UC Davis Short Course Like ‘Mini-Masters’ In Postharvest Technology

Do you want to learn more about the postharvest technology of horticulture crops in a fun, concise course?

If so, you’re in luck. Spots are still available for the 36th annual Postharvest Technology Short Course at UC Davis, June 16-27. Led by UC Cooperative Extension specialist Beth Mitcham, director of the Postharvest Technology Center at UC Davis, the two-week course presents the latest biology and technology for handling fruits, nuts, vegetables, and ornamentals.

“The course is like a ‘mini-masters’ in all things postharvest,” said Britta Hansen, regional centers of innovation specialist with the Horticulture Innovation Lab at UC Davis, who attended the course in 2013. “The expert faculty condense years of research and lessons into concise and entertaining lectures and demonstrations. I use the knowledge I gained almost every day, and I know as I grow in my career in international horticulture, this background will continue to serve me.”

The first week features lectures, discussions and hands-on laboratory sessions at UC Davis. Topics include safety, harvesting systems, cooling, storage, transportation, energy use, marketing, new technologies, and much more.

In the optional second week, participants tour packinghouses, distribution centers, field operations, and transportation facilities throughout California to see how the concepts they learned the first week operate in the real world.

“It’s a wonderful tour,” said Mohit Bansai, a food technologist with Earthbound Farms Organic, who participated in the field tour three years ago. “It’s great to see the best postharvest procedures in action.”

Cost for the first week is $1975, which includes all classroom instruction, lab activities, course materials, morning and afternoon coffee breaks, lunches Monday through Friday, and one barbeque dinner. Enrollment for both weeks is $2995, which includes all week-one activities, plus field tour transportation, and continental breakfasts Monday through Friday during the tour.

Enrollment is limited. For more information and to register, go to http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Education/PTShortCourse/

Media contacts:

• Diane Nelson, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 530-752-1969, denelson@ucdavis.edu
• Beth Mitcham, UC Davis Postharvest Technology Center, 530-752-7512, ejmitcham@ucdavis.edu
• Mary Reed, UC Davis Postharvest Technology Center, 530-752-6941, mereed@ucdavis.edu

Source: University of California, Davis