POST HARVEST ENGINEERING

India is the worlds 2nd largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of being the largest with the potential of being the largest with the food and agricultural sector. There is an opportunity for large investments in food and food processing technologies, skills and infrastructure, especially in areas of canning, dairy packaging, frozen food / refrigeration and thermo processing. Fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, meat and poultry, packaged / convenience foods, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks and grains are important sub - sectors of the food processing industry. Health food and supplements are other rapidly rising segments of this industry. India is the 2nd largest vegetable and 3rd largest fruit producer in the world. India is poised to register the highest increase in rice production in the world over the next 10 years. India ranks second only to Japan in inland fish production. Indias food processing sector covers fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, milk and milk products, alcoholic beverages, fisheries, plantation, grain processing and other consumer product groups like confectionery, chocolates and cocoa products, soya- based products, mineral water, high protein foods etc. After harvest, foods (e.g. fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, fish,) are liable to accelerated physiological, chemical, and microbial processes that invariably lead to deterioration and loss of wholesomeness. It is then necessary to institute some measure of processing such as reduction in moisture content, denaturation of endogenous enzymes and microorganisms, or packaging in order to curtail perishability. In the absence of such processing, massive post harvest losses can ensue. It is the responsibility of the food scientist or technologist to understand the underlying processes contributing to food deterioration and spoilage and, to device appropriate measures and methods of preservation in order to ensure availability, acceptability, and safety of foods. Value addition to food products has assumed vital importance in our country due to diversity in socio-economic conditions, industrial growth, urbanization and globalization. It is not merely to satisfy producers and processors by way of higher monitory return but also with better taste and nutrition. Value is added by changing their form, colour and other such methods to increase the shelf life of perishables. Though, with the effort of Ministry of Food Processing Industry the growth of this sector is accelerated, however, there is need to discuss and sort out various related issues amongst people of various categories to increase level of value addition and improve the quality of value added food products for domestic market as well as export.

POST-HARVEST LOSSES
"Losses are a measurable reduction in foodstuffs and may affect either quantity or quality" (Tyler and Gilman, 1979). They arise from the fact that freshly harvested agricultural produce is a living thing that breathes and undergoes changes during post-harvest handling. Loss should not be confused with damage, which is the visible sign of deterioration, for example, chewed grain and can only be partial. Damage restricts the use of a product, whereas loss makes its use impossible. Some basic definitions are needed before moving on to the various types of loss. Foodstuff. Products, in the present case crops, edible by human beings; more specifically, the part fit for human consumption. In tropical countries, 75 percent of basic food comes from cereals and pulses. The remaining vegetable-based food is often, especially in wet, wooded zones, supplied by roots and tubers, particularly cassava, yam, taro, plantain, potato and sweet potato. In the food chain, quantities of food are usually expressed in terms of weight but this does not mean that organic structure and nutrients can be ignored. Grains and seeds. Cereals, pulses and oilseeds grown in most climates and latitudes for human consumption. The main cereals are wheat, maize, rice, barley, sorghum, millet, oats and rye; pulses cover the various species of pea, bean, broad bean and lentil; and oilseeds cover soya, groundnut, sesame, rapeseed and sunflower. Post-harvest. If harvesting covers the period when the various products grown are removed from the field, after maturity, the post-harvest period runs from exit from the field to the time of culinary preparation. For various reasons, but especially to allow the straw and grain to dry fully, harvesting may be delayed sometimes for months, as happens particularly with maize and rice and in these cases, some people prefer to speak of "post-production" in order to indicate the link between harvesting and postharvest operations. Food loss. Food loss refers to total modification or decrease of food quantity or quality which makes it unfit for human consumption.

Estimated Post Harvest Losses (%) 2003 2012 in cereals

LOSSES IN PULSES AND OILSEEDS

Pulses, bean and cowpea, pea, broad bean and lentil in particular, are part of the staple diet of many countries and have the advantage of adding some protein to diets based essentially on cereals, but are harder to harvest and conserve than cereals. When they are mature, the dehiscent pods can open or burst, so that many seeds fall to the ground; this happens during harvesting, but even more so during transport. They are also more vulnerable to insect attack, particularly from weevils, which lay their eggs on the pods or seeds before they are gathered. These pests are often commonly known by the name of their preferred crop, for example, the bean-seed beetle (Acanthoscelides obtectus), the cowpea-seed beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) and the pea-seed beetle (Zabrotes subfasciatus). Pulses can have a high moisture content at the time of harvesting, depending on species, variety and climate, as is seen from observations on three varieties of bean
PULSES AND OILSEEDS: MAXIMUM MOISTURE CONTENT FOR SAFE STORAGE

