Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition in Vegetable Crops

Abstract

Horticultural production is reaching new heights every passing year. Presently, India is the second largest producer of vegetables after China. However, humongous postharvest losses and waste occur due to improper management and handling. Postharvest loss has been one of the main global challenges towards ensuring food security. This waste seems inhumane especially when tens of millions of people worldwide are suffering from hunger, malnutrition, under-nutrition and other chronic diseases while the food waste contributes to global warming as well. Fresh vegetables are highly perishable. Lack of proper transportation, especially temperature management during transit and storage further reduces their storability and marketing window. United Nations sustainable developmental goal 2 aims to reduce food losses by 50% by 2030. Several approaches like value addition particularly drying technology, temperature and storage atmosphere control, using edible coatings and different anti-senescent molecules like salicylic acid, nitric oxide, 1-methylcyclopropene, methyl jasmonate, polyamines, etc. have been undertaken world-wide to enhance storability of fresh vegetables. This review is an attempt to present a bird’ eye view of postharvest losses and possible strategies for the management and reduction of losses in vegetables.