Post Harvest Handling of Fruit Crops
Shubham Jain *
Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Aachary Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya -224229, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Saransh Saxena
Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, JNKVV, Jabalpur, India.
Varsha Minz
Department of Fruit Science, IGKV, Raipur, India.
Swosti Debapriya Behera
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, GIETU, Odisha, India.
Korani Harini
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU, Varanasi, India.
Shivani
Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, CCSHAU, Hisar, India.
Satyam Mishra
Department of Horticulture, SHUATS, Prayagraj, India.
Nivedita Nidhi
Department of Horticulture, SHUATS, Prayagraj, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Fruits are classified as perishable agricultural commodities. When fruits are harvested prematurely or when they are overripe, their storage life is shortened and their quality deteriorates. Therefore, it is important to harvest fruits at the appropriate stage of maturity in order to ensure good quality and better storage. Nevertheless, the inadequate implementation of proper handling techniques for agricultural produce has led to a significant occurrence of post-harvest losses, resulting in the wastage of valuable resources such as time and financial investments. The lack of appropriate handling procedures and chemical treatment methods are leading to significant losses in commodities. Therefore, it can be deduced that producers are currently experiencing significant economic detriment as a result of inadequate handling techniques, insufficient understanding of the underlying factors contributing to postharvest loss, and a dearth of effective preservation methodologies. However, the mitigation of loss can be achieved through the implementation of appropriate management and handling procedures. This review focuses on various aspects of post-harvest handling methods for preservation of fruits for longer time for processing and value addition.
Keywords: Post-harvest, handling, fruits, storage, packaging, shelf-life