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In agriculture, postharvest handling is the stage of crop production immediately following harvest, including cooling, cleaning, sorting and packing. The instant a crop is removed from the ground, or separated from its parent plant, it begins to deteriorate. Postharvest treatment largely determines final quality, whether a crop is sold for fresh consumption, or used as an ingredient in a processed food product.
The most important goals of post-harvest handling are keeping the product cool, to avoid moisture loss and slow down undesirable chemical changes, and avoiding physical damage such as bruising, to delay spoilage. [1] Sanitation is also an important factor, to reduce the possibility of pathogens that could be carried by fresh produce, for example, as residue from contaminated washing water.
After the field, post-harvest processing is usually continued in a packing house. This can be a simple shed, providing shade and running water, or a large-scale, sophisticated, mechanised facility, with conveyor belts, automated sorting and packing stations, walk-in coolers and the like. In mechanised harvesting, processing may also begin as part of the actual harvest process, with initial cleaning and sorting performed by the harvesting machinery.
Initial post-harvest storage conditions are critical to maintaining quality. Each crop has an optimum range of storage temperature and humidity. Also, certain crops cannot be effectively stored together, as unwanted chemical interactions can result. Various methods of high-speed cooling, and sophisticated refrigerated and atmosphere-controlled environments, are employed to prolong freshness, particularly in large-scale operations.
Once harvested, vegetables and fruits are subject to the active process of degradation. Numerous biochemical processes continuously change the original composition of the crop until it becomes unmarketable. The period during which consumption is considered acceptable is defined as the time of "postharvest shelf life".[ citation needed ]
Postharvest shelf life is typically determined by objective methods that determine the overall appearance, taste, flavor, and texture of the commodity. These methods usually include a combination of sensorial, biochemical, mechanical, and colorimetric (optical) measurements. A recent study attempted (and failed) to discover a biochemical marker and fingerprint methods as indices for freshness.[ citation needed ]
Postharvest physiology is the scientific study of the plant physiology of living plant tissues after picking. It has direct applications to postharvest handling in establishing the storage and transport conditions that best prolong shelf life.
An example of the importance of the field to post-harvest handling is the discovery that ripening of fruit can be delayed, and thus their storage prolonged, by preventing fruit tissue respiration. This insight allowed scientists to bring to bear their knowledge of the fundamental principles and mechanisms of respiration, leading to post-harvest storage techniques such as cold storage, gaseous storage, and waxy skin coatings.[ citation needed ]
Food preservation includes food processing practices which prevent the growth of microorganisms, such as yeasts, and slow the oxidation of fats that cause rancidity. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit visual deterioration, such as the enzymatic browning reaction in apples after they are cut during food preparation. By preserving food, food waste can be reduced, which is an important way to decrease production costs and increase the efficiency of food systems, improve food security and nutrition and contribute towards environmental sustainability. For instance, it can reduce the environmental impact of food production.
Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the fruit seem tarter. This effect is attributed to the Brix-Acid Ratio. Climacteric fruits ripen after harvesting and so some fruits for market are picked green.
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-intensive activity of the growing season. On large mechanized farms, harvesting uses the most expensive and sophisticated farm machinery, such as the combine harvester. Process automation has increased the efficiency of both the seeding and harvesting processes. Specialized harvesting equipment utilizing conveyor belts to mimic gentle gripping and mass-transport replaces the manual task of removing each seedling by hand. The term "harvesting" in general usage may include immediate postharvest handling, including cleaning, sorting, packing, and cooling.
A controlled atmosphere is an agricultural storage method in which the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as the temperature and humidity of a storage room are regulated. Both dry commodities and fresh fruit and vegetables can be stored in controlled atmospheres.
SmartFresh is a brand of a synthetic produce quality enhancer containing 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). It is marketed by AgroFresh Solutions, Inc., a publicly held (NASDAQ:AGFS) U.S. company with global operations. SmartFresh technology halts the fruits and vegetables' natural ripening process to prolong freshness.
