Post-Harvest Physiology and Crop Preservation

Emphasis in agricultural research for many years has concen- trated on crop production. This emphasis has become more important in recent years with the realization that the population worldwide is outstripping the food supply. There is, however, another side to increasing the availability of the food supply. This simply involves preservation of the harvested crop*for human consumption. The losses incurred in harvesting, handling, transportation, storage and marketing crops have become a greater problem as the distance from the farm to the ultimate consumer increases. In the Western world where modern transportation, storage facilities, and marketing technology are widely used, post-harvest technology requires a large input of energy which increases costs considerably. There- fore, losses are more significant and the ability to provide fresh fruits and vegetables, out of season, at reasonable costs will depend on reduced post-harvest losses throughout the marketing chain from the farm gate to the ultimate consumer. The reduction in post-harvest losses depends on proper use of current technology and further developments derived from a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines. Biochemistry, plant physiology, plant pathology, horticulture, agronomy, physics, engineering and agricultural economics, all provide knowledge which has been useful and will be useful in the future for improving post-harvest technol- ogy and crop preservation. This volume records the Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Post-Harvest Physiology and Crop Preservation, held at Sounion, Greece, April 28 - May 8, 1981.