Post-harvest System Research Articles

Natural coatings and essential oils effects on postharvest quality and antioxidant system of organic avocado (Persea americana Mill. ‘Hass’)

Natural coatings and essential oils effects on postharvest quality and antioxidant system of organic avocado (<i>Persea americana</i> Mill. ‘Hass’)

Impacts of Various Dry-Aging Methods on Meat Quality and Palatability Attributes of Beef Loins from Cull Cow

ObjectivesBeef from cull cows has been traditionally perceived as low-quality/value meat due to its inferior flavor and tenderness. Given the negative consumer perception of highly processed fresh meat, there is a need to develop a natural post-harvest aging system to improve eating quality attributes of beef products, particularly from cull cows. Dry aging has been practiced for decades as a traditional and natural butchery process, which is also known to improve palatability characteristics. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different dry-aging methods on meat quality, microbiological properties and palatability attributes of loins from cull cow beef.Materials and MethodsPaired beef loins from 13 carcasses (Holstein, 30+ mo) were obtained at 5d postmortem, divided into 4 equal length sections and randomly assigned to four aging methods: wet-aging (WA), dry-aging (DA), dry-aging in water permeable bag (DWA) and UV-light dry-aging (UDA; 2 treatment/day, 5 J/s/treatment). Sections were aged for 28d at 2°C, 65% RH and 0.8 m/s air flow. After aging, dry-aged sections (DA, DWA and UDA) were trimmed of dehydrated surface, and trim loss and total saleable yield were recorded. The pH, proximate composition, shear force, water-holding capacity, initial color (instrumental and trained panelist), lipid oxidation (2-thiobabituric acid reactive substances, TBARS), microbial properties (aerobic plate count (APC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and yeast and mold (YM) counts) and trained sensory evaluation (11 panelists) were determined. Experimental design was a balanced complete block design. All data were analyzed using PROC MIXED procedure of SAS, and least squares means for all traits were separated (P &lt; 0.05).ResultsDA and UDA had a substantial moisture loss during the aging process, accompanied with higher trim loss compared to other methods (P &lt; 0.05). This resulted in DA having the lowest yield followed by UDA, DWA and WA with the highest saleable yield (P &lt; 0.05). No significant differences were observed on cook loss, WBSF and TBARS between the treatments. DWA had the lowest pH out of all treatments (P &lt; 0.05). UDA had the lowest moisture content and highest drip loss (P &lt; 0.05). Color measurement showed that both DA and WA had significantly higher L* and lower b* values compared to UDA and DWA (P &lt; 0.05). However, a* and lean surface color were not significantly different between the treatments (P &gt; 0.05). For the trim, UDA had the lowest microbial growth among all treatments (P &lt; 0.05). For the lean, UDA had the lowest count for LAB (P &lt; 0.05), WA had the lowest in YM (P &lt; 0.05) and no difference was found for APC between treatments (P &gt; 0.05). Trained sensory panelist found that UDA and WA had higher fat and sour flavor (P &lt; 0.05), and a trend (P = 0.07) of higher oxidized flavor when compared to DWA and DA.ConclusionThe results showed that dry-aging would result in no adverse impact on shear force, cooking loss, initial color and lipid oxidation of mature beef loins. Further, sour and oxidized flavor was lower in dry-aged beef, indicating its potential as value adding process. UV light application minimized microbial growth during dry-aging process, although more analyses are needed to understand its full impact on dry-aged meat quality. Further studies on determining the consumer acceptability as well as flavor-related compound analyses are currently under investigation.

Effective Management System of Rice Processing Industry in Indonesia

Unbalance ratio between rice plant area and number of rice milling unit causes tight business competition on its business so it has low productivity and profitability.Measures for enhancing productivity need to be taken. There are some similarity situations between Indonesia and Korea related to rice consumption and industry. Objectives of this study are to conduct comparative study between Indonesian and Korean rice industry and arrange recommendations about providing stable paddy supply for the rice processing industry in Indonesia. Methodologyof the study are discussion, field observation, data analysis, and arrange recommendations. The results showed that Indonesian Government and Korean Government have different structure on rice processing industry. Therefore, Indonesian Government and Korean Government enacted different policies priority on strengthening and fostering rice processing industry.Based on lesson learn from Korean experiences, some recommendations for sustainable paddy supply for the rice processing industry in Indonesia are Indonesian Government should improve postharvest system and management on rice processing, to revitalize agriculture cooperative, and to conduct business networking among rice processing industries to reduce competition in the rice business.

