Post harvest technology of horticultural crops

Introduction to Postharvest technology. Post harvest loses in field crops. Factors that influence postharvest life of field crops: Harvesting stage and time, environmental conditions in field and storage, agronomic conditions, diseases and pests in field and storage. Equilibrium moisture content (EMC), Psychometrics, psychometric factors, methods of moisture determination. Controlling postharvest losses: processing, storage conditions, storage structures, preservation. Postharvest management technologies (cold storage, MA and CA storage, chemical inhibitors of ripening and senescence, heat treatment, calcium application, polyamine treatment, use of active bags).