The Fruit Growing Laboratory is dedicated to analyses for ongoing research in the field of fruit growing, primarily on apple trees and berries.
Within the framework of the Public Service in Fruit Growing, the task “Introduction of Apple Varieties” is carried out, during which we verify the suitability of certain apple varieties for the Slovenian climate. For each variety, it is necessary to check fruit firmness, sugar content, and perform a starch test, all of which are conducted in our fruit growing laboratory. Within the framework of the Public Service in Berries, the laboratory performs crop evaluation using various indicators (fruit mass, firmness, diameter, and color).
The quality of apple and berry fruits is also evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Fruit mass,
- Fruit diameter,
- Fruit coloration,
- Fruit firmness,
- Sugar content,
- Vitamin C content,
- Maturity (starch test).
For the purposes of various projects, we also perform other analyses. This includes the preparation of samples from different plant parts: fruits, fruitlets, leaves, branches, or roots. In the prepared samples, we then analyze the contents of individual sugars, acids, phenols, photosynthetic pigments, aromas, etc.
Research equipment
- Shaker PSU-10i
- Fruit hardness tester STEP Systems GmbH
- Fruit quality tester Quantofix
- Portable ethylene analyzer Felix F-900
- Refractometer
