Wolkite University

College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

Postharvest Physiology & Handling of Horticultural Products

(HORT 3171)

Zenebe Woldu Adane (PhD)

E-Mail: zenebe12@yahoo.com
Cell Phone: 0911-118825

March 2018
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 PART I: GENERAL INTRODUCTION
 Postharvest Technology/Management:
 The science & technology that deals with harvest maturity determination,
harvesting, pre-storage treatments, storage, processing, packaging, distribution
(transportation), standardization & quality management/assurance, marketing
and consumption of agricultural commodities/crops (i.e. durables & perishables)

 Postharvest Physiology:
– The division of plant physiology dealing with functional processes in plant
material after it has been harvested (respiration, ethylene production,
compositional changes, transpiration, and Physiological breakdown such as freezing
& chilling injuries)

 Deals with plant parts/organs that are handled and marketed in the living
state after harvest (i.e. seeds, leaves, flowers, fruits, stems, barks, roots &
tubers, corms & rhizomes, bulbs & cloves, etc. )

 These parts/organs can also come from all stages of dev’t of the plant (matured or
juvenile shoots, germinating seeds, storage organs, dormant seeds, etc.)
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 Postharvest System:
 It is a systems approach refers to the interconnected functions or
operations of delivery of a crop from the time and place of harvest to
the time and place of consumption, with minimum loss, maximum
efficiency and maximum return for all actors involved in the supply &
marketing chain (The Hidden Harvest, 1976).

 While the “system” denotes the dynamic & complex

aggregates/interactions of the logically interconnected
functions/operations, the term “chain” simply refers to the functional
succession of the various line-activities/operations by and large without
considering their complex interactions.

 Significance of a proper postharvest system:

1) Minimizes both qntive & qltive losses (wastages, spoilages & damages)
2) Helps alleviating food shortages
3) Helps increase income generation
4) Helps promote market shares (promotes competitiveness & comparative
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advantage)
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 Significance of a proper postharvest system:
1) Minimizes both qntive & qltive losses (wastages, spoilages & damages)
2) Helps alleviating food shortages
3) Helps increase income generation
4) Helps promote market shares (promotes competitiveness & comparative
advantage)

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 Basic Differences Between Durable & Perishable Crops
Durable Crops
• Low moisture (10-15%)
• Small unit size (<1kg)
• Very low respiration rate with
very small heat generation
• Hard texture, not easily damaged
• Stable, natural shelf life of
several years
• Loss mainly caused by external
agents, e.g. Molds, insect &
rodents
Hence, postharvest losses are predominantly higher in perishable crops than durable crops.
Perishable Crops
• High moisture (50-90%)
• Large unit size (5g-5kg 0r more)
• High to very high respiration rate, with
high heat production
• Soft texture, easily damaged
• Perishable, natural shelf life few days
at best several months
• Loss caused partly by external agents
e.g. rotting, bacteria & fungi and
partly by endogenous factors,
respiration, senescence and
sprouting
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 General Status of Postharvest Management of
Horticultural Crops in Ethiopia
 At present, esp. horticultural crops are facing high level of losses at all
stages of post harvest handling:
 bulky and highly perishable nature
 high moisture content
 living objects even post harvest (most sold/consumed un processed)
 Losses incurred throughout the supply/marketing chain owing to:
 wastages, damages, spoilages, physiological deterioration.
 caused by conditions prevailing during and as a result of:
• Faulty harvest-maturity determination
• Faulty harvesting methods and crude harvesting facilities
• Inadequate/inappropriate storage conditions/ facilities/ durations
• Inappropriate packaging materials
• Inadequate infrastructure & inefficient transportation system
• Absence of processing facilities and technology.
• Traditional wasteful food preparation/utilization systems (wastages/spoilages)

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PART II: NATURE AND CAUSES OF POST-HARVEST LOSSES OF HORT. CROPS

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• Nature and Causes of Post-Harvest Losses:
1) Physical (To, RH%, air-circulation/poor ventilation, etc.)
2) Mechanical damages (equipments, overloading, over-filling, bad stacking,
improper cushioning, vibration, compression, impact, bruising, abrasion,
puncturing, spillages, damages, insects, vertebrates, etc.)
3) Physiological deterioration (immature fruits, over-ripening, rotting, etc.)
4) Spoilage due to micro-organisms (rotting, molds, etc.)
5) Chemical (chemical contaminations).

