Postharvest technologies to store tropical fruit from the Amazonian Region

Araza is a very perishable fruit particularly at room temperature very rich in vitamin C and with a pleasant flavor. Fruit is also susceptible to wilting, softening, chilling injury (at temperatures below 12oC) and decay (anthracnose). Several combinations of physical postharvest treatments (modified atmosphere packaging, intermittent warming, etc.) have been successfully used to prevent or alleviate these disorders for local markets in Colombia (South America). Our know-how has been partly disseminated as a chapter in the review of the Handbook 66 of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) (see website below). Araza fruit is being registered for fresh consumption in the USA, but the fruit is unknown in the Western world. The know-how and expertise background with these fruit can help to develop systematic studies to improve fruit quality and the postharvest system for local market or exports. We are looking for companies interested in supporting our research and apply the postharvest treatments that we developed in a commercial scale for araza or different fruit from Amazonian.