ABSTRACT
It is well known that fruits and vegetables undergo a series of changes once harvested from the elds until their use by the consumers. In this process, typically fresh produce are harvested, transported to packing houses, lowered their temperature, conditioned or treated, sorted, packed, stored, transported, and displayed. The sequence and steps used will depend on the type of produce and market destination; however, the perishable nature of fresh produce denes their storage life. Through the past few decades, extensive research has been conducted to dene optimal postharvest handling for shelf life extension of various commercial crops. Many available postharvest techniques developed are based on exposing these fresh produce to a diverse range of abiotic stresses. For example, temperature management, controlled atmospheres, modied atmospheres, ozone, ethylene treatments, minimal processing, and irradiation are based on controlling abiotic stresses like temperature, altered gas composition, use of chemicals/hormones, wounding, and radiation exposure, respectively. Other stresses that may have an
12.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 259 12.2 Abiotic Stresses during Postharvest: Quality Effects ...........................................................260
