Postharvest Biology and Technology of Horticultural Crops: Principles and Practices for Quality Maintenance

The ultimate goal of crop production is to provide quality produce to consumers at reasonable rates. Most fresh produce is highly perishable, and postharvest losses are significant under the present methods of management in many countries. However, significant achievements have been made during the last few years to curtail postharvest losses in fresh produce and to ensure food security and safety as well. These include advancements in breeding horticultural crops for quality improvement; postharvest physiology; postharvest pathology and entomology; postharvest management of fruits, vegetables, and flowers; nondestructive technologies to assess produce quality; minimal processing of fruits and vegetables; as well as innovations in packaging and storage technology of fresh produce.

This new book, Postharvest Biology and Technology of Horticultural Crops: Principles and Practices for Quality Maintenance, describes the above-mentioned advancements in postharvest quality improvement of fresh horticultural produce. This book will be a standard reference work for postharvest management for the fresh produce industry. It presents important new advances that will extend the shelf life of fresh produce by retaining its safety and nutritional or sensory quality.

The book covers a multitude of topics, particularly advances in:

- Conventional breeding approaches for fruits and vegetables

- Storage of fruits and vegetables

- Postharvest treatment and smart packaging

- Management of pests and other postharvest diseases

- Postharvest management of fresh-cut flowers

- Management of medicinal and aromatic plants during postharvest

- Biotechnological methods for postharvest management

Dr. Mohammed Wasim Siddiqui is an assistant professor and scientist in the Department of Food Science and Post-Harvest Technology at Bihar Agricultural University in Sabour, India, and is the author or co-author of 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, 18 book chapters, and 18 conference papers. He has three edited and one authored books to his credit, published by CRC Press, USA; Springer, USA; and Apple Academic Press, USA. Recently, Dr. Siddiqui has established an international peer-reviewed journal, Journal of Postharvest Technology. He has been honored to accept the position of editor-in-chief of a book series entitled Postharvest Biology and Technology, being published by Apple Academic Press. Dr. Siddiqui is also an acquisitions editor for horticultural science for AAP. He is an editorial board member of several journals.

Recently, Dr. Siddiqui has received the Achiever Award 2014 for outstanding research work by the Society for Advancement of Human and Nature (SADHNA), Nauni, Himachal Pradesh, India, where he is also an honorary board member. He has been an active member of the organizing committees of several national and international seminars, conferences, and summits.

Dr. Siddiqui acquired a BSc (agriculture) from Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, India, and received MSc. (horticulture) and PhD (horticulture) degrees from Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, India, with specialization in postharvest technology. He was awarded a Maulana Azad National Fellowship Award from the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India. He is a member of the Core Research Group at Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), where he helps with providing appropriate direction and assisting with prioritizing the research. He has received several grants from various funding agencies to carry out his research projects. Dr. Siddiqui has been associated with postharvest technology and processing aspects of horticultural crops, and he is dynamically involved in teaching (graduate and doctorate students) and research. He has proved himself as an active scientist in the area of postharvest technology.