The volume presents existing and novel management approaches that are in use or have a great potential to be used to maintain the postharvest quality of fresh produce in terms of microbiological safety, nutrition, and sensory quality. In comparison to traditional synthetic chemicals, these eco-friendly molecules are equally effective with respect to slowing the physiological and biochemical changes in harvested produce. Application of terpenic compounds, phenolic compounds, salicylic acid, methyl jasmonates, hydrogen peroxide, ethanol, sulphur compounds, polyamines, plant growth regulators, active carbohydrates, ozone, hexanal and nitric oxide have been proven effective in minimizing storage disorders like chilling injury, scald, fungal diseases like stem-end rot, blue mould rot, green mould rot, anthracnose, regulation of ripening and senescence, etc. This book will be a standard reference work for the management of shelf life in the fresh produce industry.

The safety and efficacy of minimal food processing depends on the use of novel preservation technologies. This book first examines what is meant by minimally processed foods, including fresh-cut, cooked-chilled, and part-baked products. Next explored are the technologies or methods to produce quality products in terms of safety and nutrition, including: edible coating, natural preservatives (i.e., antimicrobial, flavour enhancer, anti-browning), advanced packaging (active, antimicrobial, and modified or controlled atmosphere), and selected non-thermal techniques (high pressure, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, light). Preservation of food is crucial to achieving a secure and safe global food supply with the desired sensory quality. In addition, the increasing consumer demand for safe, ready-to-serve, ready-to-eat-and-cook products with minimal chemical preservatives has raised expectations. However, foods deemed minimally processed, such as fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, cooked-chilled, and half-baked foods, are delicate products that need special care in preparation, processing, storage, and handling. As a result, new technologies to develop minimally processed foods have aggressively advanced. Minimally Processed Foods: Technologies for Safety, Quality, and Convenience explores both the definition of minimally processed foods and the methods and technologies used to achieve the safety and nutritional value consumers demand. About the Editors Mohammed Wasim Siddiqui, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, India Mohammad Shafiur Rahman, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-khod, Oman

Postharvest Disinfection of Fruits and Vegetables describes available technologies to reduce microbial infection for maintaining postharvest quality and safety. The book analyzes alternative and traditional methodologies and points out the significant advantages and limitations of each technique, thus facilitating both cost and time savings. This reference is for anyone in the fresh produce industry who is involved in postharvest handling and management. It discusses, in detail, the latest disinfection approaches, low-cost treatment strategies, management and protocols to control fresh produce qualities, diseases and insect infestation.

Climate change and increased climate variability in terms of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and increasing extreme weather events, such as severe drought and devastating floods, pose a threat to the production of agricultural and horticultural crops-a threat this is expected to worsen. Climate change is already affecting-and is likely to increase-invasive species, pests, and disease vectors, all adversely affecting agri-horticultural crop productivity. Advances in agricultural knowledge, science, and technology will be required to develop improved crop traits, such as temperature, drought, pest, and salt tolerance. This two-volume set gives readers an understanding of the issues and makes suggestions for ways to mitigate adverse climate change effects on crops. The focus of Volume 1: The Principles and Applications in Horticultural Science is to identify impacts and suggest appropriate and effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. Volume 2: Impact, Adaptation, and Mitigation focuses on the impact of climate change on horticultural crops and offers ways to adapt practices to mitigate adverse effects. Together, the two volumes offer a diverse selection of chapters that address issues of importance to those in the horticulture industry, researchers, faculty, and others. The books are an excellent resource for researchers; instructors; students in agriculture, horticulture, environmental science, and other allied subjects; and policymakers.