 losses of both qualitative and quantitative nature can occur at any point along the
postharvest chain (i.e. from the farm-gate up until the produce reaches the final
consumer (spillage, spoilage and wastage). = Av. Estimated Loss: ~25% (at times
could be as high as 50-70%)

 As aforementioned, a large number of intermediaries/middlemen are involved b/n

producers and ultimate consumers

 If at all possible, the most effective way to reduce postharvest losses is rapid
turnover. i.e. efficient marketing.
 Shorten the time between harvest and marketing as well as marketing and
consumption/processing
 reducing the marketing chain

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 10
Ramswamy (2009)
Bourne's graphic representation of the food pipeline (1977) 11
Some indicative estimates of losses along the postharvest chain:

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 Postharvest losses can cause:
1) Considerable income & food losses to producers
2) Considerable income losses to marketers
3) Food loss to consumers
 It is a waste of effort, time, energy/labor, mtrls, & capital
 The cost incurred covers----prodn, harvesting, storage,
processing, packaging, transporation, etc.
 Hence, PH loss is more painful than pre-harvest loss
 Besides, PH loss of a product=much more than just the
cost of the commodity

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PART III: PRE-HARVEST (BIOTIC & ABIOTIC) FACTORS AFFECTING
POSTHARVEST QUALITY OF HORTICULTURAL CROPS

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Pre-Harvest (Biotic & Abiotic) Factors Affecting Postharvest Quality of
Horticultural Crops ((physical, nutritional, shelf-life, losses)
• These include:
1) Genetics of the crop
2) Growing environment
3) Management practices
4) Maturity at harvest
5) Method of harvesting (harvesting time & facilities)
• Once harvested, the overall quality of fresh horticultural crops can hardly be improved.
• The final market value of the produce depend on the grower’s ability to apply:
 best available pre-harvest technologies followed by subsequent harvesting and then use of efficient post-harvest
technology.
1. Genetics of the crop
 make appropriate decisions in selecting cultivars
2. Growing environment
 temperature, irrigation water, plant nutrition, light intensity, wind conditions
3. Management practices
• type of planting material, irrigation, mulching, fertilization, weeding/cultivating, P & D control, etc.
4. Maturity at harvest:
 It is often one of the most difficult decisions that a grower has to make
 Has a very decisive impact on subsequent quality & postharvest life of the produce
 A combination of techniques need to be employed for determining fruit maturity or harvest maturity indices to
allow long storage/shelf life, while maintaining excellent eating quality:

1) % of Total Soluble Solids (TSS %) to obtain optimal flavour,

2) % Dry Matter (DM 5) in the produce,
3) Produce acid –sugar content/ratio to obtain optimal taste/flavour/total acceptability. 15
4) Etc.
 Category/classes of fruit crops & fruit vegetables on the
basis of their respiration process:
a) Climacteric Fruits:
 Banana, avocado, mango, papaya, tomato, fig, watermelon,
muskmelon, apple, plum, peach, pear, apricot, kiwi fruit, passion fruit,
white sapote (‘casmir’), persimmon,….
 fruits that enter ‘climacteric phase’ after harvest i.e. they continue to ripen.
 During the ripening process , fruits emit ethylene along with increased rate
of respiration.
 The increase in respiration is known as respiratory climacteric or peak
 Ripening commonly takes place after the fruit is detached from the
mother plant (but can also be ripened while still attached)

b) Non-Climacteric Fruits:
 Citrus spp., pineapple, grape, strawberry, guava (largely), cactus pear, cherries,
pomegranate, litchi, cucumber, tree tomato (tamarillo), ….
 Achieve ripening changes while attached to the mother plant
 Produce very small amount of ethylene and do not respond to ethylene
treatment; no characteristic increased rate of respiration
 Do not exhibit a respiratory climacteric or peak post harvest
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 5. Method of harvesting (harvesting time & facilities)
• Harvesting marks the beginning of postharvest deterioration & loss
 When we harvest wheat or teff, little harm is done
 While in vegetables, fruits and ornamentals the damage is painful
 In human terms it is “murder” (Ramswamy, 2005)

• Only top quality horticultural produce gets the best returns.

