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Title: PREHARVEST NUTRITIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY

Author
item SAMS, CARL - UNIV. OF TENNESSEE
item Conway, William

Submitted to: Postharvest Physiology of Vegetables
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/4/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Although conditions under which vegetables are stored directly affect the development of physiological and pathological maladies and the resulting deterioration, conditions under which they are grown often determine their potential for successful storage and marketing. If the vegetables are grown under conditions that favor the production of quality produce that will enter storage and marketing channels relatively free of various disorders, then potential losses can be kept at a minimum. However, if growing conditions result in vegetables of poor quality, the resulting postharvest losses will be greatly increased. While most research has indicated that the two elements most commonly related to produce storage breakdown can be nitrogen and calcium, as was previously stated, it is often the interaction of various mineral elements that primarily affect the resulting quality of vegetables. An adequate supply of the necessary plant nutrients during the growing season, then, will insure the production of quality produce by the grower which will retain this quality during storage and marketing and remain attractive to the consumer.