AGC 5712

Postharvest physiology and technology of horticultural

crops

Lecture 1: Overview of postharvest losses in horticultural products

Ms K Banda
 Horticultural products are diverse
Non-crops Food
Fruits Vitamins (A, C),
Agronomic crops
Plants minerals,
dietary fibre,
crops
amino acids,
Vegetables
medicinal
Horticultural crops value

Ornamentals Aesthetics
Art
Culture
Classification of Horticultural products
Taxonomic Geographical origin Growing season life cycle Propagation Plant part used

Ontogeny Temperate Cool season Annual Seed Root

Anatomy Subtropical Warm season Biennual Cuttings Stem

Morphology Tropical Perennial Leaves

Flower
Postharvest life- Why bother?
Harvested horticultural products- living but perishable

• Photosynthesis??
• Active metabolism- respiration
Loss can’t be stopped only
• High moisture content slowed down
• Microbial decay
• Physical injury
• Transpiration
• senescence
Nature of losses
Quantitative Qualitative
• Reduction in weight Change in sensory quality and
• Spillage organoleptic attributes
• Weight loss • Reduced visual appeal-
• Discarded produce (decay) shrivelling, loss of color
• Texture - mealiness
• Taste and flavour
• Nutritional losses

How does the nature/ type of loss affect ability to estimate

magnitude of postharvest losses?
Postharvest value chain-what are possible loss points?

Local market
Retailer
/farm gate

Farmer Wholesale
(e.g Tomato) Market Consumer

Broker/ Restaurants
Middleman

Loss estimates ?? 20-40% Developed countries

(horticulture) 50% Developing countries
 Cost of postharvest losses
• Food security
• Economic returns (farmer/ sector)- women
• Production efficiency- water, plant nutrients, labour
• cultivation of certain products- restricts diet diversification
• Commercialization of certain products restricted
• Environment
Pollution/waste management/ sanitation
Green house gas emissions
 Course overview (Our approach)

Storage/ Transportation/Shelf
Harvested Consumer
produce
Respiration (Assignment/Quiz)
Maturity Compositional changes
(Lab exercise) Transpiration Biological causes of loss
Growth and development
Physiological disorders
Pathological disorders

Phytohormones
Temperature Atmospheric Light Environmental causes
Ethylene RH
composition of loss

Case studies (Student Pre-storage treatments, Packhouse operations, Quality control

Presentations, 2 guest speakers) preservation and processing (Field trip) (Guest speaker)
Preharvest factors affecting postharvest life (Discuss)

• Genetic factors (cultivars/variety)

• Environmental factors
• Irrigation
• Preharvest infections
• Insects
• Chemicals
• Cultural practices and mineral nutrition
 Maturation and harvest maturity
• Harvesting: first step of postharvest life
• Harvest maturity affects Postharvest life + final quality (Appearance, texture, taste, flavor
and nutritional)
• Maturation-fully developed (achieved when fruit is on tree or after harvest)
(Cai et al., 2022)
• Maturation stages
• Immature

• Mature Determines quality and

nutrient status
• Fully mature Fully mature Near mature immature

• Over mature
> Flavonoid, phenolic,
> Anthocyanin
antioxidant activity
< Flavonoid, phenolic,
< Quality, size, yield
antioxidant activity
Maturity stage where storability + quality are optimized
 Maturity effect on postharvest life vs effect on quality
• Ripening- fruit reaches
maximum edible quality
• Ripening-early stage of
senescence (softening, color
changes, sweetening, flavor)
• As fruit ripens (achieve
maximum edible quality)
storability declines

• Determine correct maturity

(Watkins and Nock, 2012)
stage that can be ripened
after harvest
Stages of maturity
Horticultural maturity/ commercial
maturity
Stage of development in which a fruit or
vegetable possess the pre-requisites for
use by consumers
Physiological maturity
Stage of development where a fruit or
vegetable can continue with
development process even after being
detached from the parent plant

Stage of maturity determines storage life

& final quality of product

(Watkins and Nock, 2012)

 Maturity indices
Based on biochemical changes during maturation and ripening
• Breakdown of CHO’s resulting in sugar accumulation (sweetness)

• Color changes- chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanins

• Flesh softening-Cell wall degradation

• Accumulation of aroma volatiles

• Loss of acids and astringent substances

• Increase in ethylene production and respiration (climacteric products)

 Maturity indices
Types of maturity indices- Refer to supplementary reading material
Characteristics of a maturity index
• Simple-readily performed in the field
• Inexpensive
• Objective rather than subjective
• Consistent
• Non-destructive
Importance of maturity indices
• To obtain maximum nutritional and sensory quality
• To obtain prolonged storage and shelf life capacity
• Facilitate scheduling of harvest window and packhouse operations
• To manage shipping and harvesting
Harvesting operations vs postharvest quality
Hand harvesting Mechanical harvest