eChapters

Pomegranate is one of the important fruits of tropical and sub tropical regions. It is also cultivated in semi arid and arid tracts of the country but requires irrigation facilities for better quality of fruits production. Pomegranate is used as fresh and making delicious juice. In India, it is cultivated for domestic consumption and export. Versatile adaptability, hardy nature, less cost in orchard management, low irrigation water requirement as compared to other commercial fruit crops, high yield potential, fine table and therapeutical values and excellent keeping quality has made this fruit more lucrative and remunerative (Sharma et al., 2014).

In global market, India plays a significant role of export of fruits. Recently exports of pomegranate from India have increased and extended to several countries. India stands firmly at third position with 14% market share in pomegranate export after China and Iran.

The annual export of pomegranate fruits from India is about 67, 892 metric tonnes (MT) amounting to revenue of ‘688 crore (Annon, 2019). For export purpose, Phule Arakta, Bhagawa, Super Bhagawa and Mridula varieties are suitable (Anon, 2003).

The highest importer of Indian pomegranate is Gulf countries led by United Arab Emirates (19,000 MT) followed by South East Asian Countries prominently, Bangladesh (10,500 MT) and Nepal (10,000 MT). Among European countries the biggest exporter is Netherlands (4,449 MT) followed by UK (576 MT). Recently, India has also started exporting fresh pomegranate to USA to the tune of 209 MT generating a revenue of 11 crore ((Annon, 2019).

• 52% use of the fruit of total weight.
• Comprising 78% juice and 22% seeds
• CIAH – Central Institutes for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner.
• Cultivars – Alandi or Vadki, Bassein Seedless, Dholka Ganesh, Jalore Seedless, Jyothi, Kabul, Kandhari, Paper Shell, Muskat Red, G-132, G-107, G-137, P-13, P-16, P-23, P-26.
• Hybrid – Mridul – Ganesh × Gul-E-Shah Red (fruit spot infection)
• Ruby – M
• Type of inflorescence is Hypanthodium.
• Pomegranate is a subtropical fruit crop.
• It is commercially propagated by hardwood cutting.
• Fruit cracking happens due to baron deficiency and water imbalance.
• HDP - (5 m × 2 m)- 1000/ha

  (5 m × 5 m)- 400/ha

Pomegranate, Punica granatum is a non-climacteric fruit belonging to smallest Botanical family Punicaceae. In India, Maharashtra is a leading producer of pomegranate followed by Gujarat. Around 90 pests are reported to feed on pomegranate plant out of which only few are of economic concern. The major insect pests and mites are discussed herewith:

Anar butterfly, Deudorix epijarbas (Moore); D. isocrates (Fabricius); (Lycaenidae: Lepidoptera)

Pomegranate fruit borer, commonly known as anar butterfly is a polyphagous direct pest found throughout the country. In addition to pomegranate, it also feeds on number of crops viz. litchi, citrus, loquat, guava, sapota, aonla etc. Even the wild pomegranate is heavily infested by the fruit borer. Two species namely Deudorix epijarbas and D. isocrates are reported feeding on pomegranate out of which the former is found in hilly terrain of Northern India whereas, the latter exists in the plains of the country. The eggs are glossy, light green and shiny. The larva is dark brown with short hairs and bears whitish patches all over the body (Plate 9d). The full fed larva measures 17-20mm. The adult of D. epijarbas is a brownish butterfly with an orange patch in the

7.1. Introduction

The integrated farming system (IFS) is becoming increasingly important for effective farm resource management in order to increase farm productivity, reduce environmental degradation, improve the quality of life for resource-poor farmers, and ensure sustainability. Integration happens when one production sub-system's outputs (typically by-products) are used as inputs in another within the farm unit (Radhammani et al., 2003; Lightfoot and Minnick, 1991). IFS are a mixed farming system made up of at least two distinct but logically linked components of crop and animal enterprises. The integrated farming system is effective in reducing risk, increasing productivity and revenues, and improving the use of organic waste and agricultural leftovers.

Pongamia pinnata or Mellettia pinnata or Pongamia glabra or Derris indica (2n=2x=22) is a tropical ever green fast growing leguminous tree, with glabrous, glossy and deciduous leaves. The tree is native to India and South Asia and also found in Oceania.

Indication -To know the method of POP bandaging technique.

Method of preparation of POP bandage rolls-

A gauze bandage of 6" or 4" width is spread on a clean floor. Plaster of paris powder is spread uniformly over the entire length of bandage & is folded into roll bandage. In this way 4-6 bandage rolls are prepared.fig-1(a)&(b)

Method of preparation of pop bandage splints

The length of the prepared pop splint is determined by measuring the entire length of fractured bone along with the joint below and above the fractured site) are measured. This much of length of gauze is spread for splint preparation.

