Agri Kultuur January / January 2018 | Page 54

Dr Olaniyi Amos Fawole determines the nutritional content of pomegranate arils. Dr William Mavengere assisted in developing a harvest maturity index for commercial pomegranate fruit cultivars in South Africa. Dr Alemayehu Ambaw Tsige’s research includes optimising the design and performance of ventilated packaging using computational fluid dynamics, exploring energy saving schemes during refrigerated storage of perishables, and spray applications of plant control agents. Dr Rebogile Mphahlele investigated the chemical and bioactive compounds extracted from different fruit fractions of ‘Wonderful’ pomegranates. The results of the study highlighted the impact of methods of extraction on the quality of pomegranate juice. AgriKultuur |AgriCulture Karen Munhuweyi is developing active packaging for whole and fresh-cut pomegranate fruit that can control microbial spoilage. Value-added material from pomegranate fruit waste with high nutritional content and potential for use in food and beverage industries. all influence quality. Although the use of liners minimised fruit weight loss, it increased resistance to airflow, precooling time, energy consumption and cooling costs. Matia Mukama (right), posing here with Prof. Opara, investigated how package design affects airflow distribution and cooling rate during forced air cooling of produce. Cold room humidification could potentially mitigate extreme moisture loss and maintain fruit quali- ty while achieving faster cooling. However, the effect of humidification on the mechanical integ- rity of fireboard cartons will have to be analysed before this avenue can be recommended. 54