Post Harvest Technology (PHT) concerns activities between
harvest and consumption of fresh horticultural crops. PHT starts
with harvest procedures it ends with consumption. Storage of
crops, sorting and grading, packaging and transportation are
important PHT activities. PHT comprises three aspects:
Physiology: harvested crops continue life processes such as
respiration, ripening and transpiration without supply of water
and minerals. Crops deteriorate therefore after harvest. Fresh
crops are diverse in structure, composition and physiology.
Crops contain 80 till 98% water and are therefore subject to
desiccation, mechanical injury and pathological breakdown.
Requirements are very different because of this diversity.
Technology: deterioration must be inhibited with technical
means. Harvest-, storage –, sorting/grading – and transportation
technology are needed to minimize deterioration. Marketing:
movement of crops through marketing channels depends on many
conditions... More > like marketing standards.< Less