Proper farming, transportation, and storage processes of Hass avocado are important owing to its recent increase in production, export, and economic activity in Colombia. Since Hass avocado pricing and utility depend on its consumption ripeness, related to changes in skin color, sensory properties, texture, and nutritional value, developing an Android mobile application, namely iHass for smartphones and tablets, which estimates the number of days in which the Hass avocado reaches its optimal ripening level during post-harvest storage, contributes toward improving the fruit quality and decreasing the export costs and losses. This study aims to monitor the ripening processes of Hass avocados in complex backgrounds and indoor environments using various digital image processing techniques. The proposed study uses the red, green, and blue color model based on the physical and chemical changes that are observed during the ripening process. Herein, the color, shape, and texture characteristics of the fruits are obtained, and the fruits are classified using an artificial neural network, which features three layers, four input parameters, six hidden neurons, and four output parameters. Furthermore, ripeness was monitored in two crops, which provided 65 samples each. The results provided a ripeness estimate accuracy of 88% and a regression value of 0.819 during the post-harvest period.

Andean blackberry is cultivated in Colombia due to its national and international commercial importance, in addition to its flavour and high nutritional value. Due to its physicochemical, morphological, and physiological characteristics, it constitutes one of the most unstable fruits in the Colombian fruit and vegetable supply chain, thereby generating economic losses. In this study, a polymer-based coating of Aloe vera and essential oil was designed, and its influence on the shelf life of Andean blackberry stored at 4 °C was studied. Once the appropriate composition was established according to the experimental design, Andean blackberries’ physicochemical parameters, the content of total phenols, and antioxidant activity were monitored over 19 days. The total soluble solids present a change between 5.2 and 5.6° Brix and 5.2 and 7.2° Brix for coated and uncoated fruits between 1 and 19 days, respectively. The coated fruits presented a lower loss compared to the uncoated fruits and the total phenol content presented a higher concentration on day 19 in the coated fruits (412.71 ± 37.5 mg Gallic Acid Equivalents L⁻¹ sample). The coating enabled an increase in the shelf life of the blackberries, from 4 to 19 days, while preserving the physicochemical properties of the fruits. Therefore, the application of coating as a method for the post-harvest preservation of Andean blackberries represents a low-cost, easily available strategy.

This document analyzed research and development trends related to chemical, biological and economical biopesticides based on plant extracts, with emphasis on the Annonaceae family. A systematic review of the literature between 1947 and 2018 was done with an advance search equation in a specialized data base. This paper contains the development of plant bio pesticides, their modes of action, the more prominent families according to their bioactivity and the secondary metabolites that exert control over pests that are significant in agriculture and public health. The dynamics of publications, at the national and international levels, were identified, along with the countries that lead research, patents assigned in the last 20 years, market trends and bio pesticide regulation. The reviewed research is relevant to bioprospecting plant extracts with potential insecticidal activity and to the subsequent development of biocides using botanical extracts; the Annonaceae family is promising.

The study of qualitative chemical analysis for students of chemistry is addressed by means of lectures as well as experimental work in the lab. However, the number of lab tests to be performed is very large and with many experimental steps. Taking advantage of the easy access to mobile devices on the part of the students, it was proposed that through a mobile application it would be easier for them to track an analytical march of cations interactively and in a guided way. The use of the application in the lectures stimulated not only collaborative work but also the use of mobile technologies for learning basic sciences. In the laboratory, this technology reduced the average time of practices and contributed to an important reduction in reagent losses in the assays and to improve the number of hits regarding problem samples.

This research aimed at performing the molecular characterization of commercial Papelillo avocado (Persea americana cv Lorena) cultivars from the municipality of Marsella (Risaralda, Colombia), as well as the physicochemical analysis and antioxidant activity assessment of the pulp and seed. An evaluation of 50 individuals among commercial varieties and possible patterns was performed using 17 microsatellite markers. Proximate analysis of the pulp was performed, and the fatty acid profile of oils, the antioxidant activity by the DPPH and FRAP methods, and the total phenolic content were evaluated. From the cluster analysis, Dice index, and Principal Coordinates Analysis, it became evident that all the individuals showed a tendency to group by populations. In addition, the pulp revealed high fiber contents (4.96–20.64%) and moisture (80.75–82.96%); however, it showed low oil content (5.97–6.56%). The fatty acid found in the highest proportion in seed oil is linoleic acid and that in pulp oil is oleic acid. The antioxidant activity by the DPPH method for seed oil (87.87 to 91.04%) presented a greater inhibition concerning to the pulp oil (20.34% and 24.43%), this same trend was observed by the FRAP method. Concerning the content of total phenols, the seed oil (31.94–76.30 mg GAE g-1) has a higher value than the pulp (30.18–54.30 mg GAE g-1). The set of samples was characterized as a significant source of genetic variability; thanks to the excellent alternatives they provide as rootstocks for commercial varieties such as the ‘Lorena’ cultivars. The chemical classification carried out in this study is of great importance, due to the lack of information about the oil of the ‘Papelillo’ avocado cultivated in different regions of Colombia.