This presentation focuses primarily on recent developments in new technologies that have impacts on decay control. These technologies include 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and new preand postharvest fungicides. With the increasing use of 1-MCP in the apple industry, depending on varieties, many apples do not have to be drenched with diphenylamine (DPA) prior to storage. Because use of 1-MCP has ...

Considerable economic losses to harvested fruits are caused by postharvest fungal decay during transportation and storage, which can be significantly controlled by synthetic fungicides. However, considering public concern over pesticide residues in food and the environment, there is a need for safer alternatives for the control of postharvest decay to substitute synthetic fungicides. As the sec...

The modular design of plants enables individual plant organs to manifest autonomous functions and continue aspects of metabolism, such as respiration, even after separation from the parent plant. Therefore, we hypothesized that harvested vegetables and fruits may retain capacity to perceive and respond to external stimuli. For example, the fitness advantage of plant circadian clock function is ...

For three Asiatic hybrid lily cultivars (‘Bright Beauty’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Orlito’) the potential postharvest performance of floral buds in terms of growth, anthesis and longevity was studied in relation to tepal carbohydrate status. To determine the importance of carbohydrate redistribution within lily inflorescences, the postharvest performance of several attached and detached buds was compared at...

Certain nematicidal treatments for the control of root knot of tobacco in six field experiments in North Carolina were used to determine early, midseason, and postharvest densities of eggs and larvae of Meloidogyne spp., postharvest root-knot indices, and crop yield and value. Various statistical correlations showed that population densities determined 6-8 wk after transplanting were more indic...

The use of chemicals in postharvest technology of horticultural crops is highly restricted and it is necessary to introduce safe food preserving methods. Strawberry is very susceptible to postharvest losses and more than 50% of harvested fruit is lost in Iran. Effect of postharvest treatment with methyl jasmonate (at 0, 8, and 16 μmol L(-1)) on some quality attributes of Sabrosa strawberry frui...

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) plays a key role in the postharvest pericarp browning of litchi fruit, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we cloned the litchi PPO gene (LcPPO, JF926153), and described its expression patterns. The LcPPO cDNA sequence was 2120 bps in length with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1800 bps. The ORF encoded a polypeptide with 599 amino acid residues,...

The past twenty years has seen the field of postharvest biocontrol evolve into a sophisticated science with global research programs worldwide, numerous yearly publications, patented technologies, and the development of new commercial products. The use of these products, however, still remains limited. The practical application of postharvest biocontrol has changed from a very classical view of...

Preand postharvest contamination of aflatoxin in maize is a major health deterrent for people in Africa where maize production has increased dramatically. This chapter highlights management options for preand postharvest toxin contamination in maize. Sound crop management practices are an effective way of avoiding, or at least diminishing, infection by Aspergillus jlavus and subsequent aflatoxi...

Many authors have noted that consumer confidence in buying fresh flowers is strongly related to their perceived value in that quality and vase life must be high and consistent over time for consumers to repeat buy. Growers, wholesalers, exporters and retailers seek practical information about recommended handling and treatments at the harvest and postharvest stages, including that relating to f...