Quality Deterioration of Postharvest Fruits and Vegetables in Developing Country Pakistan: A Mini Overview

Authors

  • Khurshid Ahmad College of Food Sciences and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong Province, P.R. China
  • Mahideen Afridi National Center for Bioinformatics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Nasir Ali Khan Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Azeem Sarwar Department of Biological Sciences, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24203/ajafs.v9i2.6615

Keywords:

Fruits Vegetables, Post harvesting, Food losses, Quality deterioration

Abstract

Post-harvest losses relate to the degradation in the quantity and quality of the crop’s products from harvesting to consumer usage. In many developing countries, like Pakistan, the post-harvest loss is a problem of food security and is of concern to everyone. Inappropriate handling of agricultural products after harvest may cause quality and quantity losses. It also accounts for the increasing prices of agricultural products in Pakistan. The total production of vegetables and fruits in Pakistan is nearly 13.764 million tons, and it is estimated that 35% to 40% of vegetables and fruits were wasted after harvesting. Severe losses and deterioration of vegetables and fruits occurred mainly during harvesting, along with distribution, transportation, and storage. The important reasons for post-harvest losses include mechanical damage, poor handling, microorganisms (bacteria, fungi), unawareness and lack of modern technologies, time management, insects, and mites. Reduction of post-harvest losses is the main goal of the agricultural sector. Training and educational initiatives could be one of the best strategies for minimizing post-harvest losses. The main objective of this review is, to explain the major production, quality deteriorations of vegetables and fruits, and the causes of post-harvest losses in Pakistan. It can be applied as a positive indication because all bodies involved will strive to implement efficient and effective approaches and policies to address the existing problems.

Author Biographies

Mahideen Afridi, National Center for Bioinformatics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Qs Ranking 400-500 

Nasir Ali Khan, Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Qs Ranking 400-500

Azeem Sarwar, Department of Biological Sciences, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Qs Ranking 600-700

References

P. Pingali, ‘‘Westernization of Asian diets and the transformation of food systems: Implications for research and policy,’’ Food policy, vol. 32(3), pp. 281-298, 2007.

F. J. F. Dizon, A. L. Josephson, D. Raju, ‘‘The Nutrition Sensitivity of Food and Agriculture in South Asia,’’ The World Bank, 2019.

V. Kiaya, ‘‘Post-harvest losses and strategies to reduce them,’’ Technical Paper on Postharvest Losses. Action Contre la Faim (ACF), 25, 2014.

E. Bisangwa, ‘‘The effects of halving lost and wasted food on food security, water, land and fertilizer resources-A quantitative comparison between developed and less developed regions,’’. 2019.

W. E. Bendinelli, C. T. Su, T. G. Péra, J. V. Caixeta Filho, ‘‘What are the main factors that determine post-harvest losses of grains?,’’ Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2019.

C. W. Campbell, ‘‘Tropical fruits and nuts. In Handbook of Tropical Food Crops,’’ (pp. 235-274), CRC Press, 2018.

S. J. More, V. Ravi, S. Raju, ‘‘Tropical tuber crops’’ Postharvest physiological Disorders in Fruits and Vegetables,’’ vol. 1, pp. 719-758, 2019.

P. Timmer, ‘‘Food security and economic growth: an Asian perspective,’’ Center for global development Working Paper, (51), 2004.

G. Rasul, A. Hussain, ‘‘Sustainable food security in the mountains of Pakistan: towards a policy framework,’’ Ecology of food and nutrition, vol 54(6), pp. 625-643, 2015.

A. Matloob, M. E. Safdar, T. Abbas, F. Aslam, A. Khaliq, A. Tanveer, A. R. Chadhar, ‘‘Challenges and prospects for weed management in Pakistan: A review,’’ Crop Protection, 2019.

M. A. Shahzad, A. Razzaq, M. Aslam, M. F. Gulzar, N. Nisar, N., ‘‘Opportunities for Agricultural Trade in the Context of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,’’ Business and Economic Research, vol 9(1), pp. 263-282, 2019.

M. Shahzad, A. Akhter, A. H. Qureshi, N. Jehan, I. Ullah, M. Khan, ‘‘Assessment of post-harvest losses of plum in Swat, Pakistan,’’ Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, pp 26(3), 2013.

M. K. Bashir, Y. Mehmood, S. Hassan, S. ‘‘Impact of agricultural credit on productivity of wheat crop: Evidence from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan,’’ Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science, vol 47(4), pp 405-409, 2010.

I. JUNEJO, M. U. HAQ, ‘‘A technical guide book of banana,’’ History, vol 2, pp 4, 2014.

Z. Li, P. Li, J. Liu, ‘‘Effect of mechanical damage on mass loss and water content in tomato fruits,’’ Int. Agrophys, vol 25, pp 77-83, 2011.

