A wide range of fresh horticultural products contribute to a major component of the agricultural food produce available for consumption nowadays. But these products are highly perishable and if correct post-harvest measures are not employed, it could lead to drastic reduction in product quality, resulting in major losses for the producer (Gago et al., 2011).
Some of the factors involved in this quality deterioration are: (a) Transpiration from the plant tissues which results in losses in appearance (by wilting and shrivelling), nutritional quality, textural quality (loss of crispness, softening and juiciness) and other quantitative losses. It can be controlled by applying surface coatings and other moisture barriers or by environmental manipulation by maintaining a high relative humidity. (b) The action of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria on the crops results in postharvest rots, which regularly occur due to coarse handling along the market chain. (c) The promotion of aging by ethylene in harvested horticultural crops results in acceleration of deterioration and induces yellowing of green tissues, thus reducing quality of leafy and floral vegetables. (d) Even after harvest, respiration continues and the heat produced causes the produce to warm up increasing chances of deterioration. So respiration needs to be slowed by active cooling to decrease the respiration rate. Produce with high respiration rates are rapidly perishable and hence temperature control becomes vital for these products. (e) Insects can also be carried on horticultural produce during postharvest handling. These insects could feed on the produce causing deterioration resulting in consumer dissatisfaction (Kader & Rolle, 2004).
[...] 152). Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Lu, S. (2007). Effect of packaging on shelf-life of minimally processed Bok Choy (Brassica chinensis). LWT-Food Science and Technology, 460-464. Thompson, A. K. (1998). [...]
[...] These yellowing aspects can be retarded through storage condition modifications such as storing at cold temperatures and storing in packaging materials. Moreover, low oxygen or high carbon dioxide environemnts could also be used to reduce yellowing (Xiangyang and Lianqing, 2000). Newspaper was the most ideal packaging material for both the 4oC treatment and the 25oC treatment as they both maintained a high moisture content of 1623.60 μg/g tissue and 1274.09 μg/g tissue respectively. Newspaper packaging was a light packaging that allowed light to pass through ensuring the chlorophyll was used in photosynthesis reaction. [...]
[...] Effects of packaging and storage conditions on the freshness of leafy vegetables (Brassica rapa) INTRODUCTION A wide range of fresh horticultural products contribute to a major component of the agricultural food produce available for consumption nowadays. But these products are highly perishable and if correct post- harvest measures are not employed, it could lead to drastic reduction in product quality, resulting in major losses for the producer (Gago et al., 2011). Some of the factors involved in this quality deterioration are: Transpiration from the plant tissues which results in losses in appearance (by wilting and shrivelling), nutritional quality, textural quality (loss of crispness, softening and juiciness) and other quantitative losses. [...]
[...] Preface 11 Opening Address 12. [...]
[...] The reason as to why the moisture content at 4oC was roughly the same was due to the fact that there was only minimal amount of water lost as temperature was very low and the surroundings were not humid and hence, there was reduced transpiration. Figure 1 shows that for all the packaging except plastic bag, the 4oC treatment was ideal than the 25oC treatment as it helped maintain high moisture content in all wrappings of the choy sum. This was because at cold temperatures there is less evaporation from the leaves by convection. [...]
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