Since yesterday, La Molina National Agrarian University (UNALM) is equipped with a modern post-harvest laboratory that was made possible with help from the private sector.

The goal of the lab is to carry out post-harvest studies to optimize the quality of the Hass avocado and to understand the behavior and biology of the fruit as well as the various producing areas in the country.

This research will support and improve the fruit's post-harvest export quality to different markets as Peru is currently the second largest exporter of Hass avocado worldwide.

The lab will also encourage students and teachers to get involved in the avocado industry.

En el acto estuvo presente el rector de esa universidad, Doctor  Américo Guevara, y el gerente general de ProHass, Arturo Medina

The president of UNALM, Doctor Américo Guevara and the general manager of ProHass, Arturo Medina were present at the opening event.

Medina emphasized the importance of the university-private company partnership in supporting academic research in the country, which will contribute vital knowledge for the development of the country's agricultural sector.

"[The laboratory] will allow us to anticipate problems that may affect our crops and business competitiveness," he said.

The lab will be researching the behavior of the fruit to learn the best protocols for handling, refrigeration, controlled atmosphere and gas concentrations, which may be different depending on the origin of the avocado.

Dr. Guevara said that the agreement signed with ProHass is the first to be signed with an agro-export association in the country and the research will improve the quality of the Peruvian Hass avocado.

"These cold rooms make the fruit last longer, quality if better preserved and it also makes it possible to fill commercial windows."

We all win, the student get research jobs and the company's products will be preserved at a better quality for a longer time," Dr. Guevara said.

The laboratory has two cold rooms that are 12 cubic meters and have an approximate capacity of 1.2 metric tons each.

The lab also has five cubicles per chamber with different controlled atmospheres whose capacity for each is approximately 200 kilograms of fruit.