The Rural Development Administration (RDA) has launched a pilot service for a web-based "Quality White Paper," enabling agricultural producers to evaluate storage duration and optimal shipping times through data. Initially targeting apples, oriental melons, and onions, this service integrates information ranging from cultivation histories to quality changes across various storage environments. By shifting post-harvest management from subjective, experience-based decisions to objective, data-driven practices, the initiative aims to minimize storage losses. The RDA plans to expand the service to 11 crops in the future, supporting agricultural product processing centers (APCs) and farms in determining optimal shipment timings based on reliable data.

An online quality information service that allows users to determine agricultural storage periods and shipment windows using data has entered its pilot operation phase.

This service is expected to objectify post-harvest management—traditionally reliant on subjective field experience—and significantly reduce storage losses at agricultural distribution sites.

The Rural Development Administration (RDA, Administrator Lee Seung-don) announced on the 21st that it has developed a web-based "Quality White Paper" integrating pre- and post-harvest quality information for horticultural crops.

Currently, the system is undergoing a pilot operation focusing on three crops: apples, oriental melons, and onions, with a nationwide public service launch targeted for next year.

The service is designed to provide a comprehensive, one-stop view of an agricultural product’s entire lifecycle, from cultivation history and initial quality to quality shifts driven by different storage methods and environments. Previously, related research materials were scattered across disparate reports with inconsistent measurement standards, making comprehensive application in the field difficult.

The Quality White Paper standardizes measurement locations and units for major quality metrics—such as sugar content, acidity, firmness, color, and respiration rate—while visually charting quality changes according to storage temperatures, humidity levels, and gas conditions. It also compares the characteristics of various storage technologies, including conventional cold storage, Modified Atmosphere (MA) storage, 1-MCP (ethylene action inhibitor) technology, and Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage.

For each crop, the focus was placed on establishing practical quality assessment criteria tailored to actual distribution environments. For apples, representative measurement sites closely mirroring actual edible portions were selected to establish standard quality measurements. Furthermore, the system identifies the 5% and 8% weight loss thresholds—the points where marketability begins to decline depending on the storage technology—to aid decision-making for shipments.

For oriental melons, the guidelines account for variations in skin brightness and color based on the flowering cluster (fruiting order). By comparing browning and loss rates across storage temperatures of 4°C, 7°C, and 10°C alongside room temperature conditions, the white paper established 10°C as the optimal storage temperature to mitigate chilling injury.

For onions, the effects of post-harvest preliminary drying, known as curing, are visualized using metrics such as weight reduction rates, sprouting rates, and decay rates. According to the RDA, proper preliminary drying during 7 months of storage at 0°C can reduce weight loss by 54.3%, sprouting rates by 55.1%, and decay rates by up to 66.3%.

Such information is projected to bolster decision-making for Agricultural Product Processing Centers (APCs), individual farms, and distribution businesses when determining storage methods and shipment schedules. In particular, it is expected to serve as a foundational building block for expanding smart APCs, which digitize operations from inbound intake to outbound shipping by integrating robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI).

Following stability assessments during the pilot phase, the RDA plans to systematically expand the application from the current 3 crops to 11 crops.

"The Quality White Paper marks a crucial first step in transitioning post-harvest management from subjective experience to objective data," said Kim Dae-hyun, Director-General of the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science. "We will continue to expand field-centric quality information so that production and distribution sites can determine optimal shipping schedules based on reliable data."

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]