1

Irmportance of Postharvest
Technology
Tndia, one of the largest food producer countries (I in
milk production, II in fruit and vegetable production and
III in food grain production at world level), possesses the
potential of being the biggest with the food and agricultural
sector contributing around 26 percent of the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). It is a paradox that people of the country
producing such huge quantities of food including fruits,
vegetables, milk, cereals grains etc. are still suffering from many
nutritional deficiencies in their diet, and even in some places,
the stomachs of people remain unfilled for the want of food.
The credit of this would predominantly go to the poor
postharvest infrastructure as well as knowhow and accessibility
to the facilities. All this makes us one among those countries
having largest postharvest losses. The reduction of losses
OCcuring during food handling, processing, storage, distribution
and use would be an indirect way of increasing the food

-1
 2 Postharvest Management and Processing Importance of Postharvest Technology 3

production and making the country self-sufficient in nutritional

Production Statisties of Fruits and Vegetables in India
requirements.
Fruits total excluding melons
Fruit: Botanically fruits
are ripened ovary. Fruit is a
plant part
that may or may not be purely derived from ovary of the
Year Area (ha) Area Production Production
flowers, may be fleshy or pulpy in character, often juicy and
(million ha) (tonnes) (million tonnes)
predominantly sweet with some what acidic taste,
fragrant 4398400
aromatic flavours and generally not consumed cooked 2007 4.40 51141800 51..14
principal part of our meals.
during 2006 4165500 4.17 48045000 05
2005 4629075 4.63 42462400 42.46
Classification of Fruits 2000 3800275 3.80 41903120 41.90
1990 2513210 2.51 27358959 27.36
a. Simple Fruits: Fruits which develop from a single ovary of 1980 2206514 2.21 20357397 20.36
single flower. eg. lemon, lime, citrus, peach, apple, pear 1822084 1.82
e
1970
15786680o 15.79
1961 1549170 1.55 13372500 13.37
b. Aggregate Fruits: Fruits which develop from many ovaries
of a single flower. Vegetables and melons total
eg. raspberries, strawberries, black
berries Year Area (ha) Area Production Production
C. Multiple Fruits: Fruits which develop from many ovaries (million ha) (tonnes) (million tonnes)
of many flowers. eg. pineapple 2007 5674200D 5.67 72544600 72.54
2006 6062400 6.06
Vegetable : These the plant parts which are less sweet,
are
2005 7913600
75933600 93
7.91 91687500
generally non-acidic and consumed either cooked or raw during 2000 5463600 5.46
91.69
the principal part of our main meals. 72283700 72.28
Vegetable may be fruit, 1990 4799957 4.80 48936575 48.93
root, stem, leaf or flower of plant or their modifications. 1980 4350600 4.35 35975100 35.97
1970 3489170 3.49 25985900 25.99
Difference between Fruit and 1961 2779350
Vegetable 2.78 18468500 18.47
Fruit Source: FAO, 2009
Vegetable
1. Plant part
generally formed 1. It can be leaf, stem, root,
from flower (flower part) or flower etc. Definition
inflorescence Postharvest
2.
Generally consumed as raw, 2. Generally consumed as defined as
technology/Postharvest management
the branch of may be
not during principal meals cooked during principal agriculture
that
operations right from harvesting or even the
deals with all the

reaches consumer, eitherpre-harvest stages

meals till the
3. Generally acidic in nature 3. commodity in fresh
4. Mostly woody perennials
Generally non-acidic type food apple, mango, tomato fruits) or (grains,
4. Mostly non-woody annuals on processed
nectar, ketchup) and utilization of form (flour, juice,
biennials the wastes
5. Mostly propogated asexually seed, skin etc.) in a (pomace, peel,
5. Mostly propagated by seed. profitable manner
fermented beverages, colour (manufacture
of
extraction, pectin extraction etc.).
 G l aNd
Processing
Whatever unit Importance of Postharvest Technology
the
harvesting operations are done with the
with in stage till the
product crops right from
is consumed, all
harvest postharvesti.e.technology. Sometimes some
is dealt b. Reduction of cost of production: Postharvest
operations pre-harvest sprays of specific pre reduces cost of production, packaging,technology
transportation, marketing and distribution,storage,
on fruits that
results in calcium and boron lowers
are also
dealt with in improving firmness (postharvest quality) the price for the consumer and increases the farmer's
the postharvest
regular agronomic practices but technology as these
are not income.
are done to affect
postharvest quality. In postharvest the
Reducing malnutrition: Proper postharvest technology
types products i.e. fresh
of technology we deal with 3
C.

