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Horticulture · Fruit quality · Quality

Sugar content

12.5° Brix

The soluble-sugar concentration of the fruit measured by refractometer, by line, against the minimum eating and export spec. It is the single best proxy for flavour — the trait that drives whether a consumer buys the fruit again.

Worked example · °Brix by line · higher better
Min spec 11° 12.8 12.2 12.5 12.9 Line 1 Line 2 Avg Line 3
°Brix by line · higher better
The benchmark

Soluble sugar (°Brix) underpins eating quality and repeat purchase; many markets and export protocols set a minimum Brix, and premium programs reward fruit comfortably above it.

APAL — Maturity Testing ↗
What it signals

Brix below spec means fruit that looks the part but eats flat, risking market rejection and lost repeat sales. Watching it by line lets you hold back under-ripe fruit and target the premium and export programs that pay for flavour.

Data required to calculate
°Brix by line°BrixFirmness and starchindexTonnes per linet

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Pick to maturity and Brix targets, not just size and colour.

02

Manage crop load and canopy light so every fruit ripens fully.

03

Segregate lines by Brix to meet premium and export specs.

Questions & answers

What is sugar content?

The soluble-sugar concentration of the fruit measured by refractometer, by line, against the minimum eating and export spec. It is the single best proxy for flavour — the trait that drives whether a consumer buys the fruit again.

What data do you need to calculate sugar content?

You need: °Brix by line (°Brix), Firmness and starch (index), Tonnes per line (t). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good sugar content benchmark?

Soluble sugar (°Brix) underpins eating quality and repeat purchase; many markets and export protocols set a minimum Brix, and premium programs reward fruit comfortably above it.

How do you improve sugar content?

Pick to maturity and Brix targets, not just size and colour. Manage crop load and canopy light so every fruit ripens fully. Segregate lines by Brix to meet premium and export specs.

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