ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses plant breeding technology, controlled-environment agricultural systems, cold-chain technology, packaging technology and anaerobic digestion technology. It focuses on food losses between the farm gate and retail dock. Crop quality and yield are highly dependent on growing conditions, including weather and the presence of diseases and/or pests. Growers have developed a variety of techniques to reduce the inherent variability in fruit and vegetable production, the most prominent of which is moving production to a controlled environment. In controlled and enclosed environments, growers are also better able to control and exclude pests. Radio Frequency Identification tags and Wireless Sensor Networks are employed in the industry to provide temperature monitoring in real time. Packaging plays a critical role in maintaining the quality and safety of fruits and vegetables as they travel from farm to consumer. Anaerobic digester technology also has been used for millennia to produce biogas from organic matter, but modern technology is much more efficient.
