Crop Maturity and Harvest Flashcards
Which pre-harvest practices affect post-harvest returns in quality
Water supply, soil fertility, cultivation practices, agriculture chemicals
Which nutrient has the single greatest effect on quality
nitrogen
Ripening
process fruit attain their desirable flavor, quality, color, palatable nature and other textural properties
Physiological maturity
stage in development of fruits when maximum growth and maturation has occurred
Horticultural maturity
stage of development at which a fruit is optimum for use by consumers for a particular purpose
Climacteric
fruit can ripen after harvest
Non-climacteric
fruit cannot ripen after harvest
Ethylene
gaseous plant hormone plays important role in inducing the ripening process for fruit
Examples of climacteric fruit
apples, apricots, kiwi, plums, peaches, pears, avocados, bananas
Examples of non-climacteric fruit
citrus, grapes, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and cashews
What factors determine the right time to harvest?
time recording, environmental conditions, physical properties, chemical properties, and physiological characteristics
What do you use growing degree days and heat units to estimate
estimate the crop of certain crops and pest during growing season.
What happens during ripening
- color: chlorophyll breakdown
- firmness: the softness or firmness of a fruit is determined by cell walls. Pectin
- flavor: increase breakdown of starch and acids
During ripening does it increase or decrease?
Starch, firmness, and acidity: decrease
Ethylene, sugars, respiration, and volatiles: increase
True or false: Harvesting before any fruit drop will yield largely immature fruits that have excessive drying ratio
true
