What was it all about?

Completed in September 2019, this project developed the Australian Passionfruit Postharvest Best Practice Guide for the benefit of those involved in the passionfruit supply chain.

Maintaining quality of passionfruit after harvest is challenging. Despite their sturdy appearance, passionfruit are fragile fruits that easily lose moisture, are susceptible to disease and rapidly deteriorate after harvest. Managing harvest and extending storage life could increase both marketing flexibility and returns for growers.

The best practice guide features sections on the effect of pre-harvest management on postharvest quality, harvest practices, postharvest handling, treatments, packing and storage of passionfruit.

The project team conducted the following activities when preparing the guide:

• A wide-ranging literature review, relating to postharvest management of passionfruit. This included articles from journals, information from previous Hort Innovation projects, websites, and other information sources.
• A small number of trials to generate specific information for the guide. These included storage trials at different temperatures, testing of three different waxes and temperature monitoring during transport.
• Consultation with industry participants including wholesalers, growers and packers from large, medium and small-scale operations. This information was then combined with information and feedback specific to the local environment.

The project identified ways for packers and wholesalers to increase the storage life of passionfruit. This will enable growers and wholesalers to shrink the wide fluctuations in fruit supply that can restrict marketing and reduce grower returns.

The review highlights several new technologies and techniques which could have significant value for Australian growers. Examples of these include products that can delay fruit drop, ways to monitor initiation of ripening, detection of hollow fruit, and different harvest methods.

It is intended that growers adopt these recommendations, in whole or in part, thereby extending storage life of passionfruit and improving retail quality.

ACT NOW

Download the Australian Passionfruit Postharvest Best Practice Guide for improved crop management.