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Increasing Shelf Life in Melon Production with Metalosate® - Plant Nutrition

Increasing Shelf Life in Melon Production with Metalosate®

Increasing shelf life in melons with Metalosate
Posted: July 27, 2023

Melon production reached over $1 billion in 2020. Melons have amazing nutritional benefits like supplying excellent dietary fiber, potassium, copper and vitamins C, K, and B6. People eat this delicious fruit, which provides certain vital nutrients.

The Freshest Melons

Generally, melons must be harvested, sent to a packer, processed and then shipped to grocery stores. This can take days to weeks, and unfortunately that means many melons get harvested before they reach optimal taste. Consumers usually prefer to consume melons that have ripened on the vine. In taste tests, they consider them sweeter, juicier, and to have a better flavor. This puts growers in a difficult position, because to harvest fully ripe fruit, they may spoil before hitting grocery store shelves. Growers are in a difficult position because they can either harvest full ripe fruit which may spoil before hitting grocery stores or they harvest melons before reaching full ripeness and thereby sacrifice fruit quality..

The Metalosate® Solution

Metalosate Calcium contains an amino acid chelated calcium that can penetrate the cuticle of a plant and move to growing points. This differentiates Metalosate Calcium from other calcium sources, which may become bound and immobile in the plant. Calcium heavily contributes to cell wall integrity and structure and therefore affects shelf-life and nutrient profile. Without proper levels of calcium, cell walls break down leading to fruit decay and rot.

In a research study, a USDA expert created a post-harvest dip and dipped melons into a Metalosate Calcium solution in the field as the melons came off the vine. This increased shelf-life by 24 days, or over three weeks. This meant double the shelf-life compared to the grower’s standard. This type of solution and harvest means better melons at the grocery store and greater returns for the grower. That’s Nutrition Delivered.

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