POP powder is impregnated upon gauze. The gauze is again spread over this much of length in this manner sprinkling of POP powder & overlapping gauze bandage upto 4-6 layer are continued [fig-1 (b)]

Definition

Compound fracture is a type of fracture in which a broken piece of bone protrudes to outside rupturing the skin with a risk of further infection.

Procedure of management

Clean and flush thoroughly the exposed bone using sterile NS followed by sterile medicated NS (NS with antibiotic or antiseptic). Figure (1)

Mop dry the wound thoroughly.

Apply topical antiseptic or antibiotic.

Put the bone inside the part.

With a sterile artery forcep fix a flushing catheter within the wound at its higher level. Figure (2)

Cover the wound over fracture site with sterile soft padded absorbent cotton padding. Figure (2)

The joint below and above of the fracture site covered with thick layered padded cloth before application of POP cast. Figure (3)

POP cast is wrapped as per the conventional procedure over the fracture site covering the joint below and above. Figure (4)

INTRODUCTION

Total forest cover in India is 70.17 million ha or 21.34% of the total geographical area according to the State of Forest Report 2015. Of this, 8.59 million ha (2.61%) is very dense forest, 31.54 million ha (9.59%) is moderately dense and rest of 30.04 million ha (9.14%) is open. The trees outside forest (TOF) are estimated to cover 9.26 million ha area which constitutes about 2.82% of the total geographical area of the country.  Thus the total forest and tree cover of the country is 24.16% of the total geographical area. The estimates of total growing stock of forest and TOF are 4.195 billion m3 and 1.573 billion m3, respectively. The total growing stock of wood in the county is estimated to be at 5.678 billion m3 which implies an average growing stock of 72.63 m3 ha-1 in 79.42 million ha of forest and tree cover (FSI 2016).

Poppy seed (Papaver somniferum Linn.) is just what one might think – the mature seed of a beautiful flower, known and used for at least 5000 years. Native of the Mediterranean region, as are so many of spice seeds and herbs, Poppies were taken to India and the East by Islamic missionaries, more than a thousand years ago. Poppy seed is so tiny that one pod may contain up to 30000 seeds and it takes some 9,000,000 seeds to weigh one pound! Each seed has a tiny droplet of nut-sweet oil which explains its flavor appeal. Although poppy seed comes from the same plant which produces opium, the seed cannot form until after the plant has matured to the point where it has lost all of its opium potential. Therefore, there is absolutely no narcotic content in poppy seed. Poppy seed is grown in the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, the Balkan countries, Turkey, Argentina, and, to some extent, India. Poppy is cultivated either for the manufacture of opium or for its seeds. In India,variety album (Papaver somniferum Linn. var. album) of Poppy with white seeds has been cultivated for many years for the production of seeds under license in Dehra Doon and Tehri Garhwal districts of former Uttar Prdesh (now Uttarakhand), in India. It is also grown in Jalandhar, Patiala, Kapurthala, and, Hoshiarpur of Punjab State, in India, and, also in some districts of Madhya Pradesh, in India. The continuation of cultivation of Poppy for Poppy heads and Poppy seeds was reviewed by the All India Narcotics Conference in 1956, and, on its recommendation, the State Government of Punjab banned the cultivation of Poppy for Poppy heads for the manufacture of opium for a maximum period of 4 years, by which time, it was expected that necessary developmental measures would be taken to enable the cultivation of alternative crops in lieu of opium Poppy. In India, best seeds are obtained when the capsules have not been incised for extraction of opium. The crop is

HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH

The evolution of man took place about one million years ago in response to changes in the physical environment. We learnt gradually to adapt different modes of life to varying environments and migrated different parts of the world. Human activities have had their impact on the environment, which was depending on the number of people living in  the area and  their level  of economic development. Per capita consumption of food, energy and other resources in developed countries is larger and its impact on the environment is much greater than equal number of persons living in developing countries in Africa or Asia. Therefore, the distribution of population needs to be examined in detail.

Abstract

Population dynamics studies of phytoparasitic nematodes (mainly 2nd stage juveniles of root-knot nematode; Meloidogyne incognita) in the rhizosphere of persimmon (Diospyros kaki ) orchard, were carried out, in relation to seasonal fluctuations. There was recorded remarkable impact of temperature on the nematode population.  Highest nematode populations (7148/ 200 cc soil) were recorded during May, when temperature was maximum; 22.9^ºC (15.7- 30.0^ºC). Least population density of the nematode were extracted during January when temperature remained minimum; 7.9^ºC (2.4-13.3^ºC). However, relative humidity during entire course of investigation did not show any considerable impact on the population fluctuation of the nematode. With the fall in temperature from July onwards up to January (22.6- 7.9 ^ºC) there was gradual decline in the nematode population (3813- 468/ 200 cc soil), showing thereby that nematode populations in the rhizosphere is directly affected by the prevailing temperature and thereby soil temperature.