Climate change and increased climate variability in terms of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and increasing extreme weather events, such as severe drought and devastating floods, pose a threat to the production of agricultural and horticultural crops-a threat this is expected to worsen. Climate change is already affecting-and is likely to increase-invasive species, pests, and disease vectors, all adversely affecting agri-horticultural crop productivity. Advances in agricultural knowledge, science, and technology will be required to develop improved crop traits, such as temperature, drought, pest, and salt tolerance. This two-volume set gives readers an understanding of the issues and makes suggestions for ways to mitigate adverse climate change effects on crops. The focus of Volume 1: The Principles and Applications in Horticultural Science is to identify impacts and suggest appropriate and effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. Volume 2: Impact, Adaptation, and Mitigation focuses on the impact of climate change on horticultural crops and offers ways to adapt practices to mitigate adverse effects. Together, the two volumes offer a diverse selection of chapters that address issues of importance to those in the horticulture industry, researchers, faculty, and others. The two-volume set: * Provides a recent understanding about climate change effects on horticulture * Covers unique information regarding important fruit crops, including flowers, spices, and plantation crops * Serves as an excellent source for researchers to formulate their adaptation and mitigation strategies * Covers abiotic and biotic stresses in relation to climate change * Presents environmentally safe and recent technological approaches such as nanotechnology and biodynamics * Includes case studies The books are an excellent resource for researchers; instructors; students in agriculture, horticulture, environmental science, and other allied subjects; and policymakers.

The ultimate goal of crop production is to provide quality produce to consumers at reasonable rates. Most fresh produce is highly perishable, and postharvest losses are significant under the present methods of management in many countries. However, significant achievements have been made during the last few years to curtail postharvest losses in fresh produce and to ensure food security and safety as well. These include advancements in breeding horticultural crops for quality improvement; postharvest physiology; postharvest pathology and entomology; postharvest management of fruits, vegetables, and flowers; nondestructive technologies to assess produce quality; minimal processing of fruits and vegetables; as well as innovations in packaging and storage technology of fresh produce. This new book, Postharvest Biology and Technology of Horticultural Crops: Principles and Practices for Quality Maintenance, describes the above-mentioned advancements in postharvest quality improvement of fresh horticultural produce. This book will be a standard reference work for postharvest management for the fresh produce industry. It presents important new advances that will extend the shelf life of fresh produce by retaining its safety and nutritional or sensory quality. The book covers a multitude of topics, particularly advances in: * Conventional breeding approaches for fruits and vegetables * Storage of fruits and vegetables * Postharvest treatment and smart packaging * Management of pests and other postharvest diseases * Postharvest management of fresh-cut flowers * Management of medicinal and aromatic plants during postharvest * Biotechnological methods for postharvest management

In the recent years, considerable research has been carried out evaluating natural substances as antioxidative additives in food products, leading to novel combinations of antioxidants and the development of novel food products. In addition to their antioxidative capacity, these natural additives have positive effects on the human body with documented health benefits. This valuable new book provides an overview of natural antioxidants, their sources, methods of extraction, regulatory aspects, and application techniques, specifically focusing on different foods of animal origin to improve their oxidative stability.

This third book in the three-volume Plant Secondary Metabolites examines the relationship between environmental stress and the physiology of plants, leading to stimulation of secondary metabolites. Various stressors are discussed, including plant and soil interfaces, changing climate elements, essential plant nutrients, pest insects, plant pathogens and microrganisms, and more. The chapters, written by experienced experts, also address the diverse utilization of plant-originated secondary metabolites and more.

Sustainable Horticulture, Volume 1: Diversity, Production, and Crop Improvements is part of a two-volume compendium that addresses the most important topics facing horticulture around the world today. Volume 1, on Diversity, Production, and Crop Improvement, outlines the contemporary trends in sustainable horticulture research, covering such topics as crop diversity, species variability and conservation strategies, production technology, tree architecture management, plant propagation and nutrition management, organic farming, and new dynamics in breeding and marketing of horticulture crops. Sections include: Genetic Resources & Biodiversity Conservation Production & Marketing of Horticulture Crops Crop Improvement & Biotechnology Together with Volume 2: Food, Health, and Nutrition, this two-volume compendium presents an abundance of new research on sustainable horticulture that will be valuable for a broad audience, including students of horticulture, faculty and instructors, scientists, agriculturists, government and nongovernment organizations, and other industry professionals.

Sustainable Horticulture, Volume 2: Food, Health, and Nutrition addresses some of the most important topics facing horticulture around the world today. This volume, part of the two-volume compendium, focuses on research trends in sustainable horticulture that include postharvest management and processed food production from horticulture crops, crop protection and plant health management, and horticulture for human health and nutrition. Global food demand is expected to be double by 2050, while at the same time the production environment and natural resources are continually shrinking and deteriorating due to many complex factors. Horticulture, a major sector of agriculture, is vital to enhancing crop production and productivity in parity with agricultural crops to meet the emerging food demand. Implementing sustainable models of crop production is really an enormous endeavor. Promising technologies and management options are needed to increase productivity to meet the growing food demand despite deteriorating production environments.

