BACKGROUND The postharvest quality and shelf life of spinach are greatly influenced by cultural practices. Reduced spinach shelf life is a common quandary in the Salinas Valley, California, where current agronomic practices depend on high nitrogen (N) rates. This study aimed to describe the postharvest fracture properties of spinach leaves in relation to N fertilization, leaf age and spinach cu...

Accumulation of beta-carotene during postharvest ripening of nine Thai mango cultivars was assessed after verifying extraction and high-performance liquid chromatographic quantification of the beta-carotene stereoisomers for this sample matrix. No relevant trans-cis isomerization was induced by the analytical procedure. The vitamin A potential of mangoes was evaluated at different ripening stag...

Several postharvest diseases of table grapes (Vitis vinifera) occur during storage, and gray mold rot is a particularly severe disease because the causal agent, Botrytis cinerea, grows at temperatures as low as 0℃. Other postharvest diseases, such as those caused by Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp., also often lead to deterioration in the quality of table grapes after harvest. The use of p...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of foliar application of boron and calcium on postharvest storage characteristics of Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) fruit. This experiment was carried out in the experimental orchard of Asian pear at Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. The treatments were two concentrations of boric acid (0% and 0.5%) and three concentrations of calcium chlo...

The fresh produce industry is constantly growing, due to increasing consumer demand. The shelf-life of some fruit, however, is relatively short, limited by microbial contamination or visual, textural and nutritional quality loss. Thus, techniques for reducing undesired microbial contamination, spoilage and decay, as well as maintaining product’s visual, textural and nutritional quality are in h...

The antioxidant capacity, total anthocyanins, total phenolics, volatile compounds, and postharvest quality of strawberry fruit were evaluated after treatment with natural antimicrobial compounds and during storage at 7.5 ◦C. Strawberries treated with methyl jasmonate (MJ) in conjunction with ethanol (MJ-ETOH) showed higher antioxidant capacity, total phenolics, and anthocyanins than those treat...

During the last decade there has been a continuous rise in consumption of fresh easy-to-peel mandarins. However, mandarins are much more perishable than other citrus fruit, mainly due to rapid deterioration in sensory acceptability after harvest. In the current review we discuss the biochemical components involved in forming the unique flavor of mandarins, and how postharvest storage operations...

Peony (Paeonia spp.) is one of the most popular garden plants in temperate regions. They were introduced into cultivation in China hundreds of years ago, and have since been spread widely to many countries. According to morphological traits and life form, the genus is divided into tree and herbaceous peonies. Numerous cultivars of herbaceous peonies have been developed to satisfy demand for col...

Banana Crown Rot Postharvest Disease Banana is one of the most important tropical crops and is affected by several fungal diseases, such as crown rot postharvest disease [1]. Crown rot is responsible for significant losses in banana fruits [1, 2]. Predominantly, Colletotrichum musae and Fusarium spp. are its causative agents [1, 2]. Inoculum sources include mainly infected flowers but also deca...

Economic losses caused by postharvest diseases represent one of the main problems of the citrus industry worldwide. The major diseases affecting citrus are the "green mold" and "blue mold", caused by Penicillium digitatum and P. italicum, respectively. To control them, synthetic fungicides are the most commonly used method. However, often the emergence of resistant strains occurs and their use ...