Fruits and other specialty crop products such as sweet potatoes are significant sources of nutraceuticals (e.g., phenolic compounds, antioxidant vitamins, and minerals) for human health. However, they are easily perishable products with a short shelf-life after harvesting. The spoilage of fresh fruits and produces reduces economic benefits to the food industry. Dr. Qinglin Wu and Dr David Picha from LSU AgCenter lead a team on developing biobased nanocoatings for postharvest fruit/sweetpotato preservation, supported by three USDA Specialty Crops Block Grants through LaDAF. The study shows that sprayable bio-based polysaccharide nanoparticle coatings can help maintain postharvest fruit quality. In particular, the use of lignocellulose nanofibers (LCNFs) and sodium alginate (SA) help formulate coating suspensions with suitable rheological properties for spraying coating. Effect of ionic and hydrogen interactions of LCNFs and SA on fruit surface form a dense and smooth barrier to preserve moisture, surface stiffness, firmness, and individual sugar contents of fruits during storage. On-going work deals with effect of nanocoating on postharvest sweetpotato root preservation, sprouting, and association of starch and French fry firmness.

• Effectiveness of cellulose and chitosan nanomaterial coatings with essential oil on postharvest strawberry quality

• Bio-based nanomaterial suspensions as sprayable coatings for maintaining blueberry postharvest quality