It can be seen that oilseeds (soybeans and groundnuts) require a lower moisture content than pulses. Shelled groundnuts are especially demanding here, which means that they are especially vulnerable. Unfortunately, even such drying is not enough to provide immunity to parasite attack, particularly from weevils. An ad hoc method of combating this has therefore been further developed and considerably improved by modern technology. In this approach, the container is filled to capacity and then sealed hermetically so that the interstitial air becomes so rarified and inert that it anaesthetizes or even asphyxiates larvae and insects. When larger quantities are involved and the containers or storage space cannot be sealed hermetically, treatment with insecticide powder is recommended. Below are some figures for bean and soybean losses, taken from the national Brazilian study previously cited. Groundnut Since its fruit grows in the ground, groundnut is different from other oilseeds. The moisture content of the pods is 40 to 50 percent when they are dug up, which has to be reduced to 10 percent before threshing is possible. Natural drying in small heaps can take weeks, during which the insects that have already started their work in the fields will continue their inroads, not to mention the danger of moulds. During storage, Trogoderma will cause more damage than weevils, which normally stay on the surface of the stored groundnuts. Long-term storage therefore necessitates fumigation under tarpaulin or in airtight storehouses.

optimum stage harvest agricultural crops

Maturity indexing and sampling
Taking of a few individual fruits from some trees in the orchard of the same cultivars. These fruits then represent all the fruits in that orchard and specific Cultivar Ready for harvesting does not necessarily mean that the fruit is mature or ripe. Different crops are harvested at different stages of development. Baby vegetables for example are harvested at a young stage mostly before the crop is mature. In vegetables such as carrots, beetroot and lettuce the size requirement for the crop may determine when it will be harvested Fruit crops and fruit bearing vegetables can be divided into two groups with regard harvest. In the one group the fruit is harvested at a fairly green stage, as fully ripening will only occur post harvest. This often helps to prolong the shelf life of the produce. Examples of these crops include avocados, mangoes, bananas and tomatoes. Other fruit crops such as grapes, litchis and strawberries will not ripen further or improve quality after harvest. This means these types of crops must be harvested when matured The basic parameters that are assessed and monitored during maturity indexing are internal quality parameters and fruit colour, as defined by colour plates (Available from the different growers associations, retailers and exporters). There are four stages of ripening for tomatoes e.g. pale green, early light red, light red (shoulders of fruit not full red yet) and full red colour

the outside colour, the flesh is already ripe and harvesting at any of these stages will produce an acceptable product. Some consumers prefer pale green to early light red fruits if they go camping for long periods of time, as the fruits will turn fully red with time and the changes of rotting will be minimal. However, a housewife who is preparing a meal for her family would prefer a light red to fully red colored tomato.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE METHODS

Using maize as an example, the following applies for sampling field crops. The maize kernel goes through a number of developmental stages before maturing. One of these is the soft and hard dough stages. The soft dough stage is identified by pressing the kernel with a finger nail. If it releases a white milky substance, the kernel is at the soft dough stage. This is the ideal stage for harvesting of green cob corn. If the same test is preformed and the kernel is still soft, but no milk flows from it, the hard dough stages has been reached, and at this stage the cobs are no longer suitable for cob corn. After this stage the kernels keep on losing moisture and become harder and harder. Physiological maturity is reached when a black abscission layer develops between the ear and the individual kernel. At this stage the

ANALYSIS OF FRUIT SAMPLES

The procedures set out in this section are applicable to citrus fruits. Similar tests are conducted on tomatoes for the tomato processing industries where the Brix, acidity and juice percentage is measured. Most other vegetable fruits and leafy vegetables will not be analyses chemically, while grain and oil crops will only be monitored for moisture content as explained in session 2.2.2. In the laboratory details relating to the sample are noted, including the producer, orchard number, and fruit size and colour. The fruit is then weighed, cut, its juice is extracted and the following parameters are measured: 1. Juice percentage; 2. Brix, which relates to the total soluble solids or sugar content; and 3. Acidity. The ratio of Brix to acidity is a further parameter used by the industry to determine acceptability of taste for different markets. The norms for different varieties are set at different levels. In the case of lemons, the only deciding factor for export is juice percentage, as neither Brix nor acidity levels are generally used for table fruit. In the case of niche cultivars, higher standards, meaning higher Brix and ratios, have been set to place the fruit in a particular marketing bracket. That standard has to be maintained to assure the producer of the potentially higher return from that market.