Harvest and postharvest factors affecting bruise damage of fresh fruits
Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Chinese Society of Horticulture and Science
Chinese Society of Horticulture and Science
Abstract
Fresh fruits are susceptible to bruising, a common type of mechanical damage during harvest and at all stages of postharvest handling. In quest of developing and adoption of strategies to reduce bruise damage, it is of utmost importance to understand major factors influencing bruise susceptibility of fresh produce at these stages. This review presents a critical discussion of factors affecting bruising during harvest and postharvest handling of fresh fruits. Excessive compression forces during harvesting by handpicking or machines, and a series of impacts during harvesting, transport and packhouse operations can cause severe bruise damage. The review has further revealed that bruising is dependent on a number of other factors such as produce maturity, ripening, harvest time (during the day or season) and time lapse after harvest. The susceptibility to bruising is partly dependent on how these factors alter the produce physiological and biochemical properties, and the environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and several other postharvest treatments. Hence, the successful applications of harvesting techniques by use of trained personnel and proper harvesting equipment are essential to reduce both the incidence and severity of bruising. Furthermore, the careful selection of postharvest handling temperature and other treatments can increase resistance of fresh produce to bruise damage.
Description
CITATION: Hussein, Z., Fawole, O. A. & Opara, U. L. 2020. Harvest and Postharvest Factors Affecting Bruise Damage of Fresh Fruits. Horticultural Plant Journal, 6(1):1-13, doi:10.1016/j.hpj.2019.07.006.
The original publication is available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/horticultural-plant-journal
The original publication is available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/horticultural-plant-journal
Keywords
Bruise damage, Harvest, Postharvest, Fruit quality, Fruit -- Postharvest technology, Fruit -- Handling, Fruit -- Harvesting
Citation
Hussein, Z., Fawole, O. A. & Opara, U. L. 2020. Harvest and Postharvest Factors Affecting Bruise Damage of Fresh Fruits. Horticultural Plant Journal, 6(1):1-13. doi:10.1016/j.hpj.2019.07.006.