Causes of Post Harvest Losses: Physiological and Biochemical Aspects
- Poor quality and uneven ripening are due to early harvesting and late harvesting which results in extremely poor shelf life.
- The rate of respiration increases rapidly with ripening. The sudden upsurge in respiration is called the ‘climacteric rise’, which is considered to be the turning point in the life of the fruit. After this the senescence and deterioration of the fruit begin.
Mechanical Injury
Poor handling, unsuitable containers, improper packaging and transportation can easily cause bruising, cutting, breaking, impact wounding and other forms of injury.
Parasitic Diseases
High post-harvest losses are caused by the invasion of fungi, bacteria, insects and other organisms.
Sites of losses
Losses may occur anywhere from the point where the food has been harvested or gathered up to the point of consumption.
Management to reduce Post harvest losses:
Precooling Good temperature management is the most effective way to reduce post-harvest losses and preserve the quality of fruits and vegetables.
Sanitation
Sanitation is of great concern to produce handlers, not only to protect produce against post harvest diseases, but also to protect consumers from food borne illnesses.
Presizing and Storage
For many commodities fruits below a certain size are eliminated manually or mechanically by presizing belt. Undersized fruits are diverted for processing. The sorting process eliminates cull, overripe, misshapen and otherwise defective fruit and separates produce by colour, maturity and ripeness classes.
Grading
Essentially all fruits and vegetables sold in modern markets are graded and sized into two or more grades according to trade standards.
Waxing
Food grade waxes are commonly applied to replace some of the natural waxes removed in the washing and cleaning operations to reduce water loss and to improve appearance.
Packaging
Packaging of fresh fruits and vegetables has a great significance in reducing the wastage. Packaging provides protection from physical damage during storage, transportation and marketing.
INSECT PESTS OF DATE PALM
The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a tropical fruit crop belongs to the family Arecaceae. The origin of date palm is said to be the Persian Gulf, specifically in Arabia, Iraq, Iran countries and the Northern parts of Africa. Mostly it developed in Iraq, which is still a leading country for date production in the world.
Date crop found in all four provinces of Pakistan. Pakistan is 4th largest date palm production country throughout the world. The major varieties of dates, which are grown in Kohat district, are: Aseel, Dhaki, Gulistan, Azadi, Khudrawi and Shakri. The pre-dominant and popular variety of date palm from commercial point of view is “Dhaki”.
Major Insect Pests in Kohat
- Red palm weevil
- Termites
