Treatment of Songold Plums with SmartFreshSM (2011 Season)

Author: AgroFresh Inc. and ExperiCo (Fruit Technology Solutions)

Publish Date: 2020-11-01

Keywords: SmartFreshSM, Songold, firmness, 7.5°C, –0.5°C, decay, packaging, application procedure

1. Fruit Maturity and Packaging

Flesh firmness: Must be between 7.0 and 5.0 kg (optimum 6.5 kg), measured with a penetrometer fitted with an 11 mm plunger.
Uniform maturity: All fruit in the consignment must be of uniform maturity.
Minimum firmness: No plums below 5.0 kg flesh firmness are allowed.
Skin colour: Must not exceed plate 6 on colour chart PL19 for Songold plums.
Minimum TSS: The minimum average total soluble solids (TSS) is 12.5%.
Packaging: Plums can be packed in standard cartons, punnets, or thrift bags before or after SmartFreshSM application.
Bag/wrapper use: In standard cartons, use perforated grape bags (54 x 2 mm perforations) or perforated plum wrappers. Perforated grape bags must only be used on SmartFreshSM treated Songold plums.
Decay risk: Plum wrappers are preferred over bags for fruit with high decay potential.

According to the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No 119 of 1990), the re-inspection period for Songold plums treated with SmartFreshSM is after 35 days.

Plums must be packed and cooled at –0.5°C within 24 hours after harvest, following standard cooling norms.
Apply SmartFreshSM after plums are cooled to –0.5°C, but within 7 days of harvest.
The cold room or shipping container must be set to –0.5°C and be available for 24 hours for application.
Application duration: 16–24 hours.
After application, raise temperature to 7.5°C for 14–18 days (room or container). Monitor flesh firmness; if it drops below 4.5 kg, re-cool to –0.5°C.
After the 7.5°C period, re-cool plums to –0.5°C using forced-air cooling. Store and ship at –0.5°C (PD1). Maximum storage from harvest: 56 days (excluding shelf life).
Stringently follow pre- and post-harvest decay prevention strategies.
Plums can be ripened at 18°C before marketing if required.

Plums must be packed and cooled at –0.5°C within 24 hours after harvest, following standard cooling norms.
Apply SmartFreshSM after plums are cooled to –0.5°C, but within 7 days of harvest.
Set shipping container to –0.5°C and make available for 24 hours for application.
Application duration: 16–24 hours.
After application, raise container temperature to 7.5°C for 14 days, then lower again to –0.5°C.
Store fruit at –0.5°C for the remainder of the cold storage period.

Ensure the SmartFreshSM application room is air-tight.
Do not include bins with overripe or insect-damaged fruit (these produce ethylene and compromise treatment).
Clean and sanitize the room before use.
Place plums under cooling at –0.5°C immediately after harvest; ensure effective cooling to the center of bins.
Apply SmartFreshSM after cooling to –0.5°C, but within 5 days of harvest.
Application duration: 16–24 hours.
Vent the room well after application to prevent CO₂ build-up.
After treatment, raise temperature to 7.5°C for 14–18 days, depending on maturity.
Regularly check maturity and quality before packing.
Pack fruit immediately if flesh firmness drops to 5.0 kg or below.
Pack immediately after the 7.5°C period; bins not packed immediately must be placed at –0.5°C.
After packing, force-air cool plums to –0.5°C and store/ship at –0.5°C.
Maximum storage from harvest: 56 days (excluding shelf life).
Stringently follow decay prevention strategies.
Plums can be ripened at 18°C before marketing if required.

Provide two extra representative cartons of plums to ExperiCo before SmartFreshSM application.
One carton will be treated with SmartFreshSM in the commercial application; the other will be an untreated control.
These cartons will be used to determine the efficacy of the SmartFreshSM treatment.
While efforts will be made to inform packhouses/exporters of abnormal ripening, it remains the responsibility of the packhouse/exporter to monitor fruit ripening progression in the supply chain and make decisions to achieve optimal quality—especially when the warming cycle is conducted locally.