Importance and Scope of
Postharvest technology
Post harvest technology / post harvest
management may be defined as the branch of
Horticulture that deals with all the operations right from
harvesting or even the preharvest stages till the
commodity reaches the consumer, either in fresh
(grains, apple, mango, tomato fruits) or processed form
(flour, juice, nectar, ketchup) and utilization of the
wastes (pomace, peel, seed, skin etc.) in a profitable
manner (manufacture of fermented beverages, colour
extraction, pectin extraction etc.)
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY MATURITY?
Definition: Attainment of full size by the
plant organ (Root, stem ,flower, Fruit,)Or
Whole plant beyond which no further
growth takes place known as maturity.
OR
It is the particular stage in life of plant or
fruit at which they attain maximum growth
& size.
OR
It refers to the attainment of final stage of
biological function by a plant part or plant
as a whole.
Ripening is the process after maturity by which fruits
attain their desirable flavour, quality, colour, palatable
nature and other textural properties.
Ripening refers to the changes that
occur in a mature fruit either before
harvest or after harvest.
Importance of Post harvest Technology:-
1)Reduction in Post harvest losses:-
PHT ensures reduction of post harvest losses in what has already been
produced. So; reduction post harvest losses is an alternative way of increasing
production of agriculture & horticultural crops.
2) Reduction of cost of production:- PHT reduces cost of production,
packaging, storage, transportation , marketing and distribution, lowers the
price for consumer and increases the Farmers income.
3) Reducing the malnutrition: Proper PHT ensures availability of sufficient
food to all thus reducing malnutrition and ensuring growth of the nation. It also
extends the season of availability of particular commodity.
4) Economic loss reduction :-Produces economic losses at grower level , during
marketing and at consumers level.
5)Employment generation:- Processing industries provides employment to both
skilled as well as unskilled persons. The food processing create employment
generation with approximately 25 lakhs persons employed.
Every one crore rupee invested in fruit and vegetable processing in the
organized sector generates 140 persons per year of in small scale investment
(SSI) units.
6)Export earnings :-
Export of fresh and processed horticultural commodities also attracts valuable
foreign exchange.
7)Defense and astronauts requirements:-
Defense forces posted in remote board areas as well as astronauts who travel in
to space have special requirements of ready to eat and high energy low volume
food. The requirements are fulfilled by processing industries.
8)Home scale Preservation :-
Home scale Preservation helps in minimizing the losses of fruits & vegetables
as well as uses of Preserved products through out the year/off season e.g.
pickles.
9) Value addition & Waste Utilization:-
Preservation industries are the backbone of horticulture industry, taking care
of gluts and wastes. Processing can always fetch an additional income to the
growers & helps in stabilizing the prices with economic returns.
10)Adding taste, variety & providing Nutrition:-
Fruit and vegetable are highly perishable but most important commodity for
human diet due to their high nutritional value. They are the cheapest and other
source of protective food supplied in fresh or processed or preserved form
throughout the year for human consumption.
11) Availability: -
Had there been no knowledge of post harvest technology, apples would not have
ever reached Kerala and Banana in H.P. or Kashmir today. Today we can get
perishable commodities like Banana, tomato etc. throughout the year and in almost
very place in the country. Apples can be made available through out the year
although the cropping season is just for 2-3 months.
12) Infant and sports preparations: Today special infant and sports drinks and
other processed preparations are available for use especially by these people.
These preparations are done especially to meet the specific nutritional
requirements of their body.
Scope in India / Future prospects in India
1. Magnitude of PH losses in fruit and vegetable is still to be minimized by proper
cultural operations, harvesting, transportation and storage facilities.
2. Through the establishment of cold storage and other amenities at the growers and
retailers level, there is a greater scope for fruit and vegetable processing industry.
Presently mango, pineapple, citrus, grapes, tomatoes, peas, potatoes, cucumber are
being processed on a major scale.
3. There are about 4000 small and large scale processing units in the country which
process only about 2 % of the total fruit and vegetable as against 40-85% in
developed countries (E.g.: Malaysia-83%, Phillippines-78%, Brazil and USA-70%)..
Scope of Fruit and vegetable preservation
1. Product- mix
2. Availability of raw material
3. Man power
4. Capital
5. Lack of awareness
6. Marketing facility
7. Transport facility
8. Availability of containers
9. Publicity
10.Role of Govt.