• Avoid harvesting of horticultural crops when the day is too hot
• Horticultural crops should be harvested when they are slightly or fully mature
(depending on the intended purpose)
• Horticultural crops, which are meant for export should be harvested just the
day before or the same day of shipment (Ogazi, 1996).
• Rough and improper harvesting methods and facilities can:
1) determine the extent of physical and mechanical (bruising, surface
abrasions, cuts, etc.) injuries,
2) consequently influence the direct physical quality attributes of the
produce
3) accelerate loss of water
4) increase susceptibility to decay causing pathogens.
 In some crops (e.g. climacteric fruits), many of these marks will not show
until they are ripened
• 17
PART IV: POSTHARVEST FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY & SHELF LIFE OF
HORTICULTURAL CROPS

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 Postharvest Factors Influencing Quality & Shelf Life of Horticultural Crops
 Being perishable, horticultural crops are highly prone to a number of postharvest problems:
 Qualitative & quantitative losses are encountered/incurred as the produce goes through
the supply chain up until it reaches the hands ((dining tables) of the ultimate consumers

 The damages are often caused by various:

1) physical & mechanical damages,
2) inappropriate handling environments/facilities,
3) P & D
4) Etc..
 Such damages are operationally incurred during (i.e. PH factors influencing qlty & shelf-life):
1) Harvesting
 Harvesting marks the beginning of the PH loss/deterioration process
 B/s, when we harvest, we are detaching the produce from its mother plant
& its natural habitat (e.g. lifting the roots, cutting the bunches, slashing the
tillers/canes, snatching the fruits, chopping the heads, etc.)
2) Farm-gate preparation (washing, sorting, grading, packaging, loading, etc.),
 Grading is important to determine the quality, shelf life and price of the fruits (to
make a homogenous lot based on physical characteristics like size, color, shape,
maturity stage and extent of fruit damage.). Immature, overripe, damaged and
diseased fruits are discarded during the process of grading.
3) Transporting (loading, unloading, stowing, To mgnt, etc.)
4) Storage conditions
5) Postharvest treatments
6) Distribution to retail centers and subsequent handlings or marketing systems.
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2. Transportation:
– Transportation is generally considered as the backbone and lifeline of agricultural
marketing.
– It is a vital requirement for produce/product movement, distribution and marketing
– It starts right from the production field and goes till the produce reaches the consumer
– Fruits & vegs fruits are transported by various means, from head-loads to air-freighting
– In all cases, the same conditions should be observed, i.e. they must be:
 Kept as cool as possible (cool-chain management)
 The various stages of the cool chain include: pre- cooling & cold storage facilities at the
farm, refrigerated trucks from farm to destination, cold storage facilities at destination
an, off loading directly into a cold storage facility
 Kept dry
 Moved to market as quickly as possible
 The loading, stowing and unloading methods should be pertinent
 The size and design of packages should give adequate levels of ventilation of
contents with minimum wasted space
 Loading and unloading of trucks should be properly supervised to prevent
careless handling of packages
 The produce should be protected from sun & rain at all times
 Trucks without refrigeration should not be used except on very short journeys,
such as local deliveries

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 The other major factors that impact the quality & shelf life of fresh horticultural produce are:

3. Storage conditions (temperature, relative humidity, O2, CO2, etc.)

 Affect respiration, transpiration and ethylene
 Storage extends the consumption period & ensure better returns to the growers.
4. Postharvest treatments applied to the commodity
i. Cleaning (improve appearance and prevent primary inoculums)
ii. Sorting/grading (by color, size, level of defects, maturity/ripeness stage,..)
iii. Waxing (provide protection against decay and excessive respiration, and improve
appearance and acceptability),
iv. Treatment with fungicides for decay control,
v. Fumigation for insect control,
vi. Ripening or de-greening exposure of some produce (e.g. climacteric fruits) to
ethylene and similar metabolic inducers for faster and more uniform ripening,
vii. Extending green-life of some produce (e.g. Climacteric fruits) by applying anti-
ethylene compounds such as 1-MCP,
viii. Regular packing (to contain, protect & create favourable impression to the
produce)=pack graded, uniform, clean & dry produce (do not over-fill & mix unlike
produce )
ix. MAP/storage (altering the normal composition of air surrounding the produce for
increasing shelf-life and maintain quality by reducing the effects of respiration,
transpiration and C2H4), etc.
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 5. Distribution to retail centers and subsequent handlings or marketing
systems
• Generally, the marketing situation of horticultural crops is more complex
than many other agricultural commodities.
 owing to their seasonality of supply, variability in quality/quantity,
and their perishable nature
• In Ethiopia, the horticultural supply-chain generally is facing several
constraints:
 Rudimentary marketing infrastructure/facilities (transport, packaging,
storage, ripening…)
 Highly deregulated marketing practices
 High price disparities across marketing channels & actors.
 Various malpractices by intermediaries (fraud balances, underrated guess
purchases, etc.)
 Farmers at times are forced to sell at almost throwaway prices
(bulky/perishable)