India produced 121.8 MT milk during the year 2011-12 and continued to rank first in world milk production. India contributed 16 % of world milk production. As per 2010 statistic, India with 12.5 % of world cattle population contributed 8.4 % in world cow milk and  with 56.7 % of world buffalo population contributed  67.45 % in world buffalo milk. In total milk production of India, contribution of crossbreds, indigenous cattle and buffalo were 23 %, 20% and 53%, respectively.

Abstract

Amongst various soil-borne diseases of apple, white root rot (Dematophora necatrix) causes severe losses both in nursery as well as in grown up orchards and is a limiting factor in raising healthy nursery of apple. Seedlings are killed within a short period depending upon the age of the host and environmental factors. The present investigations were, therefore, undertaken to study the population dynamics of VAM fungi in rhizosphere soil  of apple plant alone and in combination with green amendments and its role in disease suppression. The study revealed that there was variation in population dynamics of VAM fungi alone and in combination with green amendments. It was observed that apple seedlings grown in VAM inoculated fungi (Glomus sp. and Glomus heterosporum) and green amended   soils had more VAM population and colonization in roots than non-amended (minus crop residue) soils after pathogen inoculation. The population of Glomus sp.(350/100gm soil) was maximum in soybean+ Glomus sp. inoculated soil and it was observed that VAM fungi and crop residues in combination suppresses the disease to maximum extent as compared to their alone effect and only 8.7 per cent disease index was recorded in apple seedlings inoculated with mungbean+ Glomus sp. followed by 16.03% in soybean+ Glomus sp. inoculated seedlings.

38.1 Introduction

To fishery management, understanding the abundance of a given species population is critical to the success of that species’ fishery. In this context, a fish population is a naturally occurring stock of a race of fish that occupy a specific area of space and act as a biological unit. The density of the fish population, on the other hand, is the population size per unit of space.

Genes in Populations

• A population is a group of interbreeding individuals who share a gene pool
• Some genes are monomorphic, and others are polymorphic
• Population genetics is concerned with allele and genotype frequencies

The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

The Hardy-Weinberg equation can be used to calculate genotype frequencies based on allele frequencies

Nonrandom mating may occur in natural and human populations

Concept

Basic concept of this type of improvement is to accumulate, infuse and improve the frequency of favourable genes in established population. This includes the removal or substitution of an undesirable gene with a counterpart favourable one with the superior performance in a given environment, incorporation of a balanced gene combination for better performance - per se or may be even bringing in a better plant type congenial for better physiological activity and biochemical versatility, resulting in better performance of a population. As per theory of Hayes (1963), most of the commercial varieties/hybrids can be improved in one way or the other for one or more of the agronomic attributes. This is primarily because some of the lines in each hybrid generally excel in comparison with other in their ability to transmit desirable characters to their hybrid progeny and thus provide scope for the improvement of the weak inbred lines of the hybrid to further better its performance. The choice of the particular population improvement technique mainly depends upon the genetic information. Since by and large, population improvement techniques envisage controlled crossing followed by selection and recrossing by further selection. This information is vital. Therefore, before deciding upon the choice of a particular methodology, such information as the type of gene action involved in the expression of attribute under improvement, nature of genetic associations, extent of heritability, various possibilities of genetic manipulations should be available. Some of the procedures, which could be successfully utilized in population improvement of parents used in released hybrid populations, are backcross method of breeding, convergent improvement, gamete selection, technique for the removal of complementary genes and step ladder method of breeding.

Theories of Population

The theory of population is studied because the supply of labour depends upon population and its growth. Observing the abnormal growth of population and consequent fall in the standard of living, Thomas Malthus (1760-1834) an English Clergyman frst studied population growth in various countries of Europe. Later he wrote a book entitled “An Essay on the Principles of Population” in 1798. His his theory is popularly known as Malthusian theory of population. To quote the theory in his own words “By nature human food increases in a slow arithmetic ratio, man himself increases in a quick geometric ratio unless want and vice stop him”

17.1. Theories of Population
The theory of population is studied because the supply of labour depends upon population and its growth. Observing the abnormal growth of population and consequent fall in the standard of living, Thomas Malthus (1760 – 1834) an English Clergyman first studied population growth in various countries of Europe. Later he wrote a book entitled “An Essay on the Principles of Population” in 1798. His observations compelled him to foresee a gloomy future for the human race and hence emphasized the immediate need to keep the population growth under check. Now his theory is popularly known as Malthusian theory of population. To quote the theory in his own words “By nature human food increases in a slow arithmetic ratio, man himself increases in a quick geometric ratio unless want and vice stop him.”
17.1.2. Propositions of Malthusian Theory
These are briefly presented below:
1. Population is necessarily limited by means of subsistence (food supply). According to Malthus in a country the size of population depends on its food production. Greater the food production, larger would be the size of population, which a country can support and smaller the food production then the country would be in a position to support smaller population only.
2. The power of population is infinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for men. He further adds that population growth always overtakes food production, since agricultural production is constrained by the law of diminishing returns. This prevents the food production to grow as faster as that of population. As such, there is no limit to the growth of population.
3. Population increases in geometric progression, whereas food production increases in arithmetic progression. This means that population tends to grow in quick geometric progression i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc., while,

