlorophyll fl uorescence measurement • Safe detection of lowest oxygen level • Signifi cant reduction of scald 110 Carr Crescent - Oliver BC - V0H 1T5 Canada +1-250-462-3187 www.besseling-group.com m.besseling@besseling-group.com Better CA equipment now available in North America Unrivalled quality, from fruit growers roots • Superior quality equipment • Unbeaten energy performance • Extreme reliability • Small footprint • Global operating company • Local support and service Advertentie BNA.indd 1 28-10-16 11:42