Advances in Fruit Pre-harvest and Postharvest Quality, Physiology and Technology—Volume II

Dear Colleagues,

Fruits are an important source of carbohydrates, proteins, organic acids, vitamins and minerals for human nutrition and health. In addition to the health benefits that can derive from their consumption, fruit can also function as precious sources of bioactive compounds for food functionalization or nutraceutical preparations. To improve quality and reduce losses, producers and handlers should understand the biological, environmental and technological factors affecting quality and deterioration. Fruits are highly perishable products with an active metabolism subjected to several losses between harvest and consumption through microbial decay, physical injury, and senescence during postharvest life. Preharvest and postharvest handling, processing and technology play a key role in increasing fruit availability and maintaining fruit quality. Fruit quality parameters include size, visual attractiveness, taste, health benefits, shelf life, suitability for handling and processing and so on. The connection between quality build-up in the preharvest period and its impact on technological quality traits has been frequently overlooked, and detailed knowledge is still missing. Fresh fruits are different in terms of morphological structure, composition and physiology; for that reason, commodity requirements and recommendations to maintain quality and improve postharvest life change among the products. During the production chain, specific criteria prevail depending on the product's destination, which includes either the fresh market or the processing industry. Therefore, improving shelf life, maintaining quality and reducing waste by conducting advanced research on fruit physiology and developing new technologies are mandatory to meet the consumer's demand and to reduce food chain losses.

The Special Issue is focused on recent research regarding advances in fruit preharvest and postharvest quality, physiology and technology. Manuscripts related to preharvest and postharvest sustainable treatment or processing will be appreciated (research articles and reviews are welcome).

Dr. Giorgia Liguori
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.