ensures availability of sufficient food to all thus

produce, processed products and
handling and processing wastes. reducing
malnutrition and ensuring healthy growth of the nation.
It also extends the season of availability of a particular
Importance of Postharvest Technology commodity.
Worldwide postharvest fruit and
high as 25 to 40% and vegetables losses are as
much higher in some
even
d. Economic loss reduction: Reduces economic losses at
countries. Reducing postharvest losses is developing growers level, during marketing and at consumer's
ensuring that sufficient food, both in terms ofimportant,
very for end.
quantity and
quality is available to every individual in this world. e. Availability: Had there been no knowledge of postharvest
The world
population will grow from 5.7 billion (1995) to 8.3 billion in technology, apples would not have ever reached Kerala
2025 so, the requirement of food will also increase. Production and banana in Himachal Pradesh or Kashmir. Today we
of can get perishable commodities like banana, tomato etc.,
a
particular crop can be increased to a limited extent by
throughout the year and in almost every place in the
using high yielding varieties and better agronomic practices.
country. Apples can be made available through out the
Wasting 40% of the production in a certain crop is just like
throwing away Rs 4,000/- out of a total salary of Rs 10,000/, year although the cropping season is just for 2-3 months.
Thanks to the advancements made in the field of
which nobody would ever like to do. Then why
do we accept
postharvest technology. The increasing exports of fruits
40% postharvest losses in horticultural crops? For the last many and vegetables has become
possible nly by the
years we have heard and read in many periodicals and books
interventions made in postharvest technology.
that India ranks second in production of fruits and vegetables
in the world, but if we subtract the quantity lost due to f. Employment generation: The food processing industry
ranks first in terms of employment
postharvest losses, our rank in production of fruits and generation with
approximately 15 lakhs persons employed. Employment
vegetables in the world would be much lower than what it is potential in postharvest and value addition sector is
atpresent. Following points shall highlight the importance of considered to be very high. Every Rs. 1 crore invested in
postharvest technology. fruits and vegetable
a. Reduction of postharvest losses: Postharvest technology
processing in the organized sector
been
generates 140 persons per year of employment as
ensures reduction of losses in what has already compared to just 1050 person day of employment per
losses is
produced. So, reduction of postharvest
an
year in Small Scale Investment (SSI) units. The SSI unit in
alternative way of increasing production of agricultural food industry employs 4,80,000 persons, contributing 13%
of all SSI units employed.
and horticultural crops.
6 Postharvest Management and
Processing Importance of Postharvest Technology

8. Export earnings: Export of fresh and processed Losses would Depend on the Following
horticultural commodities also Extent of Postharvest
attracts valuable foreign
exchange. Factors
.Perishability of the commodity (more
losses in perishables)
h. Defence and astronaut's requirements: Defence forces posted
in remote border areas as well as Ambient temperature and RH (high temperatures causing
astronauts who travel
into space have special requirements of ready to eat and more losses)
Fungal and bacterial decay (increases at high
high energy low volume food. This requirement is fulfilled temperature)
by processing industries. rodents and birds
1. lnfant and sports preparations: Today special infant and Damage by pests-insects,
and
consumption
.Time elapsed between harvesting
sports drinks and other processed preparations are and processing
available for use especially by these people. These Efficiency of postharvest handling, storage
preparations are done especially to meet the specific operations.

nutritional requirements of their body.

