This PSEB 8th Class Agriculture Notes Chapter 10 Post Harvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables will help you in revision during exams.
PSEB 8th Class Agriculture Notes Chapter 10 Post Harvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables
→ According to World Health Organisation, every person should take 300 grams of fresh vegetables and 80 grams of fresh fruits per day.
→ In India, only 30 grams of fruits and 80 grams of vegetables are available per person per day.
→ Post-harvest handling techniques of fruit and vegetables consist of the following sub-heads: harvesting, packaging, storage, and transportation of fruits and vegetables.
→ Parameters used to judge the maturity of fruits and vegetables for harvesting are colour, firmness, size and shape, total soluble solids (TSS), and TSS/acid ratio.
→ Immediately cool the produce after harvesting,
→ To reduce the loss of water from the produce food-grade wax is applied to fruits and vegetables.
→ The food safety standard authority of India has approved three types of wax.
→ Wax used can be shellac wax, carnauba wax, and beeswax.
→ Produce should be graded before marketing.
→ For packaging, wooden baskets, jute sacks, plastic crates, corrugated fiber board (CFB) boxes, etc. can be used.
→ While transporting vehicle should be padded or lined with a thick layer of straw.
→ For ripening bananas and papaya, calcium carbide is used which is harmful to health.
→ The use of ethylene for ripening is an internationally accepted technique.