2023-09-15 17:45:12
New research has focused on finding a quick and easy way to find out what the different optimal ripening points of the fruit are so that the farmer knows what is the best time to harvest it depending on the uses he wants to give it.
The triple objective of expanding the commercial possibilities of the fruit to help the primary sector, increase consumption and prevent it from being thrown away has been the starting point of the aforementioned research, carried out by specialists from the Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry of the University Rovira i Virgili (URV) of Tarragona, in collaboration with the Institute of Research and Food Technologies (IRTA) of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Agrarian Technological Institute of Castilla y León, in Spain, is based on the use of a novel technique, non-invasive and portable that allows determining the state of maturity of the fruit in the same field, for now specifically of the grape, the first fruit to which efforts have been dedicated in this line of research and development.
“In the case of grapes, generally we always look for the optimal point thinking about winemaking. But if we establish different ripening moments, the grapes can be used to make juices, to turn them into snacks, to eat directly…” explains researcher Montserrat Mestres, who adds that thanks to this research the vinedresser, who often leaves the grapes in the strain because it is not worth picking it or because there is overproduction, “he will have the opportunity to take advantage of it by waiting for another optimal moment of maturation to allocate it to another use.”
The first step is to obtain information that is representative of the state of maturity of the entire vineyard so that “parameters such as the amount of sugars and acidity of the samples from a very exhaustive sampling must be determined and take into account the orientation and position of the vine within the vine, that of each cluster within the vine and even that of each grain within the cluster so that the conclusions are reliable,” explains Daniel Schorn-García, another of the project researchers, who use infrared spectroscopy to achieve this.
Harvest in Mas dels Frares, the estate of the experimental winery of the URV. (Photo: URV)
Classical analysis of samples involves transporting them to the laboratory and, once there, the use of techniques that are costly in time and money. That is why, according to the URV researchers, a technique such as infrared spectroscopy, which is very fast, does not require any reagent and which, in addition, allows in situ analysis of the fruit in the field without affecting it, means a very interesting alternative.
As Schorn explains, this technique is based on the interaction of a beam of infrared light with the molecules of the sample, in this case, the grape. “This energy causes all the bonds of the molecules to undergo specific vibrations that, with an appropriate mathematical treatment or chemometry, can be related to the information about their composition and in what proportion each molecule is found,” argues the researcher. With this very precise information, and taking into account when and in what position each grain was obtained, it is possible to establish which fruits are suitable for harvesting at any given time depending on the product for which the grapes are to be used.
The study is titled “Assessment of Variability Sources in Grape Ripening Parameters by Using FTIR and Multivariate Modeling.” And it has been published in the academic journal Foods. (Source: URV)
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