Pre- and Postharvest Physiological Disorders of Citrus Fruit

Abstract

Citrus is an important group of fruits. It is being cultivated in various tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Various factors have been found associated with the quality and yield of citrus fruits. Certain pre-harvest physiological disorders such as albedo breakdown or rind creasing, cracking and granulation significantly affect the cosmetic and eating quality of citrus fruits. On the other hand, alternate bearing and fruit drop drastically impact the yield and production of citrus in various parts of the world. To increase the yield of citrus fruits it is important to properly manage the production systems that can help to reduce the extent of cracking, rind creasing, granulation, alternate bearing, and fruit drop. In addition to pre-harvest disorders, various chilling and non-chilling-associated physiological disorders also negatively affect citrus fruits during postharvest conditions. The chilling injury is chilling-related; whereas, stem-end rind breakdown, rind staining, puffiness, russeting, peteca spots, blossom end clearing, and oleocellosis are non-chilling physiological rind disorders that significantly affect storage life potential and quality (including external and internal) of citrus fruits. The present chapter reviews different pre-harvest and postharvest physiological disorders, possible causes, and their probable remedies.