We?re going to be able to scan avocado as it?s growing on the tree and understand what kind of fruit quality it is producing

In an interview with Fructidor, Adrian Rico, Research and Development Project Engineer at Mission Produce Inc., talks about their use and experience with the Felix Instruments Avocado Quality Meter. Founded in 1983 and one of the first to import Mexican avocados to the US with USDA approval, Mission Produce is now one of the largest importers and distributors of avocados in the US. Adrian, can you first give a quick rundown of your background?My background is in R&D and project engineering. So, I work with packaging and new packaging technologies. Then, the other half of my job is doing R&D and familiarizing myself with new, emerging biotechnologies in the agriculture industry. How long have you been using Felix equipment?We’ve been using the FELIX INSTRUMENTS meter from their initial inception unit, so I believe for about a year to a year and a half - even before I was with the company. I’ve been using it for the last ten months with all different types of fruits or different types of avocados in the region. For those who do not know how to use it, what is the procedure that you follow? Do you use it before harvest or after harvest?So, we’ve used it three different ways in California, Mexico, and Peru. In California, we’ve been primarily using it on the postharvest sites in our R&D Department. Basically, we’ll align ourselves in R&D studies, and we’ll take dry matter measurements, which is as simple as grabbing an avocado and placing it onto the meter. They’re scanned just by pressing a button on the device, as simple as that. In Peru, we’ve been using it for two different methods: at harvest and also at post-harvest for R&D. We still do not have a lot of experience with the harvest method, but our results have been good so far. We’ll pick it out in the field and take some measurements. It’s really important right now because our fruit season is ongoing and our fruits are changing every year, so we need to learn more about the fruit however we can. This can be as simple as taking it out to the field, grabbing an avocado on the tree, still leaving it on the tree, placing it on the device, and pressing the scan button again. The newest feature that we’ve been implementing is the GPS tracker with FruitMaps. I believe we started using that down in Peru, which helps track the reading at the scanning location and build a map for our harvest in Peru. In Mexico, we’ve primarily been using it as a secondary measurement for our dry matter, our current microwave method. We’re still validating the machine down there with the Mexico team, but it’s been good as a second measurement for dry matter because we’re taking dry matter measurements every day. Again, it’s as simple as placing it on the device and taking a scan. I think the big selling point, and the biggest strength for us, is how quickly it can give us a dry matter measurement, and also, the fact that it’s non-destructive, which I know everyone is happy about. Do people need long training to start using the equipment? If someone is using it for the first time, what length of training would you recommend?When you’re initially starting out, setting up the device on your WiFi and seeing all the capabilities on FruitMaps, I would say it’ll take at least an hour of training for someone with some technical experience. But, for every day usage, it took less than five minutes for our quality assurance team to really get familiar with the device and see its capabilities. The ease of use is the main thing. It’s as easy as having someone press the button, take the reading, and then the device goes to work for itself – or, really, it goes to work for you.