ABSTRACT
Fruits and vegetables are considered a cheap source of several nutrients and vitamins. Consumption of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of many diseases. However, fruits and vegetables are living entities, and they deteriorate after harvesting during handling, storage and marketing. Due to perishability, it is very difficult to retain their quality and prevent postharvest loss after harvesting. It has been demonstrated that nearly 30−35% of the total fruit and vegetable production is destroyed by spoilage at various postharvest handling stages. To curb these losses and maintain quality for longer periods, several postharvest treatments have been standardized. Postharvest treatments have been grouped into three categories: physical, chemical and gas treatments. Heat treatments, irradiation and edible coatings are the chief physical treatments, which are used to reduce postharvest losses in horticultural produce. Heat treatment is also used to reduce the incidence of insects, diseases and to prevent or reduce chilling injury (CI). Edible coatings maintain freshness of the produce by reducing moisture loss. Irradiation is used to inhibit sprouting of potatoes, onions and root crops. Several chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, organic acids, nitric oxide, chlorine-based solutions, peroxyacetic acid and sulphur dioxide are used to inhibit browning reactions and reduce ethylene production and the incidence of postharvest diseases. Gaseous treatments such as ozonation, 1-MCP, etc. retard senescence by reducing fruit decay, slowing down the respiration rate and deterioration of the produce. In this chapter, we focus on different postharvest treatments used in the perishable horticultural produce.
