Fruit Quality and Its Biological Basis

• Explores prospects for the genetic control of fruit development, composition, and quality
• Clarifies the botanical nature of fleshy fruits, providing an international context
• Addresses important aspects of fruit quality as perceived by the consumer: texture and flavor
• Considers how various factors, including ethylene and artificial manipulation of temperature and atmosphere, influence fruit physiology after harvest
• Examines the adverse effects of mechanical damage and pathogen attack on fruit quality

Fruit Quality and Its Biological Basis focuses on the biological processes that determine appearance, texture, taste, nutritional value, and flavor of fleshy fruits. It presents ways by which these biological processes can be manipulated to maximize quality for the consumer. The book explains these procedures at the molecular level and the mode of action and limitations of current technology for postharvest handling of fruits.

Contents

Fruits in the Global Market

• Classification of Fruits Based on Postharvest Considerations
• World Fruit Production and Trade
• Importance of Fruits and Nuts in Human Nutrition and Health
• Fruit Composition and Quality
• Quality Attributes of Fruits
• Fruit Maturity, Ripening, and Quality Relationships
• Factors Influencing Quality
• Food Safety Assurance

Inorganic Nutrients and Fruit Quality

• Inorganic of Fruit and How They Are Achieved
• Inorganic Nutrients and Fruit Quality at Harvest and during Postharvest Storage
• Inorganic Nutrients in Relation to Human Nutrition and the Consumer
• Genetic Approaches

Fruit Texture, Cell Wall Metabolism, and Consumer Perceptions

• Texture and the Cell Wall
• Chemistry of the Fruit Cell Wall
• Changes to Polysaccharides during Fruit Softening
• Cell-Wall Associated Enzymes: Role in Texture Change
• Non-Enzymatic Mechanisms of Change
• Wall Oligosaccharides as Ripening Regulators
• Cell Wall Synthesis during Ripening Low Temperature Disorders
• Consumer Perception

Fruit Flavor, Volatile Metabolism and Consumer Perceptions

• Flavor is an Elusive Trait
• Flavor Components in Fruits
• Measurement of Flavor Components
• Biochemical Pathways that Produce Flavor Components in Fruits
• Perception of Flavor Components
• Measurement of Flavor Perception

Temperature Managements

• Preharvest Temperatures
• Removing Field Heat
• Storage Temperatures

Atmosphere Control Using Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide

• Respiratory Metabolism
• Ethylene Biology
• Secondary Metabolic Pathways

Mechanical Injury

• Fruit Anatomy
• Fruit Cells
• Causes of Injury
• Losses Caused by Mechanical Injury
• Fruit Impact Injuries
• Compression Damage
• Vibration
• Prevention of Damage
• Detection of Injury
• Metabolism in Injured Tissue

Ethylene Synthesis, Mode of Action, Consequences, and Control

• Fruit Ripening and Interactions with Ethylene
• Ethylene Biosynthesis and Perception
• Effects of Postharvest Treatments on Ethylene Biosynthesis and Perception

Management of Postharvest Diseases

• The Nature of Postharvest Disease
• Opportunities for Infection
• Factors Influencing Fruit Susceptibility to Postharvest Disease
• Disease Management Strategies

Genetic Control of Fruit Ripening

• Evolution and Development of Fleshy Fruits
• Texture
• Colour
• Flavour
• Hormonal Regulation
• Ripening-Regulatory Genes: Current Progress and Future Prospects

Index

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