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• Horticultural (e.g. fruit) consumption with the vast majority of the
population is generally spontaneous or impulsive.
 grain-oriented feeding habit
 income level (purchasing power)

• In fact, horticultural consumption is generally showing an increasing

trend.
 increasing level of awareness, education, standard of living
 Sophistication in food habits: subsistence, nutritional, health,
pleasure & ethnic

• Other than flowers and some stimulants crops (coffee, khat & tea), the
contribution of the bulk majority of horticultural crops to Ethiopia’s export
earnings is still relatively small but increasing gradually
 Exports are also still dominated by the private commercial
growers (i.e. compared to smallholders)

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 Major horticultural supply chain in Ethiopia
The horticultural supply/marketing chain in Ethiopia generally Comprises 8 major actors and
13 marketing channels

(Zenebe, 2015---PhD Thesis)

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 Eight major supply chain actors and 13 marketing channels
(outlets)
Major horticultural supply chain actors in Ethiopia

Producers (small-scale growers)

 Producers (large-scale/commercial growers)
Farmer cooperatives/unions
Farm-gate collectors
Wholesalers/Ripeners
Retailers
Consumers
Export buyers

Source: Zenebe, 2015 (PhD Thesis)

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PART V: POSTHARVEST LOSSES

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 Extent and types of post harvest losses:
 A postharvest loss: is any change in the quantity or quality of a
product after harvest that prevents or alters its intended use or
decrease its value.
 Losses can be qualitative or Quantitative

 The extent of loss in horticultural crops depends upon the type of

commodity, which can range from 5 to100%.

 PH losses in developed countries is much less as compared to

developing countries.

 Only rough estimates are available on postharvest losses in

developed & developing countries:
 5 to 25 % in developed countries
 20 to 50 % in developing
 In Ethiopia, some perishables have shown up to 80% loss

 PH losses can occur at any point/stage after harvest, including after the produce
reaches the hands of the ultimate consumers.
 Only the best quality produce fetches the premium price & sales faster in the market
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 The poor quality produce goes to waste, rarely to secondary markets
Some postharvest loss study reports on selected fruits and
vegetables in Ethiopia (2015/2016)

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Mohammed Kasso and Afework Bekele (2016)
 Some postharvest loss study reports on selected
fruits and vegetables in Ethiopia (2015/2016)
Total
PPHL Amount Lost Unit Price Monetary Value
Crop Production
(Qt) (%) (Qt) (Birr/Qt) (Birr)
1,000.77
Potato 36,576,382.6937.15* 13,588,126.17 13,598,589,026.49
1,300.17
Tomato 12,581,433.9845.32* 5,701,905.88 7,413,446,967.66
2,700.39 1,179,611,460.83
Mango 1,003,514.9043.53* 436,830.04

2,000.00
Avocado 538,245.7940.00 215,298.32 430,596,632.00
45.78* 2,100.64
Banana 4,401,344.16
* 2,014,935.36 4,232,653,807.17
55,100,921.52
Total 21,957,095.76 26,854,897,894.14

*Mohammed Kasso and Afework Bekele (2016)

** Zenebe et al., 2015
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 Table. Estimated postharvest loss of banana at different stages of the supply chain
Levels /stages of product handling Mean (%)
( std.dev)
Farm level losses
Harvesting 6.53
(1.32)
Transport and farm gate- storage 9.15
(1.22)
Total loss at the farm level 15.68
Ripeners ( wholesale) level losses
Farm-gate Loading and Transport 8.68
(2.32)
Unloading 3.73
(2.53)
Ripening 2.86
(1.37)
Selling to Retail Outlets 6.78
(2.42)
Total loss at the wholesale level 22.05
Retailers’ level loss
From purchase to sale ( total) 8.05
(3.93)
Total loss at retail level 8.05
Grand total 45.78

