Elhadi M. Yahia

Avocado is one of the world’s most economically important subtropical/tropical fruit crops, ranking fourth in export value behind bananas, grapes and apples. In the past 20 years, global avocado production has increased dramatically, with production now occurring in over 70 countries as a result of increased consumer demand. This growth in production and consumer demand has been attributed to the fruit’s remarkable sensory, nutritional and nutraceutical properties. However, continued growth of the sector depends on optimising these properties, as well as improving the sustainability of pre-harvest cultivation and post-processing operations in the face of several challenges, including climate change. Built on a lifetime’s experience from one of the world’s leading experts in the field, Sustainable production and postharvest handling of avocado considers how the avocado value chain can be optimised to achieve this growth. The book includes seven chapters which each offer a detailed insight into different elements of avocado production, covering topics such as nutritional compounds and health benefits, cultivars, growing techniques, pest and disease management, as well as post-harvest physiology and treatment and handling. Written by a world-renowned expert, Sustainable production and postharvest handling of avocado will be a standard reference for commercial avocado growers, producers, processors and retailers, university and other researchers in tropical fruit science, as well as government and other private sector agencies supporting the sustainable production of avocados.

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.