
This new technology was developed and patented in Canada in 2001 by a research team led by Dr. Robert Prange and Dr. John DeLong. Further research evaluation was conducted internationally, especially by Dr. Angelo Zanella of the Agricultural Research Institute Laimburg Italy which led to commercialisation in the U.S.A and Italy in 2003-2004.
The technology detects stress, e.g., low oxygen, by continuously monitoring changes in the chlorophyll fluorescence of the stored product. The major application of HarvestWatch technology is in dynamic controlled atmosphere-chlorophyll fluorescence (DCA-CF) storage of fruits and vegetables.
By the end of 2015, close to 1/2 million tonnes of apples and pears were being stored in >1680 DCA-CF rooms in >15 countries worldwide.