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds. An alternative definition of the term is applied somewhat arbitrarily, often by culinary and cultural tradition. It may exclude foods derived from some plants that are fruits, flowers, nuts, and cereal grains, but include savoury fruits such as tomatoes and courgettes, flowers such as broccoli, and seeds such as pulses.
Eugenia stipitata is a fruit tree native to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.
Jute mallow or nalta jute is a species of shrub in the family Malvaceae. Together with C. capsularis it is the primary source of jute fiber. The leaves and young fruits are used as a vegetable, the dried leaves are used for tea and as a soup thickener, and the seeds are edible.
Penicillium expansum is a psychrophilic blue mold that is common throughout the world in soil. It causes Blue Mold of apples, one of the most prevalent and economically damaging post-harvest diseases of apples.
The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in practice it is extended to cover any aquatic organisms harvested for commercial purposes, whether caught in wild fisheries or harvested from aquaculture or fish farming.
Rhizopus soft rot is a disease of the sweet potato. It is one of the most common to affect the sweet potato, happening during packing and shipping. The disease causes a watery soft rot of the internal portion of the storage root. Strategies to manage the disease include the development of resistant varieties, curing through the use of heat and humidity, and application of decay control products.
Modified atmosphere/modified humidity (MA/MH) packaging is a technology used to preserve the quality of fresh produce so that it can be sold to markets far away from where it is grown, extend the marketing period, and to help suppliers reduce food waste within the cold chain. Commercial examples of MA/MH include sea freight of Galia and cantaloupe melons from Central and South America to Europe and North America ; transport of white asparagus from fields in Peru to markets in Western Europe ; and trucking of cherries from orchards in Turkey to supermarkets in the UK.
Post-harvest losses of vegetables and fruit occur at all points in the value chain from production in the field to the food being placed on a plate for consumption. Post-harvest activities include harvesting, handling, storage, processing, packaging, transportation and marketing.
Grains may be lost in the pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest stages. Pre-harvest losses occur before the process of harvesting begins, and may be due to insects, weeds, and rusts. Harvest losses occur between the beginning and completion of harvesting, and are primarily caused by losses due to shattering. Post-harvest losses occur between harvest and the moment of human consumption. They include on-farm losses, such as when grain is threshed, winnowed, and dried. Other on-farm losses include inadequate harvesting time, climatic conditions, practices applied at harvest and handling, and challenges in marketing produce. Significant losses are caused by inadequate storage conditions as well as decisions made at earlier stages of the supply chain, including transportation, storage, and processing, which predispose products to a shorter shelf life.
A lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) is a chemical compound derived from a phosphatidylethanolamine, which is typical of cell membranes. LPE results from partial hydrolysis of phosphatidylethanolamine, which removes one of the fatty acid groups. The hydrolysis is generally the result of the enzymatic action of phospholipase A2. LPE can be used in agricultural use to regulate plant growth such as color increase, sugar content increase, plant health increase, and storability increase without side effect.
Fruit waxing is the process of covering fruits with artificial waxing material. Natural wax is removed first, usually by washing, followed by a coating of a biological or petroleum derived wax. Potentially allergenic proteins may be combined with shellac.
The sweet potato is a very important crop for subsistence farmers in Africa and other developing countries. Its relatively short growing period, tolerance to drought and high yield from poor soils lead to its use as a famine reserve for many of these households. However, it is a highly perishable food source that is susceptible to destruction by microorganisms, metabolic spoilage, physical destruction and pests. Therefore, it is not generally stored for long after harvest. This is a major barrier for the optimal use of the crop and causes much waste.
The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) is an autonomous organization acting as a nodal agency for basic, strategic, anticipatory and applied research on various aspects of horticulture such as fruits, vegetable, ornamental, medicinal and aromatic plants and mushrooms in India. The institute has its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India and is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture, India.
The horticulture industry embraces the production, processing and shipping of and the market for fruits and vegetables. As such it is a sector of agribusiness and industrialized agriculture. Industrialized horticulture sometimes also includes the floriculture industry and production and trade of ornamental plants.
Curing is a technique for preservation of vegetable material. It involves storing the material in a prescribed condition immediately after harvest.
