Post-Harvest Reviewer

Postharvest Losses

Refers to the significant wastage of food and agricultural commodities after harvesting, with global losses amounting to one-third of food produced annually.

Factors Contributing to Postharvest Losses

Include internal factors like harvesting practices, pre-cooling, transportation, storage, and external factors such as temperature, relative humidity, altitude, time, and socio-economic patterns.

Respiration

The process where food reserves are broken down into CO2, water, and energy in the presence of O2, crucial in postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables.

Transpiration

The loss of water as vapor from products exposed to air, affecting the quality and appearance of fruits and vegetables during postharvest handling.

Ethylene Metabolism

Involves the production of ethylene, a plant hormone in gas form, influencing the ripening process and quality of fruits and vegetables postharvest.

Ripening

The physiological process leading to the softening, color changes, flavor development, and aroma production in fruits and vegetables, influenced by ethylene and other factors.

Senescence

The final phase of a plant's developmental program, characterized by degenerative processes, linked with reproduction and survival, affecting the quality of harvested commodities.

Role of Ethylene in Ripening

Ethylene governs changes in firmness, color, sugar content, and volatile compound synthesis during the ripening process of fruits and vegetables.

Role of Ethylene in Senescence

Ethylene regulates enzymes and genes involved in senescence, influencing the degradation processes in harvested commodities.

Calcium Carbide

A ripening agent that releases acetylene, an ethylene analogue, used to induce ripening in fruits as an alternative to ethylene application.