EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF CR-10® IN POST HARVEST
Testing accomplished by Agronomic Engineer Elmer Nij Reyes
Guatemala, January 2019
The testing and evaluation of the effectiveness of CR-10® were done by using CR-10® on bell peppers in post-harvest production. The purpose of the testing was to control any fungus (Botrytis and Fusarium) in the peduncle (stem) of the fruit.
Three types of tests were done.
- Test to see if we could prolong the life of a healthy bell pepper.
- Test to see if the product could control and improve the peduncle (stem) of a fruit which already showed fungi in its stem.
- Test to see if the damage to the sepal (the bottom part of the stem connecting to the actual fruit) could be minimized or controlled.
Preventing, controlling or eliminating fungus allows longer time periods from the actual harvest to a table for eating. This helps all growers by not only increasing the life-span of their crops but possibly making more of the “damaged” crops viable.
TEST # 1.
Treatment for protection of the bell pepper with a peduncle without damage
The first was done immediately post-harvest with dipping the peduncles (stems) with CR-10® to bell peppers showing NO damage. We wanted to see if this would extend the shelf-life of the bell pepper. Usually bell peppers have a maximum life-span of around 2 weeks when there is no damage to any part of the fruit. This was done to control any fungus (Botrytis and Fusarium) that might be in the peduncle (stem) of the fruit.
METHOD
We dipped them for about 3 seconds in a solution of water and CR-10® ONE TIME ONLY to see if CR-10® would increase the life of the harvest.
TEST #1 | Day 0: December 12, 2018
This is the first (and only) application of CR-10® for the test. No other applications of CR-10® were used for this 21-day test.
TEST #1 | Day 15: December 27, 2018
Please note how clean and free of any fungus the dipped bell peppers are on the 15th day. The label shows when the actual product was applied.
TEST #1 | Day 21: January 2, 2019
This picture shows the bell pepper on the 21st day after CR-10® was applied. Still showing a fungus-free peduncle.
It is 3 weeks later, and the fruit is still as fresh looking as when it was originally picked. Typically, fresh bell peppers have a life-span of only 2 weeks from harvest to table.
TEST #2
Treatment for protection of the bell pepper with a damaged peduncle.
The first test was done post-harvest by dipping the peduncles (stems) of bell peppers with damage. We wanted to see how this would affect the damaged peduncles. This was done to see if there was any effect on fungi (Botrytis and Fusarium) that had affected the peduncle (stem) of the fruit.
METHOD
We dipped them for about 3 seconds in a solution of water and CR-10® ONE TIME ONLY to see if CR-10® would help with the fungi on the peduncles.
TEST #2 | Day 0: December 12, 2018
This is the first application of CR-10® for testing. No other applications of CR-10® were used for this 21 day test
TEST #2 | Day 15: December 27, 2018
The damage caused by fungus (/fungi) in the peduncle has stopped.
TEST #2 | Day 21: January 2, 2019
The damage caused by fungus (/fungi) in the peduncle completely stopped.
Cutting the very top of the stem shows a healthy stem with no sign of the fungi that were there before the CR-10® application.
This allows the harvest to be shipped to market with no signs of fungus.
TEST #3
This test was done post-harvest by dipping the sepal (the bottom part of the stem connecting to the actual fruit) with CR-10®. We wanted to see how this would affect bell peppers which would normally have to be thrown away. No harvest affected with fungi on the sepal can be shipped as it might spread the fungi and bacteria.
METHOD
We dipped them for about 3 seconds in a solution of water and CR-10® ONE TIME ONLY to see if CR-10® would increase the shelf-life of the harvest.
TEST #3 | Day 0: December 12, 2018
This is the first (and only) application of CR-10® for testing. No other applications of CR-10® were used for this 21-day test
TEST #3 | Day 15: December 27, 2018
The damage caused by the fungus in the sepal has stopped.
TEST #3 | Day 21: January 2, 2019
Looking closely at the bottom and cutting open the inside of the tested bell peppers, they show NO signs of either fungus (/fungi) or bacteria 21-days after treatment.
CONCLUSION
CR-10® was shown to be extremely effective in not only preventing the fungus (/fungi) and bacteria from affecting bell peppers but also effective in killing the fungi and bacteria in the affected fruits.
In addition, using CR-10® has extended the shelf-life of the bell peppers by seven additional days (33% added shelf-life for the produce). We believe similar results can be achieved with all the varieties of nightshades (tomatoes, zucchinis, etc.).
(Note: previous tests on zucchinis have shown similar results.)
This will help growers around the world ship more usable fruits and reduce waste in grocery stores. In addition, this will allow food packers, exporters, and distributors to open new markets that were so far not reachable because of the length of the shelf-life.
For more information:
Contact BioNovelus Inc. at +1 888-924-6668
Or e-mail: info@bionovelus.com
