ACC as a ripening aid to concentrate ripening in blueberry
Pre-harvest application of 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylic acid (ACC) to blueberry cultivars to promote uniform ripening, reduce harvest frequency, and maintain fruit quality. Targets Georgia-grown southern highbush and rabbiteye blueberries to lower labor costs and improve profitability for growers.
Overview
Blueberry production in the U.S. and worldwide continues to grow, with Georgia alone reporting a farm gate value of over $304 million in 2020. A persistent challenge for growers is non-uniform fruit ripening, which requires multiple passes through the field during the growing season and drives up labor costs. Grower surveys indicate that 86% of respondents place high to moderate value on reducing harvest frequency, and many identify ripening aids as a way to enable earlier and more concentrated harvests.
This solution involves pre-harvest application of 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylic acid (ACC) to blueberry plants to stimulate ethylene production and concentrate ripening into a narrower window. By reducing the number of harvests needed, ACC application has the potential to lower production costs and improve profitability for blueberry growers, particularly in Georgia where cultivars such as Farthing (southern highbush) and Brightwell (rabbiteye) are widely planted and exhibit extended ripening periods.
Technical specifications
- Active ingredient: 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylic acid (ACC), a natural precursor to ethylene
- Application rates under evaluation: 150 ppm and 250 ppm, applied when 20–30% of fruit on the plant are ripe
- Surfactant systems tested: Latron and Regulaid, used to improve spray coverage and uptake
- Cultivators targeted: Southern highbush (e.g., Farthing) and rabbiteye (e.g., Brightwell) blueberries grown in Georgia
- Harvest concentration effect: In prior trials (2016–2020), ACC application allowed 11–36% of ripe fruit to be harvested in a single pass, depending on year and cultivar
- Fruit quality assessment: Metabolite analysis of sugars, acids, and anthocyanins to confirm that ACC does not negatively impact composition after harvest
- Post-harvest storage evaluation: Fruit quality monitored up to 10 days after application and compared against surfactant-only controls
Technology readiness level
The technology has been validated through multiple years of field trials (2016–2020) on southern highbush and rabbiteye blueberry cultivars, demonstrating consistent concentration of ripening with minimal effect on fruit quality. Preliminary grower field trials using Regulaid as a surfactant suggest that 150 ppm ACC can achieve results comparable to 250 ppm in rabbiteye cultivars. Additional trials are planned to refine application rates across Georgia-grown cultivars and to conduct more detailed metabolite profiling on archived samples. The solution is approaching commercial readiness pending final efficacy validation and grower-scale demonstration in target cultivars.
About University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a comprehensive public land‑grant research university serving a large student body across multiple campuses, known for applied scholarship and community partnership. Industry partners access core facilities and pilot‑scale capabilities—including the Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center—for prototyping, scale‑up, and product validation. A downtown Innovation District and a statewide Cooperative Extension network link campus expertise to companies across Georgia, while proximity to Atlanta’s corporate and logistics hubs lowers barriers to engagement. Research is supported by competitive federal funding from agencies such as NIH, NSF, USDA, and DOE. A dedicated technology transfer office provides IP services, licensing, startup support, and incubator space to accelerate commercialization.
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