Post Harvest Management of Horticultural Crops

Introduction

Simple postharvest operation such as cleaning, washing and trimming makes produce very fresh after harvest and make convenient for the produce to sales in the market.
Preparation for the fresh market starts with dumping onto packinghouse feeding lines. Dumping may be dry or in water (fig.1&2). In both cases it is important to have drop decelerators to minimize injury as well as control the flow of product. Water dipping of produces causes less bruising and can be used to move free-floating fruits. However, not all products tolerate wetting. A product with a specific density lower than water will float, but for the produce which sinks, salts (NaCl) are diluted in the water to improve floatation.