Post harvest diseases fruits and vegetables - Xavier University ...

FREEDOM PALESTINE FREEDOM PALESTINE FREEDOM PALESTINE
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
We often witness the phenomenon that just harvested fresh fruits or
vegetables ripen and are ready to be marketed, but the markets are
overstocked and the demand is low. To achieve prolonged and constant
marketing of produce that is gathered in large quantities over a
relatively short period of time - the prime time for each fruit and
vegetable - the produce must be stored for weeks or months prior to
marketing. Fresh fruits and vegetables destined for export also require
long periods of storage and shipment prior to arrival. In the course of
storage and shipment part of the fresh produce, which is rich in moisture
and nutrients and therefore may serve as a suitable substrate for the
development of microorganisms, may rot and become unfit for sale. The
evolution of decay as a result of microorganism attack during storage is
one of the main causes for the deterioration of the fresh produce and can,
in itself, become a limiting factor in the process of prolonging the life of
the harvested fruits and vegetables. The economic loss incurred through
storage diseases might exceed that caused by field diseases because of
the large investments in the overall treatments and processes the
product undergoes from harvest until it reaches the customer, and which
include harvesting, sorting, packing, shipping and storing.
Even in societies with access to the most advanced technologies for
handling fresh fruits and vegetables, such as computerized sorting and
grading, improved packing materials and methods, and advanced regular
or modified atmosphere storage, losses caused by postharvest diseases
remain substantial. In fact, international agencies that monitor world
food resources have acknowledged that one of the most feasible options
for meeting future needs is the reduction of postharvest losses (Eckert
and Ogawa, 1988).
Fresh fruits and vegetables supply essential nutrients, such as
vitamins and minerals, and are a major source of complex carbohydrates,
antioxidants and anticarcinogenic substances which are important to
human health and well being (Arul, 1994). Being aware of the
advantages of fresh fruits and vegetables, the consumer prefers the
wholesomeness of the fresh produce over processed products. However, at
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