Abstract

Soft fruit production is an economically important income for many producers all over the world. One of the main problems is the sensitivity of this small but very aromatic, health beneficial and desirable fruits. Despite the numerous benefits that soft fruits are valued for, post-harvest losses make its production in most parts of the world unprofitable and difficult to export. Soft fruits differ to most other fruits; they are so called non-climacteric fruit and are not able to ripen after they are harvested. Therefore, special pre-harvest and post-harvest treatments are necessary to reduce post-harvest losses in soft fruit, which, without special care can be as high as 40%. This study revealed that the post-harvest quality status of soft fruits partly depended on some pre-harvest practices carried out during production. Some of these factors are nutrient management, maturity stage, cultivar selection and irrigation. Using best post-harvest handling practices or factors such as temperature, relative humidity, storage in controlled atmosphere and physical handling procedures to maintain the quality after harvest was also critical. It was concluded by this study that understanding and managing both pre-harvest and post-harvest factors properly would reduce the post-harvest quality losses in soft fruit production.

Keywords: Soft fruits; Shelf life; Pre-harvest and post-harvest; Quality; Storage

Abbreviation: MA: Modified Atmospheres; CA: Controlled Atmosphere