Fresh fruit, vegetables, and ornamentals are composed of living tissues that experience continuous change after harvest. Some of these changes are desirable (e.g. development of sugars and improved texture during fruit ripening), while others are not (e.g. discolouration and loss of nutrients in fresh-cut vegetables). Senescence is the final stage in the development of plant organs, culminating in a series of irreversible events leading to cellular breakdown and death. These postharvest changes cannot be stopped, but they can be managed to maintain optimal quality longer. Maintaining recommended temperature and relative humidity, while minimizing wounding and microbial contamination, constitute the foundation of effective postharvest handling.

The first chapter of this volume describes biological factors affecting these crops including respiration, rates of ethylene production, water loss, physical damage, and damage due to pathogens; and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, ethylene, and sunlight. Subsequent chapters explore the use of biotechnology to improve postharvest results, and postharvest handling operations for ornamentals and cut flowers; for fresh herbs; for fruit vegetables (e.g. cucurbits, tomatoes); for leafy and stem vegetables; and for underground vegetables (roots, tubers, bulbs).

Handy, easy-to use tables and charts along with colour photographs illustrate important points throughout. A comprehensive table summarizes storage recommendations for produce, a second table summarizes storage recommendations for cut flowers and greens. This is Volume 7 in Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, 4th Edition