The annual 2-day Fresh Agro-Mashov International Agriculture Exhibition in Tel Aviv, one of the biggest int’l expos of its kind in the world, is featuring new produce varieties and an innovative photo-based mobile app that gauges the freshness of fruits & veggies.

By Danielle Roth-Avneri

Israel is slated to host the 2017 Fresh Agro-Mashov International Agriculture Exhibition this week, one of the biggest international expos of its kind in the world.

The AclaroMeter mobile application analyzes the quality and freshness of produce based on photos – Photo: Courtesy of AclarTech

The two-day convention, which will be held on June 27-28 at the Tel Aviv Convention Center, was organized by the Mashov Company, a 26-year veteran in organizing international exhibitions focused on agriculture, gardening and water, infrastructure and environmental technology.

The exhibition will include professional panels and booths where dozens of new and innovative produce varieties would be introduced to thousands of visitors.

Once available to the general public, the colorful array of new fruits and vegetables promises that this coming summer will be delicious.

The new La Jolla watermelon is expected to be one of the main attractions in the expo. Averaging 6 kilograms (13 pounds), La Jolla is the medium-sized “brother” of the Maxima watermelon, which averages on 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and Anna, which comes in just under 5 kilograms (11 pounds).

The seeds for all three are produced by Origene Seeds, which focuses on research, plant breeding, seed production and processing of hybrid produce varieties.

Origene will also introduce a new melon variety named Tal Raanan, which has a particularly long shelf life. This melon is particularly popular in the United States due to its sweetness.

Hazera seed company will also introduce a new variety of extra-sweet melons called Angel, which the company says contains about 90% water and is a particularly rich source of minerals.

The Zeraim Gedera seed company will introduce its new Shalhevet (flame) tomatoes, named for the changing shades of red and orange between fruits on the vine. This variety of tomatoes can be grown all year long.

Shalhevet’s competition in the expo comes from Dora, a plum tomato developed by Hazera; Seminis Vegetable Seeds’ Eshkol tomato, which will be making its international debut; and Machteshim Adama’s Zohara tomato, a variety high in lycopene antioxidants, also making its debut.

On the cucumber front, Hazera will debut Aromato, a Japanese cucumber variety with a firm, smooth texture.

Adventurous visitors to this week’s exhibition would also have the chance to spice things up with some of the world’s hottest pepper varieties grown in Israel, including the local version of the Trinidad Scorpion chili pepper.

Packing up to 1 million Scoville heat units, the Trinidad Scorpion is three to 10 times as hot as the popular Habanero pepper, which ranges from 100,000 to 350,000 SHU.

The 2017 Fresh Agro-Mashov will also feature several consumer-oriented technological innovations, including the AclaroMeter mobile application, which can analyze the quality and freshness of produce based on its photo.

“We believe in Israeli agriculture and want to empower it,” exhibition director Haim Alush told Israel Hayom.

View original Israel Hayom publication at:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=43381