Sweet Science: A New Device for Checking Apple Ripeness

Agriculture and Agri-Food scientists in Summerland, B.C. and Kentville, N.S., are working to give apple producers cutting edge technology to ensure market success. They are developing data protocols for the DA Meter, a special tool that helps fruit producers to determine optimal ripeness of their crop. When it first came on the market, the DA Meter was not well adapted to reading apple ripeness. With the new protocols and light hood, the tool will change how and when Canadian apple growers harvest their fruit.

Learn in this video how the taste of science is sweet.

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Full Video Transcript:

Narrator: Apple producers in Canada face various challenges throughout the growing season. One challenge is being able to predict exactly when crops are ready for harvest. Researchers in Summerland, British Columbia and Kentville, Nova Scotia are creating the protocols for the DA Meter, a new tool that takes the guesswork out of apple harvest.
Dr. Toivonen: You can't judge an apple by its looks. That's why we have an instrument like the DA Meter to help us know what's going on inside this apple. The way this instrument works is that it has LEDs on the outside of the sensor. When you shine the light on the apple it goes into the fruit and it gets reflected back. What we're measuring is the chlorophyll content of the peel of that apple with this instrument. You might think that this is a bright, red apple and therefore it's ready to eat. The DA Meter tells that no, it has a little ways to go yet. You might say that this one is not red enough yet and it's not ready to go. The DA Meter tells us that yes, it is ready to go.
Narrator: Typically, to measure apple ripeness, producers test the fruit for its starch content. They pick the apples, cut them open, and spray them with iodine. The iodine reacts with the starch in the fruit and turns black. It’s a visual indication of ripeness. Unfortunately, this technique is imprecise and the grower loses fruit.
Charlotte Leaming: The new DA Meter is a real advancement in maturity testing. It means that I can test the apples here on the tree and leave the apple on the tree. It's the maturity of the fruit that is so important in keeping the fruit quality high all the way through the storage season. We can also predict better in the field which parts of the field which parts of the field are ripening ahead of which other parts to aid the whole harvest period for the growers. Again, without destroying the fruit you get to do a lot more testing.
Narrator: Agriculture and Agri-Food scientists are working hard to give apple producers cutting edge technology that will help ensure market success. The researchers in Summerland are working on protocols for the Ambrosia, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Salish and Aurora Golden Gala, as well as several yet unnamed cultivars. In Kentville, they are working on the Honeycrisp. Protocol data will be released to apple grower associations for new varieties as they come available. For Canadian apple producers, smart science is sweet.