Re-engineering the paddy rice drying system in the Philippines for climate change adaptation

The Philippines is experiencing extreme weather events (typhoons and floods) which often result to significant rice postharvest losses, among other things. In this study, a new and mechanized postharvest system that integrates field handling and drying of the paddy grains is proposed to speed up the operation and help ensure a good quality harvest even when affected by typhoons or floods. The system makes use of eight 500 kg capacity specially-designed bags that function both as grain containers during transport and as drying bins. The drying operation is accomplished using these bags while mounted on the floor inside a typhoon-resistant shelter.

Is the argentine postharvest system ready to handle more and better grains?

This is the first comprehensive study of the grain postharvest system of Argentina with the following objectives: 1) to group the grain elevators according to structural, technological, and insect control characteristics; 2) to analyze how the groups are positioned to take advantage of the expected increase in the country grain production; 3) to study how the different groups are positioned to adopt Best Management Practices (BMPs); and 4) to identify the main challenges of each group to implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs under the new context of dichlorvos (DDVP) prohibition. A survey was conducted in 86 elevators in the main grain producing area of Argentina. Multiple correspondence and cluster analyses were used to study the relationships amongst the variables and to establish a typology of grain elevators. Three groups of facilities were identified, which mainly differed in size and grain reception capacity, turnover ratios, and fumigation modalities. Large and intermediate scale facilities emerged as the best positioned to profit the projected scenario of crop increase, because of their high reception capacity and their potential to increase the turnover ratios (these two groups handled 95% of the grain volume). Small elevators presented important constraints in their current equipment for grain reception. Large facilities appeared also as the best positioned to implement BMPs, because they would only require minor investments in aeration automation. Intermediate size facilities would also need to incorporate temperature cables for grain monitoring. BMP incorporation seems less feasible in small facilities, given the limitations in drying, aeration, and stored grain monitoring technologies. All the groups will have to make equal efforts to incorporate IPM programs after the banning of DDVP. The detection of group-specific constraints is expected to serve as an input for developing targeted technologies and more efficient sector policies.

A Detailed Review on Common Causes of Postharvest Loss and Quality Deterioration of Fruits and Vegetables in Ethiopia

The loss of foods in the post-harvest system is not new; it has always been a problem for mankind. In these days of rapidly enlarging population in the developing countries of the world where food is already short, there is an increasing urgency to do a better job of conserving mankind food supply in order to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. Losses of fruit and vegetables are occurring from the field to the fork and even pre-harvest practices are strongly affects the magnitude of losses that occur at a later stage. Postharvest loss is the issue of food security in many developing countries like Ethiopia and it is the concerns of all people. Severe fruits and vegetables postharvest loss and quality deterioration mainly occurred during harvesting, marketing, transporting, processing and storage which leads to reduction in producers out puts, unavailability of food, malnutrition, effects on the economy of the people and the country. There is high magnitude of loss in fruits and vegetables crops as compared to other due to the nature of the crops. Many scientific studies were reported that numerous causes and the extent of the loss particularly, in fruits and vegetables. This might be because of financial, managerial and technical knowledge limitations in harvesting techniques, storage and cooling facilities in difficult climatic conditions, infrastructure, packaging and marketing systems. In order to minimize these problems, the appropriate agricultural techniques such as the general principles of extending shelf-life of these crops must be put in place. There should be proper management of temperature, humidity and effective methods for preventing these losses. Since most national governments acknowledge that postharvest food losses is complex, therefore, it requires a commitment to an integrated approach, involving numerous organizations, including local communities and groups. As a general, this can be used as a good indication as all concerned bodies should aim for development of effective and efficient policies and strategies to solve existing problems. So the main objective of this review is to find out the concepts and problems of post-harvest food losses in perishable crops. Keywords : Ethiopia, Fruits, Postharvest loss, Quality deterioration, Vegetables DOI : 10.7176/FSQM/87-01 Publication date :May 31 st 2019

Efficient harvests, effective transport can eliminate hunger

Post-harvest management is closely related to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 – ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition worldwide by 2030. The post-harvest system should be thought of as encompassing the delivery of a given crop from the time and place of harvest to the time and place of consumption, with minimum loss, maximum efficiency and maximum return for all involved.

