Post-harvest handling and transportation are critical stages in the agricultural supply chain that aim to preserve the quality and freshness of harvested crops from the farm to the consumer. Efficient and careful management during these stages is essential to minimize losses, ensure food safety, and deliver produce in optimal condition. **Post-Harvest Handling:** After crops are harvested, they undergo various processes to maintain their quality. This includes cleaning, sorting, grading, and packing. These activities help remove dirt and debris, sort produce based on size and quality, grade it according to specific standards, and package it for transport. Proper post-harvest handling also involves the use of cooling and storage facilities to regulate temperature and humidity, slowing down the ripening process and preventing spoilage. **Transportation:** Transporting agricultural products from the farm to distribution centers, markets, or processing facilities is a crucial step in the supply chain. Different modes of transportation, such as trucks, trains, ships, and planes, may be used depending on the distance and nature of the produce. Temperature-controlled vehicles, like refrigerated trucks, play a vital role in preserving the freshness of perishable goods during transit. Timely and efficient transportation helps prevent delays and ensures that products reach their destination while still in optimal condition. Both post-harvest handling and transportation are interconnected processes that require careful coordination to minimize losses, maintain quality, and meet market demands. Technologies such as cold storage, refrigeration, and tracking systems have become integral in enhancing the efficiency and reliability of these processes, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and resilient food supply chain.

1. Lecture 8: Post Harvest Technology
FST-2104
Nimrah Khan
School of Food and Agricultural Sciences
(SFAS)

2. CLO 3
• Demonstrate the concepts about characteristics of agricultural produce and
apply suitable post-harvest treatments to preserve or improve the post-
harvest quality for minimizing the post-harvest losses
SLOs
• Overview of sorting and grading methods and their impact on identifying PHQ
• Explore the role of packaging in efficient marketing of fruits and vegetables
• Emphasize the importance of suitable transportation and pre-cooling methods
to prevent post-harvest losses
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Post-harvest Handling & Treatments of fruits and
vegetables

3. • The quality of fruits and vegetables deteriorates after
harvest
• Handling operations vary according to the produce
• Losses could be both quantitative and qualitative
• Postharvest management practices facilitate
continuous supply of fruits and vegetables to fresh,
minimally processed and processed markets
Post-Harvest Handling & Treatments
Introduction

4. • Post-Harvest Handling Operations
• Sorting and grading
• Packaging
• Transportation
• Pre-cooling/treatments
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Post-Harvest Treatments
• Physical treatments
• Chemical treatments
Post-harvest Handling and Treatments
Introduction

6. Grading operation:
• Determines whether the product meets a specific quality
standard prescribed by local or international market
• Separates products into different quality grades to determine the
price paid to the farmers or to determine the sale value
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• Enables removal of off-grade products
• Damaged, undersized, immature and diseased produce
Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Sorting & grading

7. • Most fruits and vegetables are sorted and graded for marketing and
have a role in protecting and enhancing product quality
• Important part of field or packinghouse operations
• Immediately after harvest, the produce is sorted according to size,
shape, color, and appearance
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Post-harvest Handling Operations
Sorting & Grading
Stages at which most
postharvest losses occur

9. • Traditionally, sorting and grading are done
by hand, which is extremely labor-intensive
• Equipment used in dumping and conveying
during sorting and grading should have
smooth and properly cushioned surface
to avoid injury
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Post-harvest Handling Operations
Sorting & grading

10. • Color is a key sorting parameter used in the implementation of many
automated vision systems that involve image acquisition and
processing
• Optical sorting is currently being used for apples destined for canning
in Australia
• Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging
• Near-infrared spectroscopy
• Acoustic response
• Impact response
Advance Grading & Sorting Techniques
Sorting & grading

11. Image acquisition and processing

12. • Two types of packaging are common in fresh produce trade:
• Large-sized containers are used for transport and wholesale
• Small-sized packagers for retail trade
• Proper packaging can protect fresh produce from the environmental abuse
• Strong enough to withstand stacking and impact of loading and unloading
• Thus, containers may require use of liners, pads, trays or tissue wraps to
prevent damage from contact with rough surfaces
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Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging

13. • The produce can be packed in:
• Box (wooden or paper) with absorbent, lining or
padding materials
• Bags
• Pallet boxes
• The choice of packaging material is based on:
• Stacking height
• Duration of storage
• Pretreatments
• Cooling
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Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging

14. Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging

15. • Packing line equipment and other harvesting and postharvest
handling equipment are traditionally designed and installed using many
transfers from one operation to the next
• During this handling, the produce hits hard surfaces or other produce
(Bruising)
• Cushioning and velocity control devices can be chosen
• A cushioning material must provide effective energy absorption and
not create the critical stress in the produce tissue
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Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging

16. • Immobilization and proper cushioning of the produce help in reducing
damage due to cuts, punctures, bruises, abrasion, impact and friction
This can be done by:
• Various types of trays
• Container volume-fill techniques such as padding or cushioning
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Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging

17. The material used for padding should have the following
properties:
• Ability to absorb the impact energy without damaging the produce
• Cushion cleanup, sanitation and compatibility with water, fungicides,
waxes and cleaning solutions must be excellent
• Physical properties (thickness and stiffness)
Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging

18. • The materials that can be used are:
• PVC
• Polyethylene
• Neoprene
• Polyurethane
• Polypropylene
• The commonly used padding materials are:
• Leaves, straw, grass, coconut husk, paper
and plastics
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Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging as additional cushioning function

19. • Individual seal packaging or unit-packaging
creates a water-saturated atmosphere around the
fruit and reduces water loss and shrinkage
The advantages are:
• It may be an alternative to expensive traditional
refrigeration and sophisticated controlled
atmosphere (CA) storage
• It doubles and sometimes triples the shelf life as
measured by appearance, firmness, shrinkage,
weight loss and other keeping qualities
• It also delays physiological deterioration
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Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging advantages

20. • The limitation of using seal packaging
• Possibility of development of off-flavors caused by
poor gas exchange
• Enhancement of decay and spoilage due to the
phytotoxic micro-atmosphere (low oxygen, excessive
carbon dioxide)
• Perforated films may be used as:
• Carriers of fungicides to reduce toxic residues in
products
• Ethylene-absorbing substances to delay ripening
• Allow optimum gas exchange rates
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Post-Harvest Handling Operations
Packaging limitation and solutions

21. • The harvested produce is transported to the packing and
processing sheds via road by trucks in pallet boxes
• Overseas transportation is normally by sea and rarely by air
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• Proper management of temperature, humidity and ventilation is the main
requirement
• Bruised, decayed and overripe products are sorted out before transportation
to avoid:
• Dissemination of diseases
• Induction of ethylene gas
• Increase in respiration and evolution of heat
• Loss of water
Transportation

22. • Severe mechanical injuries in the form of bruises, cuts, compression and
vibration occur during transportation may lead to:
• Deterioration of quality
• Reduced shelf life
• Proper packaging of produce helps in avoiding mechanical injuries
• When large-sized products, such as watermelons, muskmelons, pumpkins
and cabbages are transported in bulk using trucks, trolleys
• Should be carefully stacked and adequately covered to protect from the
environment
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Transportation

23. • Refrigeration during transportation is convenient and most effective
• Measures to minimize heat accumulation during transportation:
• Avoiding closed vehicles without refrigeration except for local
deliveries
• Fitting open-sided or Boarded trucks with roofing and siding
to protect produce from direct sun and wind exposures
• Fitting a second white-painted roof 8-10 cm above the main roof
to act as a radiation shield
• Provision for air intake in conjunction with louvers in
unrefrigerated vehicles to ensure positive airflow through the
load 23
Transportation

24. Boarded trucks

25. louvers

26. • Overfilling of boxes can cause compression bruises, which makes bruised
fruits more prone to decay
• Vibrations lead to friction bruises, which lead to browning (pears)
• Only compatible fruits and vegetables are transported together
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Transportation

27. • Group 1: Many products produce ethylene
• Group 2: Many products are sensitive to ethylene
• Group 3: Moisture damages these products
• Groups 4, 5 and 6: Many products are sensitive to ethylene and
chilling injury
• Group 6: Produce ethylene and sensitive to chilling injury
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Transportation
Compatibility Groups for Transport and Storage of Fresh Fruits
and Vegetables

28. Conclusion
• The quality of fruits and vegetables deteriorates owing to a series of
physical, physiological and pathological agents
• Sorting and grading are important for marketing and have a role in
protecting and enhancing product quality
• Packaging contributes greatly to efficient marketing of fruits and
vegetables
• Proper management of temperature, humidity and ventilation during
transportation is important
• Precooling assists in maintaining the quality of produce during the storage
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