Introduction

Women in India had a high and glorious tradition. All nations have attained their pinnacle of glory only when women have been free, cultured and pure. Women have been the transmitter of culture in all societies. Modern living has brought with it not only innumerable means of comfort but also a plethora of demands that tax human body and mind. Stress is an inescapable part of human life is manageable to a large extent. With proper understanding of the processes that cause stress, the situation can be well managed. The stress management is very easy if we sincerely analyze the reasons of stress. Physical stress management techniques have been used since a long time.

The investigator had undertaken the study entitled “Positive Therapy for enhancement of Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy and Management of Stress among Women in Local Governance in Coimbatore District”.

1. INTRODUCTION

Vegetables play a significant role in human nutrition, especially as sources of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and antioxidants. Consumption of vegetables on a daily basis is highly recommended because of its associated health benefits, which include reduced risk of chronic diseases.

Due to perishable nature of vegetables, the post harvest losses of these commodities are four to five times higher than those of food grains. The post harvest losses from vegetables accounts to a tune of Rs. 23,000 crores per year. Both quantitative and qualitative losses occur in horticultural commodities between harvest and consumption. Qualitative losses, such as palatability, nutritional quality, caloric value and consumer acceptability of fresh produce, are much more difficult to assess than the quantitative losses.

Postharvest losses vary greatly across commodity types, with area and the season of production. In contrast, the range of produce losses in developing countries varies widely. Losses at the retail, food service and consumer levels are estimated at approximately 20 per cent in developed countries and about 10 per cent in developing countries. Overall, about one third of horticultural crops produced are never consumed by humans. Reduction of post-harvest losses can increase food availability to the growing world population, decrease the area needed for production and conserve the natural resources.

1. Introduction

Post harvest storage is a powerful challenge in agriculture, about one third of the fresh fruits and vegetables are discarded because of the deterioration of quality of produce beyond a reasonable standard. (FAO, 2011; OCD, 2014) Any change or damage in the quality of product from harvest till consumption is considered as loss. Post harvest handling practices do not increase the quality of product, rather just slows down the process of deterioration. The quality and shelf life of produce is determined prior to the time of harvest. Various factors such as climate, soil preparation and cultivation, fertigation, pest and disease incidence, crop loads etc influence the quality and flavour aspects of fresh food.

23.1 INTRODUCTION

Mandarin oranges are the most popular among the citrus fruits and alone occupy more than 50% share under widely divergent citrus crops grown across the globe. In India, oranges have a place of prominence among fruit kind after mango and banana. It’s delicious, relishing, nutritious and handy fruits offer best mouth feel especially during summer when other fruits fail to quench thirst of throat. There is a need of scientific handling so as to accentuate trade and to exploit market potential of mandarin fruit.

Country wide, orange covers an area of 5.02 lakh hectares and the production is of the order of 43.96 lakh tonnes accounting for 12.03% and 6.40 % share under total acreage and production respectively in the fruits (Anon., 2010). Orange’s production in developed countries is projected to grow at an annualized rate of 0.6 per cent and that in developing country at 0.8 per cent.

In Rajasthan, ‘Nagpur’ mandarin and ‘Kinnow’ fruits occupy a place of prominence among various citrus crops grown. Cultivation of ‘Nagpur’ mandarin is mainly concentrated to Jhalawar district where it covers about 6040 ha area producing 87586 tons fruits, annually. After the implementation of National Horticulture Mission the area is further increasing steadily in the district.

Introduction

Ever since the civilization of mankind, efforts have been directed towards accumulating and storing foods when they are in plenty in order to meet needs during the days of scarcity. In case of food grains not much problem was faced due to nature’s noble way of reducing the moisture level as the grains mature. However, in case of fruits and vegetables, long-term storage in their fresh form was not possible (until development of modern methods) primarily due to their high degree of perishability owing to high moisture content of these commodities at the time of harvest.

Appropriate Post Harvest Management (PHM) of horticultural crops fruits and vegetables in their fresh form prolongs their usefulness and in some cases improves their quality. It also checks market glut, helps in orderly marketing, increases financial gain to the producers and preserves quality of produce for much longer time. Horticultural produce like fruits, vegetables and cut flowers are living, respiring tissues separated from the parent plant. Therefore, the aim of PHM is to control various physiological processes viz. respiration, transpiration and other metabolic activities to keep produce in maximum usable form.

