Post Harvest Management of Horticultural Crops

Causes of physiological disorders

1. Preharvest environment conditions

• Temperature
• Nutrition
• Water regimes
• Crop development factors (e.g. yield or crop load, position on the plant and carbohydrate, water and /or nutrient partitioning)
2. Postharvest environment conditions

• Temperature regime
• Gas atmosphere
• Storage time




Fig.1 Model for the development of postharvest disorders
(Source: Ferguson, R. Volz and A.. Woolf, 1999, Prehatvest factors affecting physiological disorder of fruit. Postharvest Biology and technology 15, pp. 255-62)