Factors affecting postharvest quality during storage of agricultural produce: a comprehensive review
Food Preservation
Every basket of tomatoes, bundle of herbs, or head of lettuce you grow has a postharvest clock ticking the moment it's picked — knowing what controls that clock (temperature, ethylene, humidity) can double how long your harvest stays good.
After you harvest a fruit or vegetable, it's still alive and burning through its own energy reserves, releasing gases, and slowly falling apart. Tiny microbes, the wrong temperature, or even a single bruise can speed that process up dramatically. This review maps out all the forces at work — from how the plant breathes after picking to how packaging traps beneficial gases — so growers and storage managers can keep produce fresh longer and waste less.
Key Findings
Temperature management is the single most influential factor in postharvest quality, with even small deviations accelerating respiration rates, microbial growth, and tissue breakdown.
Ethylene gas — a natural plant hormone released by ripening produce — triggers accelerated senescence in nearby crops, making separation and ethylene scrubbing critical in mixed storage.
Preharvest conditions (soil nutrition, irrigation, maturity at harvest) significantly determine how long produce can be stored, meaning quality preservation begins in the field, not the warehouse.
chevron_right Technical Summary
This review identifies the key reasons why fresh fruits, vegetables, and other crops deteriorate after harvest — from temperature and humidity to ethylene gas and microbial growth — and synthesizes strategies to slow that decline, extend shelf life, and preserve nutrition.
Abstract Preview
Postharvest deterioration of agricultural produce represents a critical constraint to global food security, economic sustainability, and nutritional availability. Quality degradation during storage...
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