1. INTRODUCTION

India is a vast country having a geographical area of 328 million hectares with 15 distinct agro-climatic zones. Fruits and vegetables are one of the most important and fast growing sub-sectors as they form an indispensable part of healthy diet. It holds a unique position for growing a wide range of vegetables in its diverse agro-climatic conditions. World production of vegetables amounts to 486 million tons, while that of fruits is 392 million tons. India produces 159.5m MT tons of vegetables from an area of 9.07 million hectare annually (NHB, 2013). Productivity of vegetables in India presently is 16.7 tons per hectare. India produces 36 % green peas and 10% onion of world’s production. Onion, potatoes and green vegetables like okra, bitter gourd and green chillies also have good export potential. Being rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and natural antioxidants most vegetables are classified as the protective foods. However, owing to the presence of high moisture content and mostly being non acidic, the vegetables are highly perishable and needs to be handled properly and immediately after harvest. Processing of vegetables into different value added products is one of the most effective alternatives to reduce post harvest losses.

Vegetables are highly beneficial for the maintenance of health and disease prevention. An intake of about 280 grams of vegetables per day per person has been considered essential. Vegetable unlike cereals deteriorated quickly when stored for long periods because of the relatively high moisture contents. Huge amounts of losses take place between harvesting and consumption. Various causes are attributed to the deterioration process and it becomes essential to adopt integrated, low cost system of post harvest technology right from the pre-harvest stage.

Pulses are the major source of lysine richprotein, which is supplementaryto cereal based proteins (metheonine).Leguminous speciesproducing edible seeds occupy prominent place in Indian dietary habits. They are, even today, a primary sourceof protein forthe majority of population in the country. Avariety of pulse crops such as peas, lentils, urad, tur, moong, yellow peas, chickenpea,pigeonpea andbeans aregrown underdifferent agro-climatic conditions, and India is recognized globally as a major player contributing toabout25 percentoftheworld’sproduction.Thepresent demand forpulsesin the countryis estimated to be about 15 milliontonnes, while the productionhovers around 12 to 14 million tones. The post harvest losses in the legumes take place at farm as well as in storage as reported by DMI (2002) are detailed in Table 1, 2 and 3.

The stages through which the commodity passes from harvest till consumption are considered as post harvest stages. Post harvest management is one important component of agriculture and is the key to make more food and nutrition available to people. In integrated farming system, varieties of foods are produced. However, if they are not stored properly and/or processed, there may be both quantitative and qualitative losses. The produce may be attacked by different extraneous organisms including microorganisms, birds, rodents, etc. These spoilage agents may impair the quality of food, degrade the nutritional value and even make the food unfit for consumption. Besides, value addition of the food produce is another area where the overall profitability of the farming system can be improved. Thus proper management of post harvest operations and value addition are very important.

Importance of post harvest management and value addition

It has been estimated that about 10% of the food grains and about 30-40% of the fruits and vegetables are lost every year in a country like India due to improper post harvest management and lack of value addition. New avenues to increase food production are being explored to meet the demand of growing population of the country. However, prevention of post harvest losses is one basic step that can be taken up to make more food available for the people. In addition, proper post harvest management and food processing can help in the following aspects.

Aromatic plants are one of the major natural resources of our country occurring in diverse eco-system. Lately, many people due to rare chances of side effects prefer herbal medicines/remedies and their safer products. Aromatic plants sector of our country is not well organized which needs to be given special attention in States as well as National level. At present in India, total trade of Ayurveda and other herbal
products is estimated to be around 5000 crores, which indicates that medicinal and aromatic plants have good potential. Presently, 90 percent of traded medicinal plants are generally collected from wild and rest from cultivation. These are either used fresh or in the form of crude drug, either dried whole plant or their part/parts such as root, stem, wood, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and their products. The major producers of medicinal products in the world are China, Brazil, Bulgaria, Poland and India.
Though India has rich medicinal and aromatic plant diversity, yet China is the largest exporter of medicinal plants earning huge amount (US $ 5 million) from herbal trade due to large scale cultivation, standardization of quality control, safe and regular suppliers to the international market. Despite being home for several Traditional System of Medicines and aroma industries, the export of herbal based products from India is below US $ 100 million. According to WHO estimates, the herbal and aroma market is growing at the rate of 7 percent annually. The major export market for India is USA, Japan, Germany, France, Australia etc.

