Project

GreenCHAINge 2: Melon and papaya

Getting a better grip on the quality of melon and papaya so it can increase the amount of uniform, high-quality and ready-to-enjoy fruits for consumers. That is the goal of this project.

The market for (sub)tropical fruit, such as melon and papaya, is growing rapidly. However, the quality of these products varies widely. This is due to a variation in cultivation and harvesting conditions as well as the lengthy transport. To prevent consumers from buying less or no (sub)tropical fruit due to the fluctuating quality, it is important to work on preserving the quality at a certain standard until the moment of consumption.

Expected results

  • Insight into the quality based on aroma profiles (mainly melon), but also firmness, colour, sugar analyses, etc.;
  • Development of biomarkers to predict quality in a non-destructive way (for instance using aroma profiles for volatile measurements with PTR-MS-TOF analyses);
  • Development of models to predict the optimal conditions for harvest, transport, and ripening.

Achieved results

This project was concluded with a final seminar on Thursday 14 March 2019. The results achieved by this subproject are recorded in the following factsheets.