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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Advances in Postharvest Preservation and Quality of Fruits and Vegetables
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Advances in Postharvest Preservation and Quality of Fruits and Vegetables

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Postharvest Biology, Quality, Safety, and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2025 | Viewed by 687

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Younes Noutfia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fruit and Vegetable Storage and Processing Department, The National Institute of Horticultural Research, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland
Interests: food technology; postharvest handling; physicochemical quality; storage; preservation; image analysis
Prof. Dr. Ewa Ropelewska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fruit and Vegetable Storage and Processing Department, The National Institute of Horticultural Research, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland
Interests: agricultural engineering; cereals; fruit; vegetables; drying; fruit quality; horticulture; machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Monika Mieszczakowska-Frąc

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fruit and Vegetable Storage and Processing Department, The National Institute of Horticultural Research, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland
Interests: fruit quality; postharvest biology; food analysis; chromatography; food processing; food composition; horticulture research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The total quality of agricultural products is dependent on several factors, starting from technical operations at the orchard to post-harvest handling at the scale of processing and storage facilities. For the “post-harvest dimension”, personalized treatments should be applied to fruit and vegetables based on their initial quality and the needs of consumers and markets. Currently, such treatments are based on maintaining and improving the sensory and biochemical quality of fresh and processed crops using thermal, chemical, and physical operations such as sorting, grading, coating, drying, blanching, storage, etc.

Through this Special Issue, a focus will be given on the following:

  • Conventional and advanced techniques carried out during the post-harvest supply chain.
  • Modern strategies to attenuate post-harvest losses.
  • Selected cases of post-harvest quality assessment using destructive and non-destructive analyses.
  • All relevant insights dealing with post-harvest processing and preservation.

Dr. Younes Noutfia
Prof. Dr. Ewa Ropelewska
Prof. Dr. Monika Mieszczakowska-Frąc
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 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.

Keywords

  • post-harvest handling
  • ripening
  • fruit
  • vegetables
  • quality
  • processing
  • food losses
  • valorisation
  • preservation
  • non-destructive analyses
  • artificial intelligence

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1720 KiB  
Article
Timing Matters, Not Just the Treatment: Phenological-Stage-Specific Effects of Seaweed and Ethanol Applications on Postharvest Quality of ‘Tarsus Beyazı’ Grapes
by Güzin Tarım, Sinem Karakus, Nurhan Keskin, Harlene Hatterman-Valenti and Ozkan Kaya
Horticulturae 2025, 11(6), 656; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11060656 - 10 Jun 2025
Abstract
In the context of increasing consumer demand for high-quality, residue-free fruits and the growing emphasis on sustainable postharvest technologies, identifying effective, eco-friendly treatments to maintain grape quality during storage has become a critical focus in modern viticulture. Over the course of this study, [...] Read more.
In the context of increasing consumer demand for high-quality, residue-free fruits and the growing emphasis on sustainable postharvest technologies, identifying effective, eco-friendly treatments to maintain grape quality during storage has become a critical focus in modern viticulture. Over the course of this study, we examined the influence of seaweed extract (derived from Ascophyllum nodosum) and ethanol-based postharvest treatments on the postharvest quality of the ‘Tarsus Beyazı’ grape. The seaweed extract was applied at six specific phenological stages according to the BBCH scale: BBCH 13 (3rd–4th leaf stage, 0.40%), BBCH 60 (first flower sheath opening, 0.50%), BBCH 71 (fruit set, 0.50%), BBCH 75 (chickpea-sized berries, 0.50%), BBCH 81 (start of ripening, 0.60%), and BBCH 89 (harvest maturity, 0.60%). After harvest, grape clusters were subjected to four different postharvest treatments: untreated control, control + ethanol (20% ethanol immersion for 10 s), seaweed extract alone (preharvest applications only), and seaweed extract + ethanol (combining both preharvest and postharvest treatments). Grapes were stored at 0–1 °C and 90–95% RH for three weeks, followed by a shelf-life evaluation period of three days at 20 °C and 60–65% RH. The findings revealed that seaweed treatments, especially when applied during cluster formation and berry development, effectively mitigated physiological deterioration, preserving stem turgidity and enhancing berry firmness. In contrast, ethanol showed variable responses, occasionally exerting negative effects, with only marginal benefits observed when applied at optimal developmental stages. Both the type and timing of application emerged as critical determinants of key quality attributes such as weight loss, decay incidence, and must properties (TSS, pH, TA). Correlation and heat map analyses indicated the interrelationships among these parameters and the differential impacts of treatments. These results suggest that phenological-stage-specific seaweed applications hold significant potential as a sustainable strategy to extend the storage life and maintain the market quality of ‘Tarsus Beyazı’ grapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Postharvest Preservation and Quality of Fruits and Vegetables)
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15 pages, 2200 KiB  
Article
Moringa-Based Coating Preserves Organic Acids and Antioxidant Compounds of ‘Ester’ Granadilla Fruit Exocarps During Storage
by Yaone C. Moseki, Nkanyiso J. Sithole, Sbulelo Mwelase, Bonga L. Ngcobo and Khayelihle Ncama
Horticulturae 2025, 11(4), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11040363 - 27 Mar 2025
Viewed by 347
Abstract
The marketability of fresh granadilla (Passiflora edulis) fruit is significantly reduced by oxidation reactions occurring in its exocarp, which is not directly linked to the organoleptic quality of its arils. However, organic means of mitigating this are not topical in research. [...] Read more.
The marketability of fresh granadilla (Passiflora edulis) fruit is significantly reduced by oxidation reactions occurring in its exocarp, which is not directly linked to the organoleptic quality of its arils. However, organic means of mitigating this are not topical in research. This study investigated the potency of moringa (Moringa oleifera)-based coating to preserve antioxidant compounds in granadilla. Physiologically mature fruit of equal size were assigned to a completely randomized design experiment at the North-West University Farm Laboratory. The fruit samples were coated with 2% xanthan gum (commercial coating), 2% moringa, or 2% rosemary coating and kept at shelf-life conditions (25 ± 2 °C; 40 ± 5%RH) for 5 weeks while sampling at weekly intervals. Correlations between the measured parameters were confirmed prior to regression analysis. Significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed in weekly changes in the exocarp pH, total antioxidant compounds (TAO), tartaric acid (TA), malic acid (MA), and citric acid (CA). At the end of storage, the moringa- and xanthan-coated fruit had the highest exocarp pH (7.8) and TAO (0.87 mg/g). Moringa-coated fruit had higher TA and MA (6.0 and 5.36 µg/g, respectively) as well as a significantly higher CA (0.51 µg/g) preserved than the other coatings. Strong correlations between MA and TAO (r > 0.82), as well as TA and TAO (r > 0.86), indicated the potency of developing TAO estimation models using multivariate data from the organic acids. Pre-processed data regression models were developed but were limited by the amount of data collected. Models developed similarly can be used for sustainable TAO assessment as a latent variable to minimize toxic waste that results from wet chemistry analyses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Postharvest Preservation and Quality of Fruits and Vegetables)
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