POSTHARVEST HANDLING PRACTICES FOR FRUIT CROPS.

The fruit production is a competitive and dynamic sector with many uncertainties coming from fruit biology, diseases and pests that attack them, the climate change, the distribution market and the complexity of logistics activities. Post-harvest handling activities can considerably improve the conditions that maintain fruit quality as they are circulating along the supply chain. Depending on the size of the agricultural holding and its financial possibilities, there are different specific practices considered appropriate for the achievement of management objectives after the harvest. The aim of this paper is to provide post-harvest storage, packaging and handling recommendations for small-scale specialized horticultural growers. It was demonstrated that the implementation of appropriate storage and packaging conditions can increase the storage time of fruits by 300 to 800%. Vertical diversification in the fruit sector by combining the application of traditional and modern processing technologies, both pre-harvesting and post-harvesting, represents a possibility of shortening the distribution chain, and implicitly increasing profitability. At the same time, it is necessary to develop closer collaboration between scientific research, production, distribution and marketing, in order to build strategic alliances to improve technologies and skills, as well as to increase the competitiveness of products offered on the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]