Avocado Quality Meter

A new avocado quality meter is about to enter the market. QA Supplies recently announced that the F-751 from Felix Instruments, would be available from December 5 this year, although companies can already pre-order the device.

Based on the F-750 Produce Quality Meter, the F-751 is strictly for avocados and utilizes dry matter readings to gauge the fruit’s maturity. QA Supplies says it is simple to use and is ready to use out of the box. Once the dry matter reading is taken, the data is transferred to a PC via Wi-Fi for analysis and sharing. 

Specifically designed for avocados
According to Katlynn Ketchum, the F-751 is very similar in scope and features to the F-750, but the company wanted to provide a commodity specific unit at a lower cost than the F-750. "The meter’s calibration and firmware were designed specifically for dry matter readings and the models preprogrammed on the meter are for Hass avocados," she shared. "We also offer the F-750 which can be used for many different commodities and measurements. In an effort to lower the cost for the F-751, though, it just uses the equipment necessary specifically for avocado testing. There is also a meter exclusively for mango testing that will be available soon."
 
"The optics used in the F-751 do not carry as high of a cost as what is used in the F-751, because that unit needs to measures a variety of fruit," she further explained. "Felix shrunk down the features on the F-750 to what was necessary for a single commodity to provide a great, non-destructive tester at a much lower price."

Gathering the data
The F-751 instrument, or several of them, can be used in multiple fields and the data collected in the one database. This will likely benefit growers who have fields in multiple locations, even in different regions. Ketchum explained how this would work in practice. "Growers can notate which avocados are being tested, where they were grown and even the lot numbers," she said. "Once you have measurements from all of the orchards, the data can be compiled for an overall quality picture for the grower or compared against each other to see which locations are performing the best."

Additionally, the company claims that the more growers gather data about the specific crops or varieties that they are working with, the more accurate the models used to calculate dry matter will become. It can also be used in conjunction with Fruit Maps.

"As with most modeling equipment, the larger the data set, the more precisely you can predict future behavior or in this case quality," Ketchum noted. "The Avocado Quality Meter also comes with the ability to use Fruit Maps, a free interactive harvest map application co-created by Felix Instruments and Central Queensland University. This feature makes it possible to monitor orchards in real time from anywhere in the world."

Precision and accuracy becoming more critical
QA Supplies have noticed that in recent years, companies are becoming more precise in the way they assess the quality of their products. Hence, there is a heightened desire for devices like the F-751, with QA Supplies sharing that the new product is generating a lot of attention and enquiries.

"Over the last 5 years we have seen an enormous demand for both non-destructive and high accuracy products for measuring maturity and quality indices," Ketchum said. "At the recent PMA Fresh Summit in Orlando, this product garnered more attention than anything else we were displaying. I think growers and shippers have realized how much of an advantage something like this can give you over the competition and that it shows you are doing everything you can to produce an excellent quality product."

"The launch of this avocado meter is critical for growers, packing houses, and retailers that desire an affordable instrument that can be used anywhere,” added Steve Page, General Manager at QA Supplies. “This instrument will provide ripeness data and non-destructive accurate maturity readings from anywhere the avocado is.”

Read the original article here.