Syngenta Flowers and OptiFreeze AB from Sweden have signed a collaboration agreement to further test and develop OptiCept; a breakthrough technology in shelf- life optimization. OptiCept is a method to improve the post-harvest quality of cuttings, cut flowers and potentially also seed. By using the OptiCept method, the shelf-life of flowers can be increased significantly from typically four to 11 days or more.
Syngenta Flowers and OptiFreeze AB from Sweden have signed a collaboration agreement to further test and develop OptiCept; a breakthrough technology in shelf- life optimization. OptiCept is a method to improve the post-harvest quality of cuttings, cut flowers and potentially also seed. By using the OptiCept method, the shelf-life of flowers can be increased significantly from typically four to 11 days or more.
Syngenta Flowers Innovation Manager, Josef Fischer says: We are impressed by OptiFreezes invention and believe this breakthrough technology will improve the quality of unrooted cuttings and young plants for our customers. The improved shelf life of nearly two weeks enables much better planning and handling of our products with a more predictable supply to growers sites. The combination of improved quality, better storability and transportability of unrooted cuttings is really exciting as it allows the industry to deliver better products more reliably and reduce waste significantly.
The challenge for the flowers industry is that production farms are typically located near the equator in Africa and Latin America. The survival time of harvested cuttings is fairly short and they have to be transported over long distances before planting in Europe and North America. With an improved survival time of nearly 14 days for cuttings.
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