Peach: Response to postharvest treatments

One of the major problems of peach cultivation is its limited postharvest life. It has a shelf-life of 3-5 days under ordinary conditions of storage whereas, storage of fruit under refrigerated conditions can extend its postharvest life but fruit suffers from chilling injury when stored at low temperature for prolong period. Postharvest heating is resorted to kill or weaken plant pathogens or eggs and larvae of some insects like fruit fly. This treatment is a pesticide free method against insect- pests and diseases. These postharvest treatments have been used extensively for improving shelf-life of different fruits but meager information is available on the effect of such treatments on postharvest quality of peach. This book will really prove a torch bearer for those who are directly or indirectly engaged in preservative activities of stone fruits. It shall also be very useful for the students seeking admission in post-graduate and doctorate programmes, teachers and researchers working on postharvest technology of fruits.