Reasons for High Postharvest Losses
where most of the
Postharvest Losses a. Unfavourable climate: India is a country
fruits are available from April to October, which is the
Fruits Estimated losses Vegetable Estimated losses
% of total (% of total hotter part of the year. The high temperature coupled
with high humidity during rainy season (June end to Sept)
production) production)
are most congenial for the growth and development
of
40-100 Potato 35-100
Papaya decay microorganisms.
Citrus 20-95 Sweet potato 35-95
Banana 20-80 Lettuce 62 b. Poor culturalpractices: In India, farmer does not know that
Avocado 43 Tomato 5-50 who will be the ultimate buyer or consumer of his produce.
Stone fruits 28 Cauliflower 49 He is just producing a particular commodity to sell and
27 Carrot 44 earn his living. No cultural practices are practiced to
Grape
14 Cabbage 37
Apple 16-35 improve the postharvest quality and shelf life. All cultural
Overall 30-40 % in Onion
practices done, aim at improving production and control
different crops diseases and pests.
Source: Verma and Joshi, 2000 C. Improper storage conditions: We do not have sufficient cold
storage facility to store our perishables during the glut
Possible Causes of Postharvest Losses period. The "cold chain" in which the commodity is
harvest is lost to
A significant portion of the world's food handled at low temperatures from harvesting till
the consumer. ln
spoilage and intestations on its journey to Consumption and which is often recommended for
weather and poorly
developing countries, where adverse handling perishables is hardly followed in India. Rather,
infrastructure contribute to the problem, losses are
developed We sometimes give temperature shocks to the commodity.
Postharvest losses occur
sometimes of staggering proportions. The commodity is harvested during day time when it is
at allstages begining with harvesting through handling, hot, transported in trucks or by railway (un refrigerated)
storage, processing, marketing till consumption.
8 Postharvest Management and Importance of Postharvest Technology 9
Processing
Sold in wholesale markets (in hot),then put into cold g. Education and resouTces: The human, economic and
technical resources and etforts for developing programs
storages (some perishables), again transported to retail
market and sold there in hot, purchased by consumer for prevention and reduction of postharvest losses of
perishables are inadequate. There is a lack of awareness
and put into refrigerators at home and then consumed.
and knowledge of technical and scientific technologies
Harvesting (hot) associated with preservation, processing, packaging,
distribution of horticultural
transporting, marketing and
Transportation by road or railway (hot) Commodities.

Vehicles used in transporting raw

Wholesale market (hot) h. Transportation facilities:
distant markets are
fruits and vegetables in bulk, to the
Cold storage (cool) not equippedwith refrigeration systems. Raw fruits and

vegetables when exposed to high (fluctuating)

Retail marketing (hot) temperatures and humidity during transportation
of
experience moisture loss, softening and bruising tissues,
Refrigerated storage (cool) inviting pathogens and ending in rotting.
Consumption
Share % (No. of units) of different commodities in
d. Inadequate handling during transportation: Harvesting in cold storage units in India
and handling during
many of the crops is not proper
non-scientific Milk & dairy products
packaging and transportation is rough and 8% (272)
thus causing a lot of bruising and impact damage to the Meat & fish
Others
and 3% (101)
commodity and inviting decay during marketing 1% (30)

storage. Fish
e. Inadequate facilities available for processing: India processes 10% (360)
less than 2% in organized sector as against 50-70% in
some developed countries. The reason is inadequate Meat
installed
processing facilities and under-utilization of
1% (23)
Potato
58% (2012)
capacity. Fruits and vegetables
f. Government policies: This involves the political conditions 6% (198)
under which a technological solution for reducing
or 1s
postharvest losses fails to be effective Multipurpose
unimplementable, eg. lack of a clear policy for facilitating
13% (447)
other
and encouraging utilization of fruits, vegetables and
Cold Storage Capacity in India
horticultural perishables and administration of human,
economic, technical and scientific resources to preven Source: Anonymous, 2008a

postharvest losses.
 Processin
Importance of Postharvest Technology
Type of Postharvest Losses 11

a. Loss of moisture, Grading, sorting

b. Loss of
wilting, shriveling etc.
Moisture conditioning,
carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins etc.
C.
Physical damage through pest, disease, insect/ Pre-cooling
rotting etc.) rodents Waxing
d. Quality loss due to physiological disorders (chilling Milling,
freezing injury etc.) injury, Extraction, pulping
e. Fibredevelopment (beans) Heating (pasteurization, sterilization, blanching),
f. Greening (potatoes), sweetness loss (pea) Cooling (freezing),
g. Sprouting (root, shoot growth) Roasting
h. Seed germination Puffing
i. Development of off flavours Flaking,
Retort processing
j. Changes in surface colour (green vegetables).
Packaging, wrapping
Transport and storage
Functions
Postharvest technology aims to- Processing : The fundamental principle of preservation of food
1. Provide longer shelf life to perishable produce by application of heat is known as processing or more precisely
2. Add value in terms of nutrition and money "Heat processing". Processing is any conscious unit operation
resulting in minor or major alterations in the natural shape,
3. Maintain and /or improve quality size, form, colour, sensory and chemical characteristics of a
4. Enhance form, space and time utility of the produce for natural produce and that adds value in terms of
preserving or
food, feed, fibre, fuel and industrial purposes. improving the quality and presentation of the produce and
5. Add variety to the regular food convenience of its use.
Preservation : Extending shelf life of fresh
6. Add convenience for utilization or
processed food by
using various methods of preservation i.e. asepsis, low
7. Generate employment and nutritional security temperature, high temperature, drying, chemicals, irradiation,
8. Reduce losses and indirectly increase total food production high pressures, electric fields, fermentation, anaerobic
9. Build a healthy nation. conditions, packing etc.

