Researchers have developed best practices for handling walnuts to maintain quality and prevent rancidity. Their award-winning recommendations include timely harvesting, cold storage, and using a color guide to match nuts to the best markets.
A new method using firmness measurements helps growers pick plums at peak ripeness, improving flavor and reducing postharvest damage. UC Davis expert Carlos Crisosto’s research offers guidelines for better fruit quality and consumer satisfaction.
A UC Davis-led project in Nepal will test new food storage and packaging to reduce spoilage, boost farmer income, and improve nutrition. The $876K effort aims to expand food access and safety in rural communities.
Assistant Professor Brian Bailey and Cooperative Extension Specialist Elizabeth Mitcham, both of the Department of Plant Sciences, are assisting on a project to create a mechanized shake-and-catch harvesting system for soft fruits without fall damage.
Cooling vegetables just after harvest prolongs shelf life and maintains quality. Most California vegetables are precooled before shipment using Cold air, Cold water, Ice, and/or Vacuum. Several of these were developed at UC Davis in the 1970s and 1980s in Plant Sciences, and in Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
Plant breeders and food safety experts held a conference at UC Davis to discuss issues relevant to food safety, including microbial contamination control in produce throughout the food chain (seeds, field production, pre- and postharvest, packaging, distribution, marketing). Conference chair was Professor Maeli Melotto, Plant Sciences, UC Davis.
Small growers can build their own farm-scale coolers at a fraction of the cost of conventional units, thanks to the invention of a device that adjusts air conditioners to drop the temperature all the way down to refrigeration levels.
