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HRT 305: Postharvest Horticulture

Credit Hours: 3 (2+1)
Full Marks: 75 (Theory: 50, Practical: 25)

Course Objectives

Upon completion, students will be able to:

Understand postharvest physiology of fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers.
Judge maturity and determine harvest indices.
Identify causes of postharvest deterioration (transpiration, respiration, ethylene, physiological disorders, pathology, entomology).
Apply postharvest handling techniques: grading, sorting, curing, waxing, trimming, chemical treatment, precooling, fumigation, packaging.
Manage storage methods and conditions for horticultural crops.
Learn principles and methods of processing and preservation.
Evaluate postharvest quality and perform organoleptic assessments.

Postharvest physiology: growth, respiration, ripening, ethylene, maturity determination.
Causes of postharvest losses and reduction techniques.
Postharvest pathology, physiological disorders, and entomology.
Packing house operations: grading, sorting, curing, trimming, de-handing, waxing, chemical treatments, irradiation, fumigation.
Storage principles, factors, and methods in Nepal.
Market and marketing systems for horticultural products.
Preservation principles and methods.
Handling of major fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers.

S.N.	Topic	Subtopic	No. of Lectures
1	History & Importance	–	1
2	Postharvest physiology	Growth & development of fruits & vegetables	9
2.1	Transpiration	Factors affecting, Effects on postharvest life	2
2.2	Respiration	Aerobic & anaerobic, ETS, Effects on postharvest life	2
2.3	Ripening	Physiological changes, Control measures	2
2.4	Ethylene	Mode, mechanism, biosynthesis, effects on climacteric/non-climacteric	1
3	Maturity determination	Physiological & commercial maturity, Harvesting methods & time	2
4	Causes of postharvest losses & techniques	–	1
5	Postharvest pathology	Diseases & control measures	2
6	Physiological disorders	Types & preventive measures	2
7	Postharvest entomology	Nature of damage, control & prevention	1
8	Packing house operations	Packaging, grading, sizing, curing, trimming, cleaning	2
8.2	Other operations	De-handing, sorting, waxing, chemical treatment, irradiation, fumigation	–
9	Packaging material design & considerations	–	1
10	Curing	Principles & methods	1
11	Storage	Principles, Factors, Methods, Facilities in Nepal	3
12	Postharvest quality	Quality criteria & judgment	1
13	Markets & Marketing	–	1
14	Preservation	Principles & methods	2
15	Commodity profile	Handling of major fruits, vegetables & cut flowers	1
Total			30

S.N.	Topic	No. of Practicals
1	Identification of equipment, tools & chemicals in postharvest horticulture	1
2	Determination of TSS & Titratable Acidity	1
3	Cumulative weight loss & visual quality evaluation	1
4	Artificial ripening of banana	1
5	Drying of vegetables	1
6	Preparation of potato chips	1
7	Preparation of tomato ketchup	1
8	Preparation of squash	1
9	Preparation of jam	1
10	Preparation of pickles	1
11	Preparation of jelly & marmalade	1
12	Visit to horticultural farm for evaluating postharvest factors & disorders	1
13	Maturity judgment & harvesting of fruits	1
14	Maturity judgment & harvesting of vegetables	1
15	Organoleptic evaluation & hedonic rating	1
Total		15

Gautam, D.M. & Bhattarai, D.R., 2012. Postharvest Horticulture, Bhawani Printers, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Bhattarai, D.R., 2012. Postharvest Technology: Marketing, Handling and Processing of Fruits and Vegetables, Public Printing Press, Kathmandu.
Kays, S.J., 1998. Postharvest Physiology of Perishable Plant Products, CBS Publishers, New Delhi.
Khatiwada, B.P., Gautam, D.M., & Dhakal, D.D., 2011. Ripening Banana by Chemicals and Plant Materials, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany.
Bautista, O.K., 1990. Postharvest Technology for Southeast Asian Perishable Crops, University of the Philippines, Philippines.