Post Harvest Physiology of fruits and Vegetable
1. Fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers are living tissues that are subject to continuous changes after harvest! Some of these changes are desirable, but most are not wanted.
The main goal of post harvest research is to slow these changes as much as necessary.
2. After harvest – fruits and vegetables are
detached from the mother plant and do not‘enjoy’ anymore from continuous supply of water and nutrients.Therefore, after harvest, fruit and vegetables depend on their own carbon and water rreservesand become perishable – they loose water and dry matter!
3.Fresh horticultural crops are diverse in morphological structure (roots, stems, leaves,flowers, fruit, etc.), in composition, and general physiology.
Therefore, optimal postharvest requirements vary among commodities!
Post-harvest physiologists distinguish three stages in the life span of fruits and vegetables:
1.Maturation: Indicative of the fruit being ready for harvest
2.Ripening: Overlaps maturation, rendering the produce edible,as indicated by taste
3.Senescence: Characterized by natural degradation of the fruit or vegetable, as in loss of texture, flavour, etc.
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