Harvest management is an important process in reducing waste and ensure food quality. AgroFresh Solutions Inc., a produce freshness solutions provider based in Philadelphia, Pa., recently launched FreshCloud Harvest View to aid harvesters in managing their food crops.

FreshCloud Harvest View is a digital service that equips customers with on-time information to optimize harvest management and achieve enhanced fruit quality and yield.

“FreshCloud is an innovative digital platform that equips our customers with valuable insights to deliver great tasting fresh produce to the world,” says Kim Bui, global head of FreshCloud infrastructure and analytics at AgroFresh. “FreshCloud builds upon AgroFresh’s 20-plus years of post-harvest research and innovation. The FreshCloud platform provides growers and packers with a broad set of powerful analytical tools to protect produce and optimize freshness.”

FreshCloud Harvest View is a digital service that provides data-driven fruit maturity assessment services using industry accepted processes and standard procedures developed over many years. A member of the AgroFresh service organization conducts in-field starch testing. Starch images are immediately uploaded to FreshCloud Harvest View and reviewed by AgroFresh technical experts.

“Growers gain easy, on-demand, digital access to make data-driven decisions. The data offer improved visibility and insight about starch progression and the maturation process down to a block level within orchards,” says Bui. “Working together with AgroFresh, growers can decide how to best plan their harvest, and when to apply Harvista to optimize quality and yield. Continuing the innovation, FreshCloud Harvest View will soon incorporate an intelligent starch scoring feature.” 

Through Harvista, FreshCloud Harvest View provides flexibility to extend the harvest window, improve fruit quality and optimize labor management at harvest.

“Our harvest management solution, Harvista, helps to deliver high quality fruit and create harvest management flexibility for tree fruit growers. Harvista’s unique mode of action inhibits the perception and production of ethylene and it can be applied up to three days before the anticipated harvest,” says Bui. “Harvista helps to keep fruit on the tree for longer, leading to optimal color, size and firmness, which ultimately means less fruit going to waste.”

FreshCloud Harvest View provides growers with insights to affect their decision-making. They can decide how to best plan their harvest and when to apply Harvista to optimize quality and yield.

“FreshCloud Harvest View helps prevent food waste by optimizing efficiency and decision-making throughout the value chain,” says Bui. “It helps growers make smarter, faster decisions about harvesting fresh produce, which leads to more quality fruit that ultimately results in less produce being wasted.”

AgroFresh’s Harvista solution provides flexibility for harvest management, particularly workforce scheduling and labor management, which are increasingly growing concerns for the 2020 harvest season.

“For decades, we’ve prioritized innovation and technology to help growers maintain and extend produce freshness and quality. We’re excited to combine our deep agricultural expertise with sophisticated, digital technology services for the industry,” said AgroFresh CEO, Jordi Ferre in a statement. “FreshCloud Harvest View is another step towards empowering our customers with fast, accurate and reliable data to make timely decisions to increase yield and quality, and ultimately maximize profit potential and reduce waste.”