The postharvest losses of fruits in the tropics is very high and there are continuous efforts being exerted to overcome this challenge. I just wanted to here some research findings and/or success stories of simple and affordable technologies applied in other areas.
Cooling and O2 decrease are the first basic actions to decrease metabolism. The difficulty lies in the energy for cooling. I remember seeing a presentation of solar-powered containers for fruit shipping once, that might be a good start.
Thank you Catherine, I will look in to the areas you suggested and see the ease of operation/application and also the cost as these are the most important factors.
I agree with Dr. Catherine that cooling either as pre-cooling or /and storage cooling also the modified atmosphere storage with reducing O2 or increase CO2 percentage in the store room. On the other hand, using some coating materials such as Jojoba oil, gelatin, sage seed oil, moringa leaves extract and prickly pear stem extract ...etc. for prolonging storage period.
Dr. Tadesse, I developed an individual bag (MAP), of low cost that preserve tomatoes and bell pepper at room temperature (8-26 °C) for more than 21 days. If you want, please contact me at [email protected]
Thank you all for your suggestions and shared experiences. I think the suggestions Drs. Gustavo and Deniz are technically more feasible as the technologies they suggested are simple and can readily be used by rural dwellers. The thing is that techniques that require electric energy will not work as they are expensive and electricity is not available to rural small holder farming communities in many African countries. The experience of Gustavo and Robert are really good and can be tested with modifications. I have also been reviewing some literatures based on these suggestions and I realized that the drying technology using solar (sun) energy is I think the most suitable and number one choice as it is almost a zero-cost technique and the simplest in terms of operation. I have also realized that open-sun (solar with enclosure) drying techniques can be applied in the tropics almost the whole year as the intensity of the sun is pretty much higher than in other areas. The only limitation I have seen is the prevalence of higher relative humidity during certain months of the year, which also depends on the altitude of specific areas. Thanks a lot for your new insights and directions for me to look in to the issue. A problem shared is a problem half-solved! Greetings and respects!
Dear Tadesse, ORMA bags, can be sealed with a plastic coated wire as you can see in the archives.
Regards
edible coatings is a relatively inexpensive technique for use in post-harvest conservation
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Methodology
- Research Methodology
- Research Papers