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

FREEDOM PALESTINE FREEDOM PALESTINE FREEDOM PALESTINE
2 Postharvest Diseases of Fruits and Vegetables
the same time, the demand of the consumer for produce free of
pathogens, and also free of chemical residues remaining from chemical
treatments for disease control, has been growing during recent years.
Furthermore, fungal rots have been associated with mycotoxin
contamination of fruits (Paster et al., 1995) and their possible interaction
with the human pathogen. Salmonella, has also been suggested (Wells
and Butterfield, 1999). In other words, the safety of fresh produce has
become a major public concern.
The aim of adequate storage is, therefore, to help the harvested fruits
and vegetables to arrive at their destination fresh, disease free and safe
to the consumer - despite the complex of treatments they have to undergo
prior to or during storage, and despite the long period between their
harvest and their reaching the consumer. All the means and methods
with the power to aid in preserving the quality of the harvested produce
and in protecting it from decay agents during storage and shelf-life, are
aimed at this objective.
To understand how decay can be prevented or delayed we must, as
stage one, be familiar with the decaying agents, their nature, their origin
and their time and mode of penetrating into the host, as well as with the
factors that might affect their postharvest development. At a later stage
we should also be familiar with suitable means for preventing disease
initiation or for arresting pathogen development within the host tissues
and, on the other hand, with the possibility of maintaining or enhancing
host resistance to infection.
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