Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the goal of this project is to…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the goal of this project is to advance the safe adoption of dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA) storage, a recent advance in CA technology that is based on the principle of lowering O2 concentrations to the lowest tolerated by the fruit without causing injury, thereby reducing or eliminating quality loss associated with ripening storage by the US apple industry. A team of researchers with backgrounds in horticultural, sensory, economics, and omic sciences will address factors identified by the industry advisory committee with 5 objectives: 1) to develop best management practices for handling DCA stored apple fruit, especially premium and emerging cultivars, to reduce chemical inputs, maximize quality, and minimize the risk of storage-related disorders; 2. Understand how the extreme modification of oxygen by DCA affects respiratory metabolism, ripening biology, and disorder development of stored apple fruit; 3. Understand how modifications in ripening biology resulting from DCA storageare perceived and valued in consumer sensory testing and by storage practitioners; 4. Create a decision support tool, based on analyses of economic and sociological factors, to inform investment in DCA technology; and 5. Translate research findings into communication outputs for postharvest and horticultural scientific, educational, and practitioner communities.