Rice Postharvest Technology in Nigeria: An Overview of Current Status, Constraints and Potentials for Sustainable Development

In 2016, the total estimated paddy production in Nigeria was 17.5 million metric tons (MMT) which is equivalent to 5.7 MMT milled rice. This is 1.3 MMT lower than the projected 7.0 MMT national consumption demands. This implies that Nigeria is progressing towards achieving self-sufficiency in rice if this data is compared with 3.5 MMT milled rice production in 2010. But about 10% - 30% or more of this increase does not reach the final consumers largely due to inefficient postharvest management practices. Huge postharvest grain loss (PHGL) and postharvest grain quality loss (PGQL) have been reported and significant efforts have been made towards reducing them and improving food security, but this is hampered by lack of simple, cost effective, adoptable and well-defined practical postharvest management practices and technologies. This situation has presented huge opportunity for investment and strategic interventions. From the point of harvest till rice reaches the consumers table, rice passes through wide range of unit operations which may have impact on the quantity and quality of the milled rice, these have made value chain actors adopt different practices to manage the process as it passes through the various unit operations. This paper examines the current rice post-harvest management technologies in Nigeria, with attention focusing on the current practices, constraints militating against the improvement of the rice postharvest system and opportunities it presents for improvement taking into account the main contribution of the research and development organizations in solving rice postharvest related challenges and lessons to be learned that will sharpen future direction for sustainable development.

Evaluating critical causal factors for post-harvest losses (PHL) in the fruit and vegetables supply chain in India using the DEMATEL approach

The post-harvest and marketing system is a chain of interlinked activities starting after the harvest time and continuing until the delivery of the food product to the consumers. An efficient post-harvest system ensures that the harvested product reaches the customer in the shortest possible time interval without compromising the volume, quality, and safety of the product. The objective of this paper is to identify and model the critical causal factors of post-harvest losses (PHL) in the fruit and vegetable (F&V) supply chain in India, with the help of a detailed literature review and expert opinions. Fifteen causal factors were identified using the decision making and trial evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method, which is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) tool. This was applied for determining the cause-effect relationships among the identified factors. The results highlighted that the most critical factors that should be tackled to ensure progressive PHL reduction are: lack of proper packaging facilities (PHL3), lack of proper storage facilities (PHL1), insufficient infrastructure (PHL4), improved handling of the products at the farm and marketplace (PHL2), lack of processing facilities (PHL5), lack of linkage between the farmers and processing units (PHL6), lack of linkages in the marketing channel (PHL9), and large number of intermediaries (PHL15). The findings of this study are intended to guide various supply chain members and decision-makers for reducing PHL and improving the overall performance of the F&V supply chain.

Efficacy of non formulated entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana) to control the storage insect pests of green gram (Vigna radiata) seeds

The concepts and practical applications of fungal biotechnology continue to make significant contributions to food science. Storage of grains is part of the post-harvest system through which food material passes on its way from field to consumer. Stored pulses are severely infested by beetles of the family Bruchidae (Coleoptera). The present study was focused on the efficacy of microbial pesticides, i.e entomopathogenic fungus (Beauveria bassiana) on the Callosobruchus species were investigated in laboratory in stored green gram (Vigna radiata) seeds. Four different conidial concentrations of B. bassiana were sprayed (1 mL) based on the logarithmic series (4×102, 4×103, 4×104 and 4×105 conidia mL-1) and incubated for 10 days. Twenty four experiments were conducted with a complete randomized block design (CRD) with three replications. B.bassiana, concentration of, 4×105 conidia mL-1 at exposure day 10 gave maximum (99.00 %) insect mortality, moisture content of seed was 11.48% and protein content was 24.5%. Optimally fungal treated samples were devoid of any mycotoxins thereby implying their safety for human consumption. The results indicated that the fungal treatment retain the germination quality of seed. This study provided a novel and environmentally safe technique.

Post-harvest losses reduction by small-scale maize farmers: The role of handling practices

Concerns about food insecurity have grown in Sub-Saharan Africa due to rapidly growing population and food price volatility. Post-harvest Losses (PHL) reduction has been identified as a key component to complement efforts to address food security challenges and improve farm incomes, especially for the rural poor. This study analyses the role of recommended post-harvest handling practices in PHL reduction; and conducts a cost-benefit analysis of adopting practices associated with lower losses. The study finds that maize farmers lose about 11.7 percent of their harvest in the post-harvest system. About two-thirds of this loss occurs during storage. The study shows that adoption of recommended post-harvest handling practices is highly correlated with lower PHL. Lastly the study finds that the cost of implementing some of the recommended practices outweighs the benefits associated with lower PHL. It then discusses the reasons why some farmers may not adopt some of the practices and points out some contributions to the literature.

