Division of Post Harvest Technology

Custard apple can be stored for a week at 20°C and below 15°C, the fruit is highly susceptible to chilling injury.

Gradually increase the storage temperature to the room temperature before taking out the fruits from cold store. The cold stored fruits will have a shelf life of 3 to 5 days depending on the length of cold storage.

Papaya should be harvested when the fruits showing 5% yellow colouration at the base of the fruit.

Shelf life of cut flowers can be extend by adopting the following steps.

• Harvesting cut flowers at optimum maturity stage during cool hours of the day.
• Pre cooling and pre-treatment with floral preservatives.
• Packaging and low temperature storage.

Sucrose, citric acid, aluminium sulphate, silver nitrate, silver thiosulphate and 8 hydroxyquinotine citrate or sulphate are the some of the ingredients used in floral preservative formulations.

Pulsing is a short term treatment done immediately after harvesting of cut flowers by dipping stem base in floral preservatives containing high concentration of sucrose (3-15%) in combination with citric acid or Aluminium sulphate or silver nitrate.

Optimum temperature and duration for cold storage of flowers varies with crop, cultivar and harvest stages. Flowers like rose, carnation, gladiolus, chrysanthemum, aster, gerbera and tuberose store well between 2°-4°C for 5-15 days. Orchids and anthurium flowers store well between 7°-10°C for 7-10 days without affecting the normal quality.

Bent neck in rose occurs due to

• Immature bud harvest.
• Blocking the movement of water bvy air entry  in the xylem vessels.
• Clogging of stem base by microbial growth.

 Bent neck can be prevented by

Dehydration methods of flowers are sun, shade, hot air oven, microwave oven, freeze drying and press drying.

Shape, size, colour, texture and fragrance are the important parameters to be considered for dry flower quality.