Postharvest Physiological Disorders of Fruits

Fruits are valuable products; they are, however, highly perishable in nature and need special measures to maintain their quality while transporting them long distances for sale. Postharvest physiological disorders of fresh fruit are serious problems that arise from environmental and management factors, affecting the quantity and quality of fruits. This new volume focuses on these postharvest physiological disorders of fresh fruits, describing their diverse morphological structures, compositions, and general physiology, as well as the technologies for the effective handling and treatment of fresh fruits.

This volume covers important information on the postharvest physiological disorders of fruits that are caused by temperature, rain, humidity, pruning, irrigation, harvest procedures, and nutrient deficiencies. The book details the modern and sophisticated diagnostic methods, management, and technologies to confront these challenges.. The book gives comprehensive explanations regarding the causes for the occurrence of physiological disorder symptoms and the possible mechanisms to control these abnormalities.

Organized by the type of fruits, this volume focuses on the physiological disorders that affect tropical and subtropical fruits that include mango, banana, citrus, pomegranate, litchi, papaya, guava, fig, cashew, etc., and also covers the postharvest physiological disorders of temperate fruits, such as apple, grape, peach, cherry, strawberry, kiwi, persimmon, apricot, and plum.

Key features:

• Provides the most recent advances in understanding the postharvest physiological disorders of fresh fruits
• Reviews the fundamental and innovative technologies for the management of the postharvest physiological disorders
• Covers preharvest factors affecting the postharvest quality of fresh fruits
• Outlines the preharvest and postharvest causes of physiological disorders and handling technologies for the highly perishable fruits

This volume provides informative and practical information that will aid researchers, scientists, industry professionals and faculty and students in the understanding the principles, food safety techniques, and the mechanisms of postharvest physiological disorders for the best management of fresh fruits.

Ghulam Khaliq, PhD, is Associate Professor/Chairman in the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture at Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Uthal, Pakistan. Prior to that, he was a research associate in the Agriculture and Cooperatives Department of the Government of Pakistan. His research is currently focused on postharvest physiology of different fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants, and he is also working on different postharvest technologies, such as edible coatings, elicitors, biopreservative packaging, and the development of novel approaches to maintain quality and extend the shelf life of highly perishable products. He has executed research projects supported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and collaborates with many other research institutions around the world. He has published research articles, book chapters, conference papers, and reports in many national and international journals and serves as an editor, associate editor, reviewer, and editorial board member for several international journals. He is a lifetime member of several scientific societies, including the Pakistan Society for Horticultural Sciences, Pakistan Botanical Society, and Pakistan Society of Plant Protection. He has also been a member of scientific committees for conferences, seminars, curriculum development, quality enhancement, and project evaluation. Dr. Khaliq has also organized training seminars and workshops on fruit processing and preservation, integrated nutrient management, and climate-smart agriculture. Dr. Khaliq earned his BSc and MSc (Hons) degrees in Horticulture from Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. He was awarded his PhD degree in Horticulture from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Sajid Ali, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. Dr. Ali teaches courses in undergraduate and postgraduate classes with a major focus on fruit production and postharvest physiology. His current focus is to improve postharvest quality of fresh horticultural produce with minimum loss. He worked as a research officer and as a project development officer on two research projects at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. He has won several research projects. Dr. Ali has authored and co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed international journal publications and around 25 book chapters. He is an academic editor of Plos Oneand review editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems and Frontiers in Plant Science. Dr. Ali acquired a BSc (Honors) Agriculture, majoring in Horticulture, from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. He received his MSc (Honors) Horticulture and PhD Horticulture (Postharvest Physiology) from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. He also received advanced training in postharvest physiology of horticultural crops at the US Horticultural Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA.