ISHS Acta Horticulturae 934: XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on Postharvest Technology in the Global Market
POSTHARVEST LOSS REDUCTION OF 'MST32/1' COOKING TOMATOES PRODUCED BY SMALL FARMERS IN MAURITIUS |
| Authors: | C.F.H. Bishop, I. Ramma |
| Keywords: | postharvest losses, small farmers, tomatoes |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.934.7 |
| Abstract:
Trials were carried out on ‘MST 32/1’ cooking tomatoes locally known as “Pomme d’Amour” to evaluate the level of postharvest losses that occurred with small farmers using traditional systems of weekly harvesting the crop green. Three trials were carried out at different times of the year. It was found that only around 25% of the fruit fully ripened for market within a week of harvest which was the desired period for the farmers. Improved handling methods, by replacing deep wooden boxes with smooth sided plastic crates and keeping the crop on a wooden pallet in the shade whenever possible, reduced losses. The use of Ethrel® resulted in 60% of the tomatoes being fully ripened and marketable by the end of the week. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