FAO has Categorized Food Processing into 3 Sectors

Postharvest Operations Include
Harvesting,
a.
Primary Processing: involving basic processing of natural
produce i.e. cleaning, grading, sorting, washing,
On-farm handling, dehusking etc.
Cleaning, timming, peeling
 Alaytlenm nd Process

b. Importance of Postharvest
Secondary Processing: involving Technology 13
of natural foods i.e. elementary modifications
packing,
extraction, preparation and waxing, pulping, juice Production Statistics of Different Agricultural Commodities

products for later use, preservation semi-finished

of
C.
hydrogenation of edible oils etc. Commodity in million tonnes) Rank in the world
Tertiary Processing: involving high levels of modifications Food grains 210 3rd
to
considerably alter the natural produce and to make it Oilseeds 26.1
ready to eat. i.e.
ketchup, RTS beverages, ice creams etc. Sugarcane 232.3
Fruits 51.1 2nd
As far as reduction of
postharvest losses is concerned, Vegetables 72.5 nd
adoption primary
of and secondary processing can alone create Milk 90.7 1st
a marked difference and would
open a number of new avenues 6.3
for the tertiary processing to be followed. Fish 7th
Eggs 45,000 million Nos. 5th
Today the food processing sector in India has been facing Poultry 489 million stock 6th
the problems of erratic,
inadequate and fluctuating supply of Livestock 483 million Nos. 1st
good quality raw materials, inadequate infrastructure, Meat 6.0
inadequate investment in organized sector, fragmented and
unorganized research and development, inadequately trained Honey 9,000 t

human resource, lack of quality Mushrooms 40,000 t

testing and certification Spices 4.1
laboratories, lack of short marketing channels, hig. co ts of
Tea 0.83
working capital and taxation and under-utilization of the
installed capacity. Coffee 0.281
Loose flowers 0.73
Cut flowers 2060 million Nos.
Status of Food Processing Industry in India
Food processing is large sector that
a activities such
covers
Food Processing
Industry (FPI) has been recognized as a
as
agriculture, horticulture, plantation crops, animal husbandry sunrise industry of the
and fisheries. It also includes other industries that use country. Estimated to be about USD 70
billion in 2007, the industry is
agricultural inputs for manufacturing of edible products. Food heading for a fast growth. The
importarnt sub sectors of the FPI are fruits and
processingRs.industry which is worth Rs 350 thousand crores and milk products, vegetables, milk
grains, packaged drinks, beer and alcoholic
including 99 thousand crores worth of value added products beverages, meat and
ranks 5th in terms of poultry, fisheries and packaged &
production, consumption, export and convenience foods. Considering the
meager level of processing
expected growth in the country. being done at
present, the FPI of the country possess a lot of
Processed food industry in India contributes 6.3% of the opportunity and scope for growth. It also provides an
GDP, and accounts for 13% of export and 6% of the capital opportunity to the growers and other stake holders in the
agricultural sector to enhance their income through
processing value addition and export. Among all thepostharvest
India produces about 600 million tonnes of farm
investment.
produce annually as detailed in the Table ahead. processed food items, milk products individual
account for maximumn
 14 mportance ostharves st Technol
15
together
in 2006-07. Fruits and vegetables
value at Rs 4 billion of processed
.
Besides reducing excise duty upto zero in some
in 2007. However, export products,
constituted Rs.25 billion animal casings do cess on coffee export Rs. 500 per tonne
meat, milk products, abolished.
was
feed like processed Additional excise duty levied on tea
during 2005-2006is
fluctuate and do not rise constantly. also withdrawn
Processed Food Items from
India (Rs billion) Presently, different sectors of food and food processing
Export of Different
are regulated by 13 different laws and
Item
2005-06 2006-07 regulatory orders.
Efforts are being made to integrate them.
24.5 25
Fruits and vegetables
0.024 0.068 Level of Processing in Food Processing Sector in India
at
Processed 4
5.5
Milk products
Other processed Food 26.3 36.3 Item Level of Level of Total
processing processing processing
Source: APEDA. in organized in
sector unorganized
Govermment Initiatives sector

