Samina Khalid

Different types of storage atmospheres and conditions have traditionally been used for the perseveration of fresh produce, including fruits and vegetables. Each type of storage has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this, various aspects of hypobaric storage technology have been discussed in detail. On the whole, this chapter focuses on the hypobaric (low pressure of sub-atmospheric pressure) storage technology of horticultural produce. The introduction describes the concept of this technology. The hypobaric storage mechanism section describes the functioning of this technology. This chapter also describes the beneficial and harmful effects of hypobaric technology on fresh horticultural produce. The possible detrimental/negative effects and high cost of this storage technology limit its utilization at acommercial scale. In the end some of the limited impacts of hypobaric technology on the fresh produce industry are also presented.

Food waste is one of the major sustainability issues that need to be addressed due to its negative impacts on the economy, environment, and food security. To develop food waste reduction policies on regional and global level, it is mandatory to have a clear understanding of the various factors prompting food waste at household level and the extent of the economic losses incurred by food waste. Reducing food waste can decrease household expenditure on food, freeing resources for health, education, and well-being. The current study was aimed to (1) examine the food waste behavior of the respondents and to (2) determine the level of monetary losses from food waste. To address these objectives, a questionnaire survey and sample of food waste generated during 24 h were collected from 51 households in Tehsil Kahror Pakka, District Lodhran, Punjab, Pakistan. The survey focus was on levels of food waste and respondents’ knowledge and behaviors about food waste. Economic estimation of food waste was also done. In the survey, respondents from both high- and low-income households revealed that their fruit and vegetables (31%; 32%) and peel and scrap (53%; 48%) losses were higher while egg losses (4%; 4%) were lower among various food waste categories. Wanting to eat fresh food and having no time to save food were the reasons for food waste. Monetary losses from food waste (US$ 12.8/Rs. 3677.01 per capita per annum) were higher in high-income households compared to low-income households.

Mass loss from fresh produce is linked to a reduction of its aesthetic value. However, a relationship between mass loss and biochemical quality parameters at different storage conditions has not been widely explored. Therefore, the current study is designed with the objectives to determine the behavior of fruit quality parameters and a relationship between fruit mass loss and fruit quality at two different storage conditions. Sweet orange fruit stored in a zero energy cool chamber (ZECC) had greater shelf-life of more than 15 days, fruit size (62.40 mm) and peel (35.15%) and lower mass loss (4.94%), juice (32.19%) and electrical conductivity (EC) (2.06 S/m) as compared to ambient conditions in laboratory during 25 days of storage. In ZECC, only EC was positively correlated (r = 0.57) with mass loss, whereas at room temperature EC (r = 0.76), total soluble solids (TSS) (r = 0.60) and fruit internal temperature (r = 0.64) were positively and peel (%) (r = −0.52) and fruit diameter (r = −0.49) were negatively correlated with mass loss. Correlation of combined storage conditions revealed that EC (r = 0.47) and TSS (r = 0.50) were positively and peel (%) (r = −0.77) and fruit diameter (r = −0.55) were negatively correlated with mass loss (%). The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the scores of room temperature were strongly associated with TSS, pH, EC, mass loss (%), juice (%) and internal temperature (°C), whereas scores of ZECC were strongly associated with pulp (%), ascorbic acid (mg 100 mL⁻¹), acidity (%), and fruit diameter (mm).

Food waste is one of the major sustainability issues that need to be addressed due to its huge negative impacts on economy, environment and food security. To develop a food waste reduction policies on regional and global level, it is mandatory to have a clear understanding of the various factors that prompting food waste at household level and the extent of the economic losses incurred by food waste. Reducing food waste can decrease household expenditure on food, freeing resources for health, education and well-being. The current study was aimed to (i) examine the food waste behavior of the respondents and to (ii) determine the level of monetary losses from food waste. To address these objectives a questionnaire survey and sample of food waste generated during 24h were collected from fifty one households in tehsil Kahror Pakka, District Lodhran, Punjab, Pakistan. The survey, focus was on levels of food waste and respondents’ knowledge and behaviors about food waste. Economic estimation of food waste was also done. In the survey, respondents from both high and low income households revealed that their fruit and vegetables (31%; 32%) and peel and scrap (53%; 48%) losses were higher while egg losses (4%; 4%) were lower. Want to eat fresh food and have no time to save food were the reasons for food waste. Monetary losses from food waste (Rs. 3677.01 per capita per annum) were higher in high income households.

Plant growth regulators (Kinetin, GA₃ and Wokozim) and fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassiumand calcium) alone and in various combinations were applied to young ‘Kinnow’ mandarin trees to improve their quality. Fruit harvested at commercial maturity was analyzed at harvest and seven days after storage at ambient conditions. Results revealed that higher seed number (20) was recorded with Kinetin at 60 mg l⁻¹ and minimum seed number (10) with Kinetin at 30 mg l⁻¹+ GA₃ at 10 mg l⁻¹. More healthy and less aborted seeds were recorded with Wokozim (1500 g tree⁻¹)+2 ml l⁻¹ foliar spray. High juice mass (%) and low rag mass (%) were observed with control and 250 g tree⁻¹ phosphorous (P) application as single super phosphate. The TSS were higher with 150 g tree⁻¹ calcium (Ca) applied as calcium ammonium nitrate and lower with P application at 500 g tree⁻¹. Titratable acidity was higher in fruit treated with Kinetin at 60 mg l⁻¹ and lower in fruit treated with NPK (230 + 250 + 250 g tree⁻¹)+Ca (150 g tree⁻¹)+Kinetin at 30 mg l⁻¹. The TSS:TA ratio was higher in fruit treated with NPK (230 + 250 + 250 g tree⁻¹)+ Ca (150 g tree⁻¹)+Kinetin at 30 mg l⁻¹ and lower in fruit treated with P (250 g tree⁻¹)+ Kinetin at 30 mg l⁻¹. Ascorbic acid was higher in fruit treated with Ca (150 g tree⁻¹)+P (250 g tree⁻¹)+Kinetin at 30 mg l⁻¹ and lower with Wokozim (1500 g tree⁻¹)+2 ml l⁻¹ foliar applications.

An understanding of variation in fruit quality in relation to tree age can help understand the issue of poor fruit quality in young orchards; however, limited information is available on the citrus fruit. In this study, the endogenous nutritional status in rind, rag, and leaves; pectin status in rind and rag; and anatomical fruit growth parameter in rind tissues were studied in ‘Kinnow’ mandarins fruit during their development on trees from three age (6-, 18-, and 35-year-old) groups. In older (35-year-old) trees, rind, rag, and leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) concentrations were superior. In fruit from all tree age groups, total pectin and protopectin reduced; however water-soluble pectin (WSP) improved. In rind tissues harvested from young (6-year-old) trees, cell density was more while cell size was less. In all tree age groups, cell density in rind tissues correlated negatively with rind WSP.