This volume takes an eco-friendly approach to examining the advantages of using plant food by-products as food additives and nutraceuticals, turning solid wastes into value-added items. The chapters, written by researchers and professionals working in the plant food industry, look at ways to make effective use of plant by-products by harnessing the power of the antimicrobial and nutraceutical power of plant and herb extracts. The measures and techniques discussed here will also help to improve the economics of processing crops. The chapter authors cover a range of issues, including the economic and environmental benefits of utilizing plant food by-products, extraction technologies, plant tissues as a source of nutraceutical compounds, and more.

With the increasing need and demand for fresh fruits and vegetables, the field of postharvest science is continuously evolving. Endeavors are being made by scientists involved in postharvest research for maintenance of the quality and safety of fresh horticultural produce to enhance the postharvest life and to extend the availability of the produce in both time and space. This volume, Emerging Postharvest Treatment of Fruits and Vegetables, addresses the demand for the development and application of effective technologies for preservation of perishable food products, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. It provides an abundance of up-to-date information about postharvest treatments. The chapters discuss a number of innovative technologies to prolong and enhance postharvest fruits and vegetables. This book will be valuable for those concerned with horticulture and postharvest technology. It provides essential information for students, teachers, professors, scientists, and entrepreneurs engaged in fresh horticultural produce handling related to this field.

Climate change and increased climate variability in terms of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and increasing extreme weather events, such as severe drought and devastating floods, pose a threat to the production of agricultural and horticultural crops a threat this is expected to worsen.

Climate change is already affecting and is likely to increase invasive species, pests, and disease vectors, all adversely affecting agri-horticultural crop productivity. Advances in agricultural knowledge, science, and technology will be required to develop improved crop traits, such as temperature, drought, pest, and salt tolerance. This two-volume set gives readers an understanding of the issues and makes suggestions for ways to mitigate adverse climate change effects on crops.

The focus of Volume 1: The Principles and Applications in Horticultural Science is to identify impacts and suggest appropriate and effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. Volume 2: Impact, Adaptation, and Mitigation focuses on the impact of climate change on horticultural crops and offers ways to adapt practices to mitigate adverse effects. Together, the two volumes offer a diverse selection of chapters that address issues of importance to those in the horticulture industry, researchers, faculty, and others.

The two-volume set:

Provides a recent understanding about climate change effects on horticulture

Covers unique information regarding important fruit crops, including flowers, spices, and plantation crops

Serves as an excellent source for researchers to formulate their adaptation and mitigation strategies

Covers abiotic and biotic stresses in relation to climate change

Presents environmentally safe and recent technological approaches such as nanotechnology and biodynamics

Includes case studies

The books are an excellent resource for researchers; instructors; students in agriculture, horticulture, environmental science, and other allied subjects; and policymakers."

Climate change and increased climate variability in terms of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and increasing extreme weather events, such as severe drought and devastating floods, pose a threat to the production of agricultural and horticultural crops a threat this is expected to worsen.

Climate change is already affecting and is likely to increase invasive species, pests, and disease vectors, all adversely affecting agri-horticultural crop productivity. Advances in agricultural knowledge, science, and technology will be required to develop improved crop traits, such as temperature, drought, pest, and salt tolerance. This two-volume set gives readers an understanding of the issues and makes suggestions for ways to mitigate adverse climate change effects on crops.

The focus of Volume 1: The Principles and Applications in Horticultural Science is to identify impacts and suggest appropriate and effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. Volume 2: Impact, Adaptation, and Mitigation focuses on the impact of climate change on horticultural crops and offers ways to adapt practices to mitigate adverse effects. Together, the two volumes offer a diverse selection of chapters that address issues of importance to those in the horticulture industry, researchers, faculty, and others.

