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Dr. Jeffrey K. Brecht

Research Foundation Professor

Mailing Address:
Fifield Hall
2550 Hull Road
PO Box 110690
Gainesville, Florida 32611

Office: 1217 Fifield Hall
Phone: (352) 273-4778
Fax : (352) 392-5653
E-mail: jkbrecht@ufl.edu

  • Areas of Research
    • Postharvest Physiology
  • Teaching Responsibilities
    • HOS 4332C (Principles of Postharvest Horticulture)
    • HOS 5085C (Principles of Postharvest Horticulture)
    • HOS 6331 (Postharvest Biology)
  • Educational Background
    • Ph.D., University of California, Davis, CA (1984)
    • B.S., Whittier College, Whittier, CA (1979)
  • Extension Program
    • Demonstrating the effects of postharvest procedures on maintenance of product quality
    • Extension of postharvest information through presentations at extension and industry meetings
  • Work Experience
    • University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, Postharvest Physiology and Horticulture, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida (2002-05 and 2008-11)
    • Professor, Postharvest Physiology and Horticulture, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida (1995 to present)
    • Associate Professor, Postharvest Physiology and Horticulture, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida (1989 to 1995)
    • Assistant Professor, Postharvest Physiology and Horticulture, Vegetable Crops Department, University of Florida (1984 to 1989)
  • International Experience
    • Invited keynote speaker at conferences in Brazil (2019), China (2014, 2019), Italy (2019), Mexico (2019)
    • Visiting Professor, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China (2016)
    • National Mango Board – August 2013-May 2017. Managing a multi-institution, multi-country project to determine the cause of the fruit disorder, corte negro, in collaboration with the mango exporters associations, FME (Ecuador) and APEM (Peru).
    • USAID Hort CRSP – July 2013-August 2014. Developing postharvest outreach and education materials for fruit & vegetable producers in Central America that target audiences at different levels of knowledge from subsistence to commercial producers and college students.
    • National Mango Board Outreach Programs in Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Mexico, and Peru; 2011-19.
  • Honors and Awards
    • Honorary Member of the Florida State Horticultural Society, 2014
    • University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, 2008 (previously named in 2002)
    • Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 2006.
    • Outstanding Extension Materials Award, Video Category, ASHS, 2006, for "Worker Health and Hygiene Training Manual for Florida Produce Industry."
  • Program Personnel
    • Moshe Doron, Senior Biologist
    • Craig Frey, Doctor of Plant Medicine Graduate Student
    • Faisal Shahzad, Ph.D. Graduate Student
    • Lan-yen Chang, Ph.D. Graduate Student
    • Tian Gong, Ph.D. Graduate Student

Selected Publications

(See also: Google Scholar)

AuthorsYearTitle / DescriptionPublication
Loayza, F.E., J.K. Brecht, A.H. Simonne, A. Plotto, E.A. Baldwin, J. Bai, E. Lon-Kan 2020 Enhancement of the antioxidant capacity of ripe tomatoes by the application of a hot water treatment at the mature-green stage. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 161, 111054. DOI: 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2019.111054
Rubio Ames, Z., J.K. Brecht, and M.A. Olmstead 2020 Nitrogen fertilization rates in a subtropical peach orchard: Effects on tree vigor and fruit quality. J. Sci. Food Agric. 100:527-539. DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.10031
Mercier, S., J.K. Brecht, and I. Uysal 2019 Commercial forced-air precooling of strawberries: a temperature distribution and correlation study. J. Food Eng. 242:47-54.
Wang, L., E.A. Baldwin, W. Luo, W. Zhao, J. Brecht, and J. Bai. 2019 Key tomato volatile compounds during postharvest ripening in response to chilling and pre-chilling heat treatments. Postharv. Biol. Technol. 154:11-20.
Boz, Z., B.A. Welt, J.K. Brecht, W. Pelletier, E. McLamore, G.A. Kiker, and J.E. Butler 2018 Review of challenges and advances in modification of food package headspace gases. J. Applied Packaging Res. 10:62-97.
Chowdhury, M.G.F, J.K. Brecht, M.A. Ritenour, and C.A. Sims 2018 Improving postharvest quality retention of oranges during ambient storage using hot water immersion and fruit coating: the role of internal modified atmosphere. Acta Hort. 1194: 313-320 (VIII Intl. Postharvest Symp.)
A.I. Deltsidis, C.A. Sims, and J.K. Brecht 2018 Ripening recovery and sensory quality of pink tomatoes stored in controlled atmosphere at chilling or non-chilling temperatures to extend shelf life. HortScience 53:1186-1190  
Pelletier, W., K.V. Chau, R.A. Bucklin, J.K. Brecht, D.W. Hahn, and J.-P. Émond 2018 Analysis of air cargo temperature variations during transport operations. Trans. ASABE 61:723-732.
Liu, Q., X. Zhao, J.K. Brecht, C.A. Sims, T. Sanchez, and N.S. Dufault 2017 Fruit quality of seedless watermelon grafted onto squash rootstocks under different production systems. J. Sci. Food Agric. 97:4704-4711.
Brecht, J.K., M.C.N. Nunes, J.P. Émond, I. Uysal, J. Wells, and J. Saenz 2016 Reducing strawberry waste and losses in the postharvest supply chain via intelligent distribution management. Acta Hort. 1120:253-259 (XXIX Intl. Horticultural Congress)
Tsouvaltzis, P. and J.K. Brecht 2016 Inhibition of enzymatic browning of fresh-cut potato by immersion in citric acid is not solely due to pH reduction of the solution. J. Food Proc. Pres. 41(2), DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.12829.
Osuna-Garcia, J.A., J.K. Brecht, D.J. Huber, and Y. Nolasco-Gonzalez 2015 Aqueous 1-methylcyclopropene to delay ripening of ‘Kent’ mango with or without quarantine hot water treatment. HortScience 25:349-357.
Pliakoni, E.D., A.I. Deltsidis, and J.K. Brecht 2015 Physical and biochemical changes in broccoli that may assist in decision-making related to international marine transport in air or CA/MA. Acta Hort. 1071:651-657 (XI Intl. Controlled and Modified Atm. Res. Conf.)
Wang, L., E.A. Baldwin, W. Zhao, A. Plotto, X. Sun, Z. Wang, J. Brecht, J. Bai, and Z. Yu 2015 Suppression of volatile production in tomato fruit exposed to chilling temperature and alleviation of chilling injury by a pre-chilling heat treatment. LWT-Food Science and Technology 62:115-121.
Dea, S., J.K. Brecht, M.C.N. Nunes, and E.A. Baldwin 2013 Optimal ripeness stage for processing mangoes into fresh-cut slices. HortTechnology 23:12-23.