ISHS Acta Horticulturae 343: Physiological Basis of Postharvest Technologies
PREFACE |
| Abstract:
During 4 days in August of 1992, over 150 scientists from 24 countries around the world came together at the University of California, Davis to share knowledge and to gather insights into the Physiological Basis of Post-harvest Technologies. The Proceedings of this Symposium contains 102 of the oral and poster papers given at this ISHS 1992 International Postharvest Symposium. Although our empirical knowledge of the optimum conditions under which to store specific commodities has grown rapidly during the past few years, the increase of new commodities from tropical countries, of ethnic commodities, of storage technologies, of packaging materials, of quarantine regulations, and of consumers preference for 'lightly processed' fresh fruits and vegetables has strained our ability to identify optimum storage conditions through traditional postharvest studies. An understanding of the basic principles underling the physiological response of plant tissue to postharvest treatments would circumvent some of the long and costly empirical studies by helping researchers narrow their focus to potentially optimal treatments. There were eight oral sessions and six poster sessions. Although fewer in number, the six poster sessions seemed to engender a greater exchange among the participants than did the oral presentations. Refreshments and extended hours in the area reserved for the posters encouraged many scientists to gravitate there during lulls in the program and in the evenings, and fostered exchanges and discussions that were the very essence of the symposium. The successes of this arrangement should motivate future symposia to emphasize this portion of the scientific program. The papers have been organized in 14 sections related to major topics of postharvest interest. The first three sessions focused on commodity maturation, composition, quality and senescence. The next three sessions focused on controlled and modified atmospheres. Session seven focused on cell wall metabolism and plant hormones. The next four sessions focused on physiological response to a number of abiotic stresses. The final three sessions focused on biotic stresses. The individual contributions for this volume were supplied as hard-copies and as electronic copies on computer discs. The files were translated into a common word processing program and were edited and reformatted to a common parlance, typeface, line spacing and style. This procedure took far more time and energy than using camera ready copies, but I hope you will agree it has produced a more concise and attractive volume. |