The Myrtaceae family tree, the guava (Psidium guajava L.), is grown in tropical climates all over the world and bears fruit in the summer, autumn and winter. Guavas are widely grown in Mexico, Brazil, India, and other countries. They have climacteric respiration patterns. Harvested at different maturities, it frequently causes early senescence because to its quick ripening within 1-2 days after physiological maturity. The fruit has notable losses (20–30%) during handling, storage, and transportation because to its thin peel, high moisture content, and inadequate post-harvest infrastructure. Though processing levels in the nation are still low, effective post-harvest management techniques can reduce these losses, improve fruit availability, and even increase processing. Product quality may be increased by better preservation methods and adherence to hygienic guidelines (Basak & Chakraborty, 2020).
18.1 Maturity Indices
The ideal consumption stage, which varies depending on the type, determines when to harvest guava. Fruits should be collected at the mature, hard stage before any symptoms of ripening if they are to be consumed when still green. Harvesting for those intended to be soft and ripe happens when a noticeable green to yellow colour shift and initial softening are observed. Postponing harvesting to a more mature stage might lead to a rise in fruit fly infection. In green fruit, the Soluble Solids Content (SSC) varies from 3% to over 10%, whereas the Titratable Acidity (TA) varies from 0.2 to 1.5%. Variations in seasonal acidity are possible, but cultivar sweetness and acidity are distinct (Ghosh & Gupta, 2015).
18.2 Harvesting
Harvesting guava, a climacteric fruit, is ideal when mature but still firm, ensuring excellent taste and distinctive flavor upon ripening, showcasing the unique characteristics of each cultivar. While seedling guavas may bear fruit after 5–6 years, grafted or air-layered plants exhibit precocity, yielding the first crop at 2 to 3 years of age. Individual hard and firm fruits are picked regularly (Reddy & Kumar, 2019).

Flowers are highly perishable unlike other horticultural or agricultural crops. Owing to poor keeping quality the post harvest losses in floriculture are significantly higher than any other sector. Although there has been significant increase in the area, production and productivity of flower crops in the last two decades, there is an urgent need to minimize the huge post harvest losses in terms of the value of the produce which are estimated to be 30-40 per cent of farm value. The post harvest behavior of flowers is an outcome of the physiological processes, occurring in leave, stem, flower bud, leafless peduncle or scape connecting bud to the stem. Some of these processes may act independently to affect the senescence and vase life of cut flowers but most of them are inter-related. The nature and extent of post harvest damage is typical for each crop or cultivar. The post harvest losses become important especially when dealing with the export of fresh flowers to distant and foreign market. Therefore, patient, soft and expert handling of flowers is of utmost importance after harvest.

Fruits and vegetables are living tissues subject to continuous change after harvest. Some changes are desirable from consumer point of view but most are not. Post-harvest changes in fresh fruit cannot be stopped, but these can be slowed down within certain limits to enhance the shelf life of fruits. The post-harvest handling plays an important role in extending the storage and marketable life of horticultural perishables.

Post Harvest Treat ment of Fruits and Vegetables Washing

It is useful in removing surface adhering material water. Mechanically, it is also accomplished by passing the fruits/vegetables through machine arranged with water tank equipped with rotating brush. In some produce washing improves appeal by facilitating removal of sap as case in mango, papaya, jackfruit, kronda, dirt in case of carrot, reddish, turnip, sugar beet, sweet potato, etc. and for removal of debris in case of banana. The water use for the purpose should be cleaned otherwise fungal and bacterial levels may build up. Disinfected treatment using ultraviolet light, ozone, chlorine (100 ppm), calcium hydroxide, etc. help to clean water for washing purpose.

1. The goal of —————— is to gather commodity from the field at proper stage of maturity With minimum damage.

   a) Harvesting

   b) Grading

   c) Sorting

   d) Handling

2. Harvesting in rose is done at —————— stage

   a) Loose bud

   b) Tight bud

   c) Fully open

   d) Partially open

Fruits and vegetables account for nearly 90% of total horticulture production in the country. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world and the leader in several horticultural crops namely Mango, Banana, Papaya, Cashewnut, Arecanut, Potato and Okra. However, the nature of horticultural crops being such that it’s not easy to make assessment of their production. These crops, especially vegetables are grown in small plots, fields or in the backyard of the houses;

Fruits and vegetables account for nearly 90% of total horticulture production in the country. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world and the leader in several horticultural crops namely Mango, Banana, Papaya, Cashewnut, Arecanut, Potato and Okra. However, the nature of horticultural crops being such that it’s not easy to make assessment of their production. These crops, especially vegetables are grown in small plots, fields or in the backyard of the houses; do not have single harvesting in most of the cases which makes their assessment difficult. Many horticultural crops have multiple pickings in a single season. Similarly many fruit trees are scattered, which do not count for assessment.

India has witnessed increase in horticulture production over the last few years. Significant progress has been made in area expansion resulting in higher production. Over the last decade, the area under horticulture grew by 2.6% per annum and annual production increased by 4.8%. During 2017-18, the production of horticulture crops was 311.71 Million Tonnes from an area of 25.43 Million Hectares. The production of vegetables has increased from 101.2 Million Tonnes to 184.40 Million Tonnes since 2004-05 to 2017-18 and production of fruits has increased from 50.9 Million Tonnes to 97.35 Million Tonnes since 2004-05 to 2017-18.

The storage life of fresh lemon at 10ºC is

A. 6-10 weeks           B. 10-15 weeks

C. 12-20 weeks        D. 12-16 weeks

Optimal quality organic produce that combines the desired textural properties, sensory shelf-life, and nutritional content results from the careful implementation of recommended production inputs and practices, careful handling at harvest, and appropriate postharvest handling and storage. This section will focus on an overview of general postharvest handling considerations unique to the marketing of registered or certified organic produce.