The two-volume set:

Provides a recent understanding about climate change effects on horticulture

Covers unique information regarding important fruit crops, including flowers, spices, and plantation crops

Serves as an excellent source for researchers to formulate their adaptation and mitigation strategies

Covers abiotic and biotic stresses in relation to climate change

Presents environmentally safe and recent technological approaches such as nanotechnology and biodynamics

Includes case studies

The books are an excellent resource for researchers; instructors; students in agriculture, horticulture, environmental science, and other allied subjects; and policymakers."

This book presents several pre- and postharvest strategies that have been developed to modify these physiological activities, resulting in increased shelf life. The book also discusses the best technologies that positively influence quality attributes of the produce, including senescenal changes and, afterwards, the consumers' decision to purchase the product in the marketplace. With contributions from experts with experience in both developed and developing regions, the book includes chapters covering thorough discussions on postharvest management strategies of fresh horticultural commodities.

Here is an abundance of valuable information on different sensing techniques for fruits and vegetables. The volume covers emerging technologies, such as NMR, MRI, wireless sensor networks (WSN), and radio-frequency identification (RFID) and their potential for industrial applications. Key features of the volume: * Provides an inclusive review of the developments of sensors for quality analysis and inspection of fresh fruits and vegetables * Fosters an understanding of the basic sensing techniques for quality assessment of fresh fruits and vegetables * Covers advanced sensing technologies, including computer vision, spectroscopy, X-rays, magnetic resonance, mechanical contact, wireless sensor networks, and radio-frequency identification sensors * Reviews the significant progress in sensor development of noninvasive techniques for quality assessment of fruits and vegetables

The volume presents existing and novel management approaches that are in use or have a great potential to be used to maintain the postharvest quality of fresh produce in terms of microbiological safety, nutrition, and sensory quality. In comparison to traditional synthetic chemicals, these eco-friendly molecules are equally effective with respect to slowing the physiological and biochemical changes in harvested produce. Application of terpenic compounds, phenolic compounds, salicylic acid, methyl jasmonates, hydrogen peroxide, ethanol, sulphur compounds, polyamines, plant growth regulators, active carbohydrates, ozone, hexanal and nitric oxide have been proven effective in minimizing storage disorders like chilling injury, scald, fungal diseases like stem-end rot, blue mould rot, green mould rot, anthracnose, regulation of ripening and senescence, etc. This book will be a standard reference work for the management of shelf life in the fresh produce industry.

This book presents a comprehensive study of the handling of fresh fruits in the developing world from harvesting to the shelf. With annual losses ranging from 30-40% due to lack of knowledge on proper handling practices and value addition, this book's information on postharvest handling and quality testing is crucial for reducing these losses and improving the quality and safety of fresh fruits in these areas. With its added focus on marketing and organized retail aspects, Postharvest Quality Assurance of Fruits: Practical Approaches for Developing Countries covers the entire range of fruit handling, from transportation and packaging to quality assessment and commercial preparation. In presenting a fully comprehensive outline of the factors affecting postharvest quality and marketability of fruits, this work lays the foundation for understanding the proper storage, transportation and packaging methods to prevent losses and increase quality. With its study of prevailing marketing systems, supply chains and retail methods, the book presents the complete picture for the postharvest handling of fruits in the developing world.

The safety and efficacy of minimal food processing depends on the use of novel preservation technologies. This book first examines what is meant by minimally processed foods, including fresh-cut, cooked-chilled, and part-baked products. Next explored are the technologies or methods to produce quality products in terms of safety and nutrition, including: edible coating, natural preservatives (i.e., antimicrobial, flavour enhancer, anti-browning), advanced packaging (active, antimicrobial, and modified or controlled atmosphere), and selected non-thermal techniques (high pressure, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, light). Preservation of food is crucial to achieving a secure and safe global food supply with the desired sensory quality. In addition, the increasing consumer demand for safe, ready-to-serve, ready-to-eat-and-cook products with minimal chemical preservatives has raised expectations. However, foods deemed minimally processed, such as fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, cooked-chilled, and half-baked foods, are delicate products that need special care in preparation, processing, storage, and handling. As a result, new technologies to develop minimally processed foods have aggressively advanced. Minimally Processed Foods: Technologies for Safety, Quality, and Convenience explores both the definition of minimally processed foods and the methods and technologies used to achieve the safety and nutritional value consumers demand. About the Editors Mohammed Wasim Siddiqui, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, India Mohammad Shafiur Rahman, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-khod, Oman

This volume, Plant Secondary Metabolites: Volume 1: Biological and Therapeutic Significance, presents important information on the curative and therapeutic roles of secondary metabolites that are present in different natural food groups. The book showcases the applications of herbal-based food group and also includes the effective utility of other plant-based food categories as well. In addition to the clinical role of secondary metabolites, other natural sources, such as micro-algae and bacterial cellulose, are also presented as efficacious sources of functional components.