Source: Calculated from own survey result, 2014/15 (Zenebe, 2015---PhD Thesis)
 Causes of post harvest losses
(Acc. to Bourne (1977) and Salunke and Desai (1989)

a) Primary causes
– Biological and microbiological- B) Secondary causes
consumption or damage by insects, pests,
animals and microorganisms, i.e. molds – Improper harvesting and
and bacteria

– Chemical and biochemical-(undesirable

handling
reactions between chemical compounds
present in the food such as browning, – Inadequate storage
rancidity, enzymatic changes, etc.)
facilities
– Mechanical-(Spillages and damages
caused by abrasion, bruising, crushing,
puncturing, etc.) – Inadequate

– Physical-improper environmental and transportation

storage conditions (T0, relative humidity, air
speed, etc.)
– Inadequate packaging
– Physiological-sprouting, senescence,
other respiratory and transpiratory – Inadequate marketing
changes
systems
– Psychological- human aversion or refusal
due to personal or religious reasons 31
 Causes of post harvest losses
(Acc. to Acc to Ritenour (2003)

a) Internal factors b) Environmental factors

• Respiration • Temperature
• Light
• Hormone production (e.g.
• Gravity
C2H4)
• Physical damage
• Compositional changes
• Rodents & other animals
• Morphological changes
• Contamination
• Physiological disorders
• Pathogen
• General senescence
• Relative humidity

• Atmospheric composition 32
 Causes of post harvest losses
(Acc to Kader (1985)
a) Biological factors b) Environmental factors
 Respiration – Temperature
 Ethylene production – RH
 Compositional changes – Atmospheric composition
 Growth and development – light
 Transpiration – others
 Physiological breakdown-
freezing injury or frost
damage. Heat injury vs
chilling injury
 Others
factors-physical/mechanical
damage to the produce
occurring during harvesting,
handling, storage and
transportation of the produce
as well as spoilage due to
pathological causes 33
Levels of produce related postharvest losses:

• Respiration & transpiration continue after harvest as well

• Unlike during the pre-harvest, the produce during postharvest stage relies on its own food reserves & MC
• Hence, harvested F & Vegs are more perishable after harvest in that losses of respiratory substances &
moisture cannot be replenished afterwards
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 What can be done?
 FAO sponsored case studies (2010 through 2015) indicate:

 World population: Expanding at a faster rate than food

production (i.e. population is reportedly increasing by about 50%/ 20 yrs,
while food production increasing by about 3-5%/5yrs)

 “The world produces enough food to feed everyone”, yet at the

same time an estimated one in eight people, or some 870 mill.,
suffer from chronic undernourishment (The Economist, 2014).

 At the center of this gap between production and consumption

are food loss and waste, which occur throughout the globe’s
countless food supply chains.

 Postharvest losses of all types of foods are high

 This is true Globally and for Sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia
 Food Loss is 1.3 billion tons = 1.5 Quadrillion kcal= 1 trillion
Dollars
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So, what can we do?
 Grow more food? How much more? How do we grow more
food?
1) Cultivate more land (less feasible with the ever shrinking world)
2) Intensifying production (e.g. high density planting, use of modern
tools/techniques/inputs & varieties)
3) Using growth promoters
4) Biotechnology tools (e.g. GMOs ???)
5) Etc.
 Whatsoever, with increasing population and limited land, this option has
proved impossible.

 Employing modern agricultural operations was also less applicable to

developing countries

 The major practical alternative recently identified by UN is to

minimizing post harvest losses to increase food availability
 In fact, the best option is to = Grow More Food & Reduce post
harvest losses

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 Significance (basic benefits/advantages) of postharvest loss
reduction:
1) Overall economic Advantages
2) Nutritional advantages
3) Feedback incentive to growers/producers
4) Cost effective
5) Environmentally friendly
6) Consumer satisfaction
7) Etc.
 How can we reduce Post harvest Losses?
1) Understand the causes of postharvest losses
2) Determine factors which affect them and how
3) Effectively use conditions which control the factors and
minimize the spoilage

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