Post-harvest practices of horticultural crops in Nepal: Issues and management

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are highly perishable in nature and have a very short shelf-life. During different handling and marketing procedures, there is massive post-harvest loss of horticulture produce, either or both qualitative and quantitative, between harvest and consumption. Factors affecting post-harvest losses differ with topography, varieties of crops, climate, etc. and are difficult to understand. Considering the fact, the present study aims to describe the status of post-harvest losses of horticultural produce and their potential management techniques. Secondary data is used to collect the related information. The demand of high-quality horticulture produce is increasing due to its healthy nutrition. Post-harvest management of the produce includes pre- and post-harvest practices, their handling, packaging, storage, distribution, and marketing. The storage life and marketable quality of the produce can be maximized by limiting (not stopping) the respiration and transpiration through proper control of temperature and relative humidity of the produce. The right selection of packaging materials and technologies play vital role in maintaining product quality and freshness during storage and distribution. Moreover, the innovative techniques like modified active packaging, active and intelligent packaging, controlled atmospheric storage, and use of antimicrobial could extend the shelf life of produce to a significant time. This review mainly focuses on the causes of qualitative and quantitative losses of horticulture produce along with the effective measures to control the losses in Nepalese context. It emphasized on the adoption of innovative technologies to improve the storage life, marketable quality and freshness of the produce.