Fruit Crops Production, Handling and Processing

Fruits are highly perishable and offer more storage problems and liable to deteriorate faster because of their high moisture content. Further, they are seasonal in nature and prices go down considerably during the glut period and production becomes uneconomical due to distress sale. Improper handling and inadequate storage, transportation and processing facilities worsen the damage hence losses during post harvest operation are enormous. The cost involved in preventing the losses is always cheaper than the cost of production. Therefore, in addition to improving the productivity and quality of fruit crops, minimization of their post harvest losses are inevitable. This book contains the latest information on scientific crop production, handling and processing of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate fruits at single source for better understanding of each crop.