The national policy on processing aims to increase

food
Fruits&Vegetables 1.2% 0.6% 1.8-2.2 %
the level of food processing in organized sector from 2% Milk&Milk products 15% 22% 35-37 %
Meat
to 10% in 2010 and 25% in 2025. 21% 21%
Poultry 6% 6%
F o r 100% export oriented units government has decided Marine fisheries/ products 1.7% 9% 8-10.7%
to levy zero import duty on capital goods. Shrimps 0.4% 1% 1.4%
For new industries in fruit and vegetable processin8 Source: Cygnus Report, Indian Food Processing Sector, 2005, MoFPI 2005
income tax rebate of 100% on profits made during initial
5 years and 25% rebate in the following 5 years has been Public Private Investment in Postharvest
Management and Agricultural
decided. Marketing in India During 2006 (in Rs billion)
Government also proposes to build terminal markets in 8 Public Private Total
major cities ie. Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur, Chandigarh, sector sector Investment
Rai, Patna, Bhopal and Kolkata Agriexport zone 4 6
Cleaning and grading 19 1 20
60 agri-export zones are to be setup for end to end Cold storage 68 202 270
development of exports Fruit and
vegetable market 10 10
5 3 food
Processing and value addition 375 1125 1500
parks
approved for
are enabling small an Refer van
6
medium food and beverage units. Rural periodic market
21 21
National Bank for Storage 27 27 54
Agriculture and Rural
(NABARD) has set aside Rs. 1,000 crore, especially
Developm
for
Source: Anonymous, 2008b
agro-processing infrastructure and market developpmen.
10 Postharvest Management and Processing
Importance of Postharves
echnology 17
Level of Processing in Fruits and
Vegetables in Different Countries
UK and USA
Thenational policy on food processing aims to increase the level
60% of food processing in
organized sector from 2% to 10% in 2010
Malaysia 80% and 25% in 2025

Thailanda 30% Botanically fruits are ripened ovary. Fruit is a plant part that
India 1.8-2.2 % may or may not be purely derived
be fleshy or pulpy in character, often
fromovary of the flowers, may
juicy and predominantly
sweet with somewhat acidic taste and
There are 7,521 regulated markets and 27,294
rural and
fragrant aromatic flavours
generally not consumed cooked during principal part of
periodic markets (Haat) in the country for handling agricultural our meals.
produce.
Simple Fruits develop from a single ovary of single flower eg
The estimated installed citrus, peach, apple, pear
capacity of fruit and vegetable
processing industries has increased from 20.8 lakh tonnes (1998) Aggregate Fruits develop from many ovaries of a single flower
to 21.0 lakh tonnes
(1999). The production of processed fruits eg. raspberries, strawberries
and vegetables in the
country has increased from 9.4 lakh tonnes Multiple Fruits develop from many ovaries of many flowers.eg.
in 1998 to 9.8 lakh tonnes in 1999
during which the number of pineapple
licenses issued under Fruit Product Order
increased to 5198 from 5112.
(FPO), 1955 has V Vegetables are the plant parts which are less sweet,
non-acidic and consumed either cooked or raw generally
principal part of our main meals. Vegetable may beduring
the
fruit, root,
Important Processed Products Manufactured in India stem, leaf or flower of plant or their modifications.
Fruit pulps and juices, fruit based Postharvest technology
canned fruits and ready-to-serve beverages, may be defined as the branch of
and
vegetables, jams, squashes, pickles, chutneys agriculture that deals with all the
operations right from the
dehydrated vegetables. Recently, products like frozen pulps harvesting or even the pre-harvest stages till the
reaches the consumer either in fresh commodity
and vegetables, frozen dried fruits
and processed form and
concentrates and vegetable curries in vegetables,
or
fruit juice utilization of the wastes in a
retortable pouches, profitable manner.
canned mushroom and
mushroom products have been taken NABARD is National Bank for
up for
Agriculture& Rural Development
manufacture by the industry. Processing is any conscious unit operation resulting in minor or
major alterations in the natural shape, size, form,
and chemical characteristics of a natural colour, sensory
PoINTS To REMEMBER value in terms of produce and that adds
preserving or improving the quality of the
India is the second produce and convenience of its use.
largest producer of fruits and
third largest
producer of food grains in the worldvegetables an Preservation is extending shelf life of
fresh or processed food by
India is the largest using various methods of
producer of milk in the world preservation i.e. asepsis, low
temperature, high temperature,
India ranks 6h
in poultry production in the world termentation, high pressures,drying, chemicals, irradiation,
electric fields, anaerobic
V The processing level of fruits conditions, packing etc.
and vegetables in India is
1.8-2.4 "