A. K. Handa

This collection features four peer-reviewed reviews on improving the shelf life of horticultural produce. The first chapter introduces the concept of smart distribution and highlights how optimising the management of produce distribution systems can reduce loss and waste in the horticultural sector and extend shelf life by minimising quality deterioration. The chapter also discusses the use of remote sensing technology to determine food quality. The second chapter reviews a selection of pre- and postharvest strategies used to optimise fruit quality. The chapter considers ways of measuring harvest maturity, as well as the role of temperature controlled environments in extending the shelf life of tree fruit. The third chapter summarises the wealth of recent research on the preservation of fruit quality in mango production, as well as how postharvest operations can be optimised to reduce loss and waste and maximise shelf life, including the use of controlled environments, waxes and edible coatings. The final chapter explores the advantages and disadvantages of cultivating ripening-impaired tomato mutants and genetically engineered genotypes characterized by inhibition of the ripening process. The chapter considers the use of ethylene inhibitors and controlled environments as a means of mitigating devastating yield losses.

This specially curated collection features five reviews of current and key research on fruit losses and waste. The first chapter reviews the magnitude of losses and waste of fruit and vegetables as well as key issues in estimating losses. It provides a detailed assessment of the main causes of losses and waste together with strategies for their prevention. The second chapter assesses the adoption of new, non-destructive technologies as a way of measuring harvest maturity and improving sorting operations to minimise the risk of product loss and waste. The third chapter outlines the importance of harvest management of apples and considers the importance of various factors associated with fruit physiology, maturation and ripening to reduce losses. The fourth chapter reviews existing research in the preservation of fruit quality and reduction of post-harvest damage and loss by adopting suitable technologies and knowledge during post-harvest operation, storage management, transportation and marketing of mango fruit. The final chapter explores the advantages and disadvantages of cultivating ripening-impaired tomato mutants. It describes how controlling tomato diseases in both pre- and postharvest operations can help avoid fruit losses.

This specially curated collection features three reviews of current and key research on nutraceuticals in fruit and vegetables. The first chapter provides a brief description of the chemistry of bioactive compounds (BCs) and their presence in temperate fruits, and discusses recent advances in strategies towards improving sustainable crop production for nutraceuticals. It examines polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin C and production practices that influence bioactive compound synthesis. The second chapter describes the claimed health benefits associated with the antioxidant properties of bioactive compounds found in mangoes, such as vitamin C, phenolics and carotenoids. The chapter also examines specific cell, animal and clinical studies that suggest mango pulp, juice and extract are effective against metabolic diseases and certain forms of cancer. The final chapter considers how developments such as genetic dissection using fruit ripening mutants, new transgenic plants, and molecular breeding have opened a road map for scientists to further unravel the intricacies and regulation of genes governing fruit quality attributes. Improvements in precision in engineering plant genomes have enabled development of novel tomatoes with marketable traits such as higher carotenoid and anthocyanin content, both beneficial for human health.