Improving cucumber quality and reducing food waste requires better detection of internal rot (Mycosphaerella) and prevention of softening. A value chain consortium will improve high-throughput, non-destructive sensor and phenotyping tools, linking pre- and post-harvest data. These innovations support breeding for firmness and resistance, ensuring fresher, longer-lasting cucumbers for consumers and reducing food waste.

The project objective is to develop phenotyping tools for quality assurance of cucumber. The phenotyping tools will assist in quality assurance for the detection of Mycosphaerella (UC1) and for assessment of weight loss and softening (UC2).
Ultimately, the impact will be reduced food loss from producer to retail and reduced food waste from retail to consumer, as the supply chain can implement these tools for breeding purposes, climate conditions and quality management.
Consequently, products that reach the consumer have improved quality characteristics.

Fresh fruits and vegetables fit in a diverse diet and must be fresh, tasty and nutritious at the moment of consumption. Society, and horticultural actors in particular, can benefit from reduction in food waste and loss and from a better quality of products when they reach the consumer. This can be achieved by an improved quality management along the total fresh value chain, and efficient breeding of high quality cultivars.

The overall project deliverables are the improved phenotyping tools for quality assurance, and data tools that enable
integration of elements of the value chain for fresh products, in particular sensor algorithms on pre- and post-harvest product quality developed, coupled and tested.