A. Ahmed, ‘‘Crop loss management,’’ DAWN, Retrieved from, 2016.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1300444

M. Khan, J. H. Bae, ‘‘The Environmental Perspectives of Apple Fruit Supply Chain Management in Chitral Northern Pakistan,’’ International Journal of Supply Chain Management, vol 6(4), pp 1-16, 2017.

Z. Iqbal, M. A. Randhawa, T. Zahoor, M. Asghar, R. Beaudry, ‘‘Influence of 1-methylcyclopropene on physico-chemical properties of'Gola'and'Surahi'guava (Psidium guajava L.) under air storage,’’ Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, pp 55(2), 2018.

K. M. Aujla, M. Abbas, K. Mahmood, S. Saadullah, ‘‘Marketing system of fruits, margins and export potential in Pakistan,’’ Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, vol 5(1-2), pp 34-39 2007.

E. O. Buyukbay, M. Uzunoz, H. S. G. Bal, ‘‘Post-harvest losses in tomato and fresh bean production in Tokat province of Turkey,’’ Scientific Research and Essays, vol 6(7), pp 1656-1666, 2011.

C. Devendra, D. Thomas, ‘‘Smallholder farming systems in Asia. Agricultural systems,’’ vol 71(1-2), pp 17-25, 2002.

H. Steinfeld, T. Wassenaar, S. Jutzi, ‘‘Livestock production systems in developing countries: status, drivers, trends,’’ Rev Sci Tech, vol 25(2), pp 505-516, 2006.

H. Ali, Z. Fatima, S. Ahmad, ‘‘Fundamentals of Seed Production and Processing of Agronomic Crops,’’ In Agronomic Crops (pp. 623-653), Springer, Singapore, 2019.

A. A. Shedayi, M. Xu, J. Gonalez-Redin, S. C. N. Hagist, S. Aslam, N. Khan, ‘‘Spatiotemporal assessment and valuation of provisioning ecosystem service of pakistan,’’ Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, vol 17(3), pp 6735-6759, 2019.

F. Hussain, M. Abid, ‘‘Pest and diseases of chilli crop in Pakistan A review,’’ Int. J. Biol. Biotech, vol 8(2), pp 325-332, 2011.

D. N. Enyiukwu, A. N. Awurum, J. A. Nwaneri, ‘‘Efficacy of plant-derived pesticides in the control of myco-induced postharvest rots of tubers and agricultural products,’’ A review. Net Journal of Agricultural Science, vol 2(1), pp 30-46, 2014.

M. Iqbal, M. Ahmad, ‘‘Science & Technology based Agriculture Agriculture vision of Pakistan and prospects of growth,’’ In Proceedings of the 20th Annual General Meeting Pakistan Society of Development Economics, Islamabad. Pakistan Institute of Development (PIDE). Islamabad, Pakistan, (pp. 1-27), January, 2005.

B. Shahbaz, T. Ali, I. A. Khan, M. Ahmad, ‘‘An analysis of the problems faced by farmers in the mountains of Northwest Pakistan: challenges for agri. Extension,’’ Pak. J. Agri. Sci, vol 47(4), pp 417-420, 2010.

M. Shahzad, A. Tahir, N. Jehan, M. Luqman, ‘‘IMPACT OF DIFFERENT PACKAGING TECHNOLOGIES ON POST-HARVEST LOSSES OF STONE FRUITS IN SWAT PAKISTAN,’’ Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, pp 28(1), 2015.

DAWN, ‘‘Post-harvest technology in Pakistan, Agriculture,’’ DAWN, Retrieved from, 2001.https://www.dawn.com/news/11785/post-harvest-technology-in-pakistan

G. Campbell-Platt, ‘‘Fermented foods of the world. A dictionary and guide,’’ Butterworths, 1987.

M. Bourne, ‘‘Post-Harvest Food Losses–The neglected dimension in increasing the world ood supply,’’. 1977.

S. M. McCurdy, J. D. Peutz, G. Wittman, ‘‘Storing food for safety and quality,’’ 2009.

H. R. Alavi, A. Htenas, R. Kopicki, A. W. Shepherd, R. Clarete, ‘‘Trusting Trade and the Private Sector for Food Security in Southeast Asia,’’ World Bank Publications: Washington, DC, USA, 2012.

Downloads

Published

2021-05-07

How to Cite

Ahmad, K., Afridi, M., Khan, N. A. ., & Sarwar, A. (2021). Quality Deterioration of Postharvest Fruits and Vegetables in Developing Country Pakistan: A Mini Overview . Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.24203/ajafs.v9i2.6615

Issue

Section

Articles