Basic Harvest and Post-harvest Handling Considerations for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Concepts of post harvest physiology and produce storage. Types of produce fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains, spices, roots, tubers, ornamentals, etc. Effect of environment such as climate, soil, pests and diseases on crop growth, maturity indices. Pre-harvest cultural management such as nutrient appropriateness, adequacy of control of pests and diseases, timeliness of farm operation including weeding, harvesting and evacuation of produce from the farm. Post harvest management such as cooling, sorting, grading, appropriate handling, transportation of produce in different containers. Controlled storage of produce. Shell-life of various types of produce. Physical and chemical indices of quality in fruits, seeds, vegetables, flowers and other crop produce. Modern and traditional methods of vegetable processing and storage. Fundamentals and principles of crop storage and transportation. Storage and shelllife problems; ideal atmosphere for storing fruits, seeds, vegetables, flowers and other crop produce. Controlled environment for transit and long term storage; protective treatment, design and operation of equipment for storage and preservation. Post harvest losses and prevention, economic, quantitative, qualitative, nutritional and germination.