Assessment of Technological Knowledge on Pre- and Post-harvest Agricultural Management System and its Economic Impacts in Bangladesh

The field survey was conducted among the farmers, researchers, extensionist and agribusiness personnel to assess their knowledge about National Agricultural Research System (NARS) recommended technologies on pre- and post-harvest management and their economic impact in Bangladesh. The survey was conducted in 16 Upazilas (2 Upazilas from each district) of purposively selected eight (8) districts based on agricultural project activities on potential of major crop groups and system through a standard pre-tested questionnaire. From the field survey, it revealed that only a few number of technologies were available at field level regarding pre and post-harvest management out of more than 300 NARS recommended technologies. There was also found a big knowledge gap among farmers; researchers and other respondents. Considering all technological categories, perceptions of researchers on NARS recommended technological knowledge were found much higher than farmers, extensionist and agribusiness personnel. There was also a big Knowledge gap between project intervention districts than less or zero project intervention Districts. It was also observed that most of the respondents were very much aware about the rice based technologies rather than other crops, especially most of the small scale poor farmers were interested to use cheap, easy handling and locally available technology for their crop regarding pre and post management at field level.

Assess and Prioritize the Problems Related Postharvest Management of Horticultural Crops in Jimma Town, the Case of Bishishe Market

A study was undertaken to identify the causes of the postharvest losses of horticultural crops along postharvest chain and set solutions for the identified and prioritized problems related with horticultural crop's management in Jimma town, the case of Bishishe market. In the first phase of the study a survey was carried out using random sample to collect information on the present system of postharvest handling of horticultural crops. The market management of horticultural crops were identifies by interview, questionnaires, and observation regarding to handling practice, hygienic condition of fruit handlers, problems related to transportation. The major stages of postharvest marketing sequence were identified and loss assessment was carried out at each stages followed by prioritizing the problems based on the loss assessment results. The survey result reveals that a major cause of postharvest loss of horticultural crops is mismanagement of commodities along postharvest system. Poor postharvest handling facilities and practices such as absence of sanitation, temperature management, uniformity of quality within containers, overfilling of containers and other quality and safety assurance problems were among the common causes for these observed losses. The second phase of this study was prioritizes the problems based on the loss assessment results obtained in phase one and intervene those problems.

Fumigant activity of volatile compounds of Streptomyces philanthi RM-1-138 and pure chemicals (acetophenone and phenylethyl alcohol) against anthracnose pathogen in postharvest chili fruit

Application of volatiles from Streptomyces philanthi RM-1-138 grown on sterile wheat seeds (volatiles RM-1-138) and pure commercial volatile compounds (acetophenone and phenylethyl alcohol) against chili anthracnose pathogen were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Among 42 isolates of Colletotrichum species tested, C. gloeosporioides PSU-NY8 was selected as the most aggressive anthracnose pathogenic strain on chili fruit against the volatiles RM-1-138. The optimum inoculum size (15 g L−1) and spore concentration (107 spore mL−1) of the wheat seed culture of S. philanthi RM-1-138 exhibited the complete suppression (100% inhibition) on C. gloeosporioides PSU-NY8. In addition, the in vivo result indicated the optimum fumigation period of the volatiles RM-1-138 (15 g L−1) was at 6 h. Phenylethyl alcohol showed no antifungal activity at all concentrations tested (10–1000 μL L−1) while acetophenone at 100 μL L−1 of airspace exhibited antifungal activity both in vitro and in vivo after 12 h fumigation. The fumigant activity was evidenced by the damage of cell wall of C. gloeosporioides PSU-NY8 illustrated by SEM. Therefore, the volatiles from S. philanthi RM-1-138 have a high potential for biocontrol of chili anthracnose disease in postharvest system.

Farm status and knowledge level in guava post harvest system

Post harvest handling of guava is the stage of crop production immediately following harvest, including cooling, cleaning, grading, packing and marketing. Post harvest handling largely determines final quality, whether a crop is sold for fresh consumption, or used as an ingredient in a processed food product. Post harvest sector includes all points in the value chain from production in the field to the food being placed on a plate for consumption.

Decay control in the postharvest system: Role of microbial and plant volatile organic compounds

Significant postharvest losses occur during the supply chain of fresh produce. Postharvest decay is one of the main factors that determines losses and compromises the quality of fruit and vegetables. Traditionally postharvest decay control is achieved using chemical fungicides; however, the important concerns relating to environmental and human health require the development of novel methods for the control of postharvest decay. Furthermore, the consumer demand and the purchasing power are higher for fresh produce that are free from pesticide application. This review highlights the research literature based information on the application of microbial and plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to control postharvest decay, their practical applications in postharvest systems and the future perspectives. The volatile nature of VOCs could be potentially employed with success as gaseous treatments in a process defined ‘biofumigation’. Plant-produced volatiles including among others, aldehydes such as acetaldehyde, 2-E-hexenal and benzaldehyde, alcohols such as ethanol and acetic acid, essential oils (EOs) and isothiocyanates (ITCs) and microbial volatile organic compounds have been recognised as potential substances in preventing pathogenic infections in many horticultural commodities. However, some issues have to be well elucidated in order to admit these substances in a large-scale application to improve the competitiveness of the fresh produce at the quality stringent EU, USA, and the Japanese markets. The main concern are related to the registration process, but also VOCs degradation and residues in fruit, formulation and organoleptic impact, are aspects that have to be thoroughly considered prior to commercialisation of the selected VOC. Furthermore, VOCs could have an effective role for an eco-chemical approach in postharvest disease control since these biobased products, if compared to conventional ones, can offer clear environmental benefits due to their renewability, biodegradability and hypotoxicity.