Maturity index for fruits and vegetables

The principles dictating at which stage of maturity a fruit or vegetable should be harvested are crucial to its subsequent storage and marketable life and quality. Post-harvest physiologists distinguish three stages in the life span of fruits and vegetables: maturation, ripening and senescence. Maturation is indicative of the fruit being ready for harvest. At this point, the edible part of the fruit or vegetable is fully developed in size, although it may not be ready for immediate consumption. Ripening follows or overlaps maturation, rendering the produce edible, as indicated by taste. Senescence is the last stage, characterized by natural degradation of the fruit or vegetable, as in loss of texture, flavour, etc. (senescence ends at the death of the tissue of the fruit). Some typical maturity indexes are described in following sections.

Since time immemorial, spices have played a vital role in world food trade, due to their varied properties and applications. We primarily depend on spices for flavour and fragrance as well as colour, preservative, inherent therapeutic, medicinal and appetizing properties. The spices that India can offer in abundant quantities are pepper, ginger, turmeric, chili, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, fennel, cumin, dill, coriander, cinnamon, ajowan, cloves, nutmeg, mace etc.

Introduction

India produces 77.51 million tones of fruits of which only 10-20% are processed and rest are used as fresh (Singh 2010).  The post harvest losses are estimated to be in the order of 20-40%.  In terms of value it exceeds Rs.2000/- crores annually (Chadha 1989).  Processing of fruits under arid conditions is all the more important due to non-availability of fresh produce throughout the year in rural areas.  However, the area and production under arid fruits are increasing day by day in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat.  As a result seasonal glut has started in the local market and growers are not able to get the remunerative prices of their produce. In our country over 70% of the Indian population resides in village and are engaged mainly in farming and related activities besides their exclusive involvement in domestic work. Keeping above points in view, Agro-based technology should be developed for rural masses to create gainful employment by increasing the productivity through value added processed from arid fruits.

Pineapple is a tropical plant with edible multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It is named after pine cone due its resemblance with its structure. It is the most economically important plant in the family of Bromeliaceae. It is widely grown throughout the world for its dual-purpose use in the form of fresh fruit and many processed products. It is a tropical fruit having excellent taste, juiciness, aroma and flavour which is preferred by many people. It is also rich source of fibre, potassium and vitamin C, vitamin B1 and vitamin B6. One of the important constituents in the fruit is proteolytic enzyme bromelein which is known to have significant use in treating conditions like inflammation, sinusitis, arthritis and early recovery from surgery (Joy, 2010). Bromelein is a digestive enzyme also used as meat tenderizer. Pineapple is cultivated in an area of 106.22 thousand ha and total production is 1,527.93 thousand tons (APEDA). Major producing states of pineapple were West Bengal, Assam and Karnataka. Pineapple is highly perishable fruit which transpires heavily and lose moisture thus have high susceptibility to spoilage microorganism (Hossain and Bepary, 2015). There are often several difficulties in production of pineapple with its physiologically active state even after harvest and non climacteric nature. Even though production is more, there are enormous post harvest losses for the fruit. The overall losses being encountered constitute 32.12 percent (6.82% at farm level, 3.09% at wholesale market and transportation, 5.44 % at retail market level, 5.64% during storage, 4.31% in processing unit and 6.82% at consumer level respectively) as reported by Ningobam, (2019).

Roughly one-third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted. The India Agricultural Research Data Book from 2004 states that 30% of fruits and vegetables are wasted. Based on an estimated 150 million tonnes of fruit and vegetable output in India, 50 million tonnes of trash are produced annually.

The quality of fruits and vegetables starts to decline as soon as they are removed from their natural source of nutrients. Artificial ripening chemicals are used to speed up the harvesting process, but they also degrade the product and have long-term negative health impacts. Mangoes, for instance, mature rapidly once calcium carbonate is injected into them. Chemicals such as copper sulphate, rhodamine oxide, malachite green, and lethal carbide are frequently utilised to highlight the colour and freshness of vegetables.

World trade of fresh cut flower is increasing day by day. Fresh flowers lose their freshness and quality both during travel and also during and after arrangements due to flower specific short vase life. Such deficiencies can be ameliorated through application of nutrient additives to vase water. Use of preservative solutions has been known for many years to increase the vase life of cut flowers. Different methods like use of holding, pulsing and bud opening solution, growth regulators, gamma irradiation, pre-cooling, cold storage, packaging etc. are already in practice in the flower trade to ensure the garden fresh quality of flowers to consumers (Singh et al., 2001). The floral business is expanding in a big way, nationwide.  Sales of cut flowers are rising faster through retailers as every state has entered into development of supermarket chains. Cut flower sale through retailers is  a booming business. Retail growers and Wholesale growers are the major players in our country for domestic market. Retail market suffers from logistic bottlenecks. Retailers do not have any background scientific knowledge to increase the vase life of cut flowers. Flower buyers are very choosy and prefer quality bloom with longer vase life.

