ABSTRACT
Horticulture has been identified as an important sector for the diversification of agriculture in Punjab state. However, horticulture crops are highly perishable and deteriorate rapidly during supply chain. Hence, the importance of postharvest technology was realized for the overall development of horticulture sector. Keeping in view the significance of postharvest horticulture, the Punjab Horticulture Postharvest Technology Centre (PHPTC) was established in 1998 after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Punjab Government through its agency Punjab Agri Export Corporation Ltd and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, and USAID through Agricultural Commercialization Enterprise project (ACE) and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), California, USA. The experts from the University of California, Davis and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India assisted the government of Punjab in the design and launch of the PHPTC. The major focus of the center is to undertake training programmes and conduct applied need-based research in the area of postharvest management and marketing of horticultural crops. This center has been working as a nodal agency to guide farmers, entrepreneurs and government agencies to establish cold chain infrastructure and to provide technical inputs to all the stakeholders for the safe postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables for domestic and export marketing.