Evaluation of Chemical, Biochemical and Microbiological Quality in Tomato Using Multivariate Analysis

Abstract Tomato quality is determined by metabolite content which is governed by post-harvest physiological changes. A 30-day full factorial experiment investigated pre-packaging, disinfection and storage temperatures on 18 different biochemical, microbiological, enzymatic and subjective quality attributes of tomato quality. Principal component analysis revealed associations among the variables such as PC1 (28.85%): coliform/enzymatic softening; PC2 (21.52%): free sugars/sweetness; and PC3 (18.20%): sucrose hydrolysis/microbial spoilage/defense metabolites. Discriminant analysis showed that some specific parameters were highly significant (P&lt;0.001) in determining quality changes in relation to the washing procedures and storage temperature. The prominence of ascorbic acid was observed in the equations which discriminate mostly on the basis of microbial deterioration. Further works in this respect entail fine-tuning through model verification of the equations. Multivariate analysis techniques are, therefore, recommended in studies whereby understanding of the phenomenon driving the post-harvest system’s dynamics has to be understood through diverse interrelated metabolic parameters.

Comparison of equilibrium models for grain aeration

Mathematical modeling has played a significant role in the post-harvest system of cereals, fruits and other food commodities. More specifically, simulations have increasingly been used for the optimal design, planning and operation of grain aeration systems. Many models have been proposed to simulate this process, and others have been adapted to this purpose. Among them, there are two equilibrium models which do not require expensive solution techniques and can be used to evaluate the process time, grain temperature and grain moisture content variations. This study deals with the evaluation of these models by comparing the simulation results with experimental data. Results showed that both models had good correlations with experimental data and presented a very similar performance. The two evaluated models can be easily implemented in computer programs, contributing to improvements in this process control and guaranteeing the management of grain quality during the storage period.

Soft or Hard

In the Global South, inadequate infrastructure at the village level is considered as the major constraint for the economic empowerment of socio-economically deprived communities, living marginal life at the remotest part of the state. Whenever we talk about infrastructure development, normally road transport systems, health care services, education facilities and business opportunities come in our mind. In this article, these are considered as the hard infrastructure that someone can perceive. The article, however, also examines about soft infrastructure or the knowledge development, institutional structures including socio-political configurations and other societal issues related to livelihood generations that can play an imperative role for the financial enhancement of a society, particularly which is belonging at the bottom level. Defining infrastructure in a new direction, the article presents how both soft infrastructure in terms of knowledge development and hard infrastructure in terms of post-harvest advanced storage system for minor forest products can boost-up livelihood generation for economically deprived communities, living at the forest fringe areas in the Global South with an example from the south-western part of West Bengal, India.

Quality of Garabia (A Nigerian Traditional Snack) From Four Varieties of Rice As Affected By the Addition of Cowpea

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the nutritional and sensory attributes of garabia a traditional cereal-based snack of Nigeria manufactured from flour obtained from broken fractions of milled four popular rice varieties in Nigeria as a strategy for the improvement of rice postharvest system for improved income and livelihood. The mean moisture, protein, fat, ash and carbohydrate contents of rice-cowpea blend garabia were 2.25, 11.87, 34.83, 2.04, and 49.00%, respectively and ranged between 1.88 to 2.47% for moisture, 10.72 to 12.86% for protein with FARO 52 blend having the highest and NERICA-L34 recording the lowest value. Calcium was found to be the most abundant mineral in rice garabia. The calculated metabolizable energy values of the blended rice garabia showed that the products are concentrated energy sources and compares favorably snacks from other sources. Consumer overall acceptability (liking) rating was higher than 6 (like slightly) based on hedonic ratings based on 9-point hedonic scales indicating that the product are well-liked by the consumers. It can then be concluded that addition of cowpea to rice flour for the production of garabia significantly improves nutritive value of the products with little or no pronounced effect on consumer acceptability.