India ranks 23^rd among world exporters of floriculture products and its share in the world exports are at around 0.38 per cent. It is estimated that fresh cut flowers of worth Rs. 100 crores are being exported annually from India. On the other hand the post harvest losses are estimated to be more than 30-35 per cent. The loss of quality in ornamentals may result from wilting or abscission of leaves and petals, yellowing of leaves and geotropic or phototropic bending of scapes and stems. Several factors prevailing during pre harvest, harvest and post-harvest stage affect the post harvest quality and longevity of cut flowers. Each step in the life span of post-harvest flower is associated with a number of coordinated biochemical, physiological, hormonal and structural changes that are strongly modulated by the fluctuations of environmental factors and stresses of biotic and abiotic origin.

Fruit Maturity Criteria
 
    1.    The fruit takes about 135 to 170 days to mature depending on the variety.

    2.    In summer, mature fruit turns yellow and is dark pink in winter and rainy season.

    3.    The calyx at the bottom of the fruit turns hard and curves inwards.

    4.    The fruit shape gets compact

    5.    The fruit skin becomes hard.

    6.    The color of the aril turns dark red or pink and is full of juice and sweetness.

Pulses are one of the highly consumed eatables due to their palatability and nutritious quality. They are essential components of food as sources of protein to vast vegetarian population. Being a cheap source of proteins, pulses also play an important role in nutritional security of the nation. Pulses also provide green pods for vegetables and nutritious fodder for cattle because of their rich essential amino acid lysine content. Dry pulses are converted to dal and used by majority of people. Since majority of Indians are vegetarians, they depend largely on grain legumes (pulses) for their dietary protein.

The stages through which the commodity passes from harvest till we consume that are considered as post harvest stages. Post harvest management is an important component of agriculture and is the key to make more food and nutrition available to people. This is very important when it is estimated that almost about 10% of the food grains are lost every year in a country like India due to improper post harvest management and lack of value addition (Pal and Dash, 2012).

Introduction

Once the cashew fruits fallen, are collected, the nuts are to be separated from the cashew apple and sun dried for 2 to 3 days. This is very important in view of the quality of kernels obtained during subsequent processing. Raw nuts at the time of harvest will have moisture content ranging between 16 to 25 per cent; while sun dried nuts have moisture content of 8 to 10 per cent (Nagaraja, 2000). If the nuts are not dried and stored properly, it leads to fungal spoilage resulting in poor quality of kernels. Fungi such as Gonatobotryum, Helminthosporium sp., Corynespora sp., Alteraaria sp., Verticillium sp. and many species of Aspergillus have been isolated from stored cashew nuts (Joseph, 1981). In view of the occurrence of fungi, drying of the raw nuts before storage becomes absolutely essential. Maximum permissible moisture content of raw cashew nuts is 8.7 to 9.1% (Ohler, 1979). Okwelogu and Mackay (1969) have reported that high whole nut or kernel moisture percentages are closely associated with high shell moisture contents and for nuts whose moisture content is in equilibrium with the ambient relative humidity, the moisture content of whole nut and kernel could be predicted from that of shell with more than 99% accuracy. A higher kernel shell weight ratio has been shown to be inversely proportional to moisture content.

India produce a wide range of tropical, subtropical and temperate horticultural crops at different places by virtue of its varietals agro- climate conditions. The total annual production of fruits and vegetables is around 135.5 million tones, fruits being 48 million tones and vegetables around 87.5 million tones. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetable in the world. They are major sources of important valuable vitamins and minerals. Being highly perishable, fruits and vegetables can be preserved and processed either at farm level or at cottage scale/home scale during market glut season or extra seasonal produce from kitchen garden for later use. Farmers and entrepreneurs can set up their own processing units by adopting simple, low cost innovative processing technologies which will save post harvest losses of these perishable crops and also give good returns to grower and better earning to processor/ entrepreneurs.

Tuber crops are rated as one of the richest sources of energy, besides being a treasure house of vitamins and minerals. The highest rate of dry matter production per day per unit area makes tuber crops important in the food economy, especially in meeting rural feed security. The tuber crop produce can also be processed into various food products to suit the taste and need of the urban, semi-urban and rural folk as well. Better post harvest management and diversification for production of value added products is one of the dependable methods to make tuber crops lucrative to both farmers and entrepreneurs.

Need to know Physiological maturity (PM), Harvestable maturity (HM) and harvesting method

·    If these factors are considered, the harvest produce will have the maximum seed quality characters in terms of germination, vigour and storability.

 The maturity is of two types depending on the purpose. If the crop is for grain production it is enough to harvest the crop during harvestable maturity. But when the crop is meant for seed purpose it is advisable to harvest the crop during physiological maturity.