This second book in the three-volume Plant Secondary Metabolites covers the stimulation, extraction, and utilization of plant secondary metabolites, which are organic compounds that aid in the growth and development of plants but which are not required for the plant to survive by fighting off herbivores, pests, and pathogens. These plant secondary metabolites have been used since early times in various medicines and food products for beneficial health purposes and are still relevant and popular today.

This third book in the three-volume Plant Secondary Metabolites examines the relationship between environmental stress and the physiology of plants, leading to stimulation of secondary metabolites. Various stressors are discussed, including plant and soil interfaces, changing climate elements, essential plant nutrients, pest insects, plant pathogens and microrganisms, and more. The chapters, written by experienced experts, also address the diverse utilization of plant-originated secondary metabolites and more.

This book, first of this new two-volume set, provides an informative tour of the basics of biotechnology to recent advances in biotechnology. Knowledge of new and fresh approaches is a prerequisite to solving plant biological problems, and to this end, the editors have brought together a group of contributors who address the most recent techniques and their applications in plant biotechnology. The chapters discuss some recent techniques such as TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions In Genomes), advances in molecular techniques to study diversity, protein purification, and methods and analysis in protein-protein interaction detection. The volume also covers molecular markers and QTL mapping, including four chapters that deal with different molecular markers, development of mapping populations, and association mapping for dissecting the genetic basis of complex traits in plants in sufficient detail. The knowledge of biotechnology techniques and their applications will be valuable for researchers and scientists as well as for the many students engaged in plant biotechnology studies.

This volume addresses the challenges of the short shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Innovative packaging technologies are the most promising strategies for overcoming these limitations. This book provides a host of sustainable packaging solutions that deliver protection, branding, consumer attractiveness, and speed to market in a competitive retail environment. Key features of the book: * Provides an informative overview of fruit and vegetable requirements and available packaging materials and systems * Provides an understanding of the fundamentals of the impact of packaging on the quality and safety of fruits and vegetables * Covers the fundamental aspects of packaging requirements, including mathematical modeling and mechanical and engineering properties of packaging materials * Presents an in-depth discussion of innovative packaging technologies, such as MA/CA packaging, active packaging, intelligent packaging, and eco-friendly materials applied to fruit and vegetables * Looks at packaging design for better environmental and economic performance

Recent advances in the development of transgenic plants have revolutionized our concepts of sustainable food production, cost-effective alternative energy strategies, microbial biofertilizers and biopesticides, and disease diagnostics through plant biotechnology. As a result, a number of transgenic plants have been developed with improved traits. With the advancement of plant biotechnology, many of the customary approaches are out of date. This new two-volume set, Plant Biotechnology, provides a plethora of current knowledge on new as well as fresh approaches that are necessary to address biological problems in plant food production. The volumes provide an informative tour of plant biotechnology, covering the basics of biotechnology to recent advances, taking a thorough look at applications as well. The editors have brought together a respected group of contributors who address the most recent techniques and their applications in plant biotechnology. Volume 1 covers the principles, techniques, and applications while Volume 2 delves into transgenics, stress management, and biosafety issues. The volumes share recent information related to recent methods of genetic transformation, gene silencing, development of transgenic crops, biosafety issues, microbial biotechnology, oxidative stress, plant disease diagnostics and management, and more. Broken into subsections, the two volumes cover: History, scope and importance of plant biotechnology Plant tissue culture Techniques in molecular biology Molecular markers and QTL mapping Genetic transformation Gene silencing in plant Transgenic crops and biosafety Microbial biotechnology Oxidative stress Plant disease diagnostics and management This two-volume set will be a valuable resource for research and university libraries as well as for the many students engaged in plant biotechnology studies as well as faculty and researchers.