PHT in Horticulture

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Post Harvest Technology of Horticultural Crops
Research · April 2017

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28507.98089
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(August 19 –September 4, 2013)
10-21 February, 2014
R.K. Yadav
Course Director
R.K. Goyal S.S. Dhankar

Course Coordinator Course Coordinator
Counseling & Placement Centre, Directorate of Students’ Welfare

and
Department of Horticulture
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, HISAR - 125 004 (Haryana)
(August
10-21 –September
19 February, 4, 2013)
2014
R.K. Yadav
R.K. Goyal
S.S. Dhankar
Counseling & Placement Centre, Directorate of

Students’ Welfare
and
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004
INDEX
Chapter Title of the Chapters Author Page

No. No.
1. Development of Horticulture S.K. Bhatia 1
2. Post Harvest Handling of Fruits R.K. Goyal and 4
3. Maturity Indices of Fruits R.K. Sharma and 8
R.K. Goyal
4. Pre-cooling and Refrigerated Storage of Fruits J.K. Sandooja 11
5. Minimal Processing of Fruits and Vegetables S. Siddiqui 13
6. Preparation of Jam R. K. Godara 17
7. Preparation of Beverages Rakesh Gehlot 19
8. Preparation of Potato Products Raj Bala Grewal 24
9. Post-Harvest Handling of Flowers S.K. Sehrawat and 29
R.K. Goyal
10. Dehydration of Flowers D.S. Dahiya and 34
S.K. Sehrawat
11. Post Harvest Technology of Plants Medicinal I.S. Yadav 39

12. Packaging Technologies M.K.Garg 47
DEVELOPMENT OF HORTICULTURE
S.K. Bhatia
Department of Horticulture,
CCS HAU, Hisar
The Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University,
Hisar came into existence with the establishment of College of Agriculture at
Hisar in the then Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during the year 1962.
With the bifurcation of universities, a full-fledged department started working
during 1970. The department has made steady progress in the field of research,
teaching and transfer of technology during the entire period under report. The
Department of Horticulture has attained creditable status through its sustained and
dedicated efforts over the last 40 years. The department has been able to reach
many heights in different aspects of research in the form of viable technology and
their transfer to the farmers. From time to time, there has been a significant
expansion with respect to infrastructure and other facilities for conducting smooth
research, teaching and extension programmes. During this period, Research
Stations were established at Buria and Bawal for generating information for
recommending the technology for regional areas. With the establishment of dry
farming Research Station at Bawal, the department established its horticulture
wing during the year 1974-75 in the south western part of the State. The
germplasm suitable for dry land area were introduced with respect to ber, aonla,
bael, jamun and phalsa. With the efforts of research workers, this station is
catering to the needs of south western part of the State for supplying plant
material and production technology of these fruit crops. Another Regional
Research Station particularly catering to horticultural needs of North eastern parts
was established in 1990 at Buria. Subtropical fruits like mango, litchi, loquat and
temperate fruits requiring low chilling like pear, peach, plum were introduced and
evaluated.
Infrastructure:
The experimental Orchard with an area of 125 acres under various fruits
has been established at headquarters.
Presently, there are six laboratories along with departmental library
catering to the needs of postgraduate students for conducting research. Keeping
in view the research development tissue culture laboratory was established in the
department for standardization of micro propagation protocols.
Under Precision Farming Development Centre and Experiential Learning
programme, Hi-tech greenhouse and naturally ventilated polyhouses were
installed.
Research achievements including varieties & technology:
 Rich collection of germplasm of major fruit crops like Ber, Guava,
Citrus, Aonla, Peach, Grapes, Mango, Sapota, Litchi, Pear, Peach,
Plum, Loquat was made, maintained and evaluated in order to
recommend superior cultivars for commercial cultivation in Haryana.
The present germplasm comprises species and cultivars having more
than 100 in ber, 20 in guava, 12 in mango, 25 in citrus, 8 in aonla, 10 in
1
bael, 8 in litchi, 5 in pear, 4 in peach, 4 in loquat, 15 in marigold, 12 in
pomegranate, 15 in tuberose, 15 in chrysanthemum, 12 in gladiolus and
5 in carnation.
 Hybridization work was initiated in guava, ber and citrus. In guava,
the improvement work has resulted in release of Hisar Safeda and Hisar
Surkha hybrids. These hybrids are popular among the farmers as these
have good fruit size and soft seeds with high pulp content. Fifteen ber
hybrids are being evaluated for fruit quality and yield. Of these,
Hybrid-1-7/6 (Umran x Kaithli) has a good fruit quality with high TSS
and early Hyrbid-9-7/9 (Ladoo x Safeda Rohtak) have shown promise.
Safeda Rohtak, BS 75-1 and BS 75-3 in ber were registered in NBPGR
as resistant against powdery mildew and fruit fly, respectively. DNA
finger printing of ber and guava has been carried out.
 Recently, two lines of marigold named Hisar Beauty and Hisar Jaffri
suitable for landscaping and flower production exhibition, bedding and
potting have been recommended at Horticulture Officers’ Workshop for
release
 The department has standardized the techniques of propagation like
patch budding in guava, aonla, jamun and bael, in situ budding in ber
and aonla and transplanting of bare rooted ber and aonla in winter
months. Rootstock Troyer citrange for mandarin and Cleopatra for
sweet orange were found suitable.
 Nutritional survey of orchards in Haryana revealed the deficiency of
organic carbon in 75% orchard. Nitrogen content of leaves was low in
40% orchards whereas low P and K in 60% orchards of North West part
of Haryana. The nutritional requirement of various fruits and flower
crop has been standardized and recommended for the farmers. Plant
growth and fruit yield in citrus were found best when nitrogen was
applied, 50% through FYM and 50% through urea while application of
whole nitrogen through organic resulted in lowest fruit yield and less
plant growth but somewhat better quality fruits.
 The farmers face problem of fruit drop especially in mango and citrus
which reduces his profit. Research work was carried out and the
recommendations have been made to the farmers. Two per cent spray
of urea and 20 ppm NAA in April, May in Mango and 10 ppm 2, 4-D
(Na salt) + 20 ppm auerofungin + 0.5% zinc sulphate in June, July and
September in citrus were able to check the fruit drop.
Future strategies:
• Collection, improvement and evaluation of fruit crops.
• Promotion of indigenous fruit plants.
• Standardization of organic farming technology for fruit crops.
• Drip irrigation in orchards
• Rejuvenation of old and senile orchards.
• Intercropping systems in different horticultural crops.
2
• Protocol for micro-propagation of major crops like Guava, Citrus, Mango
etc.
• Production of quality planting material.
• Reduction in post harvest losses of the produce.
• Control of mango malformation, guava wilt, citrus decline etc.
• Promotion of protected cultivation as to get quality produce by minimizing
the ill effects of high and low temperature.
• Development of Centre of Excellence for Floriculture under Indo Israel
Project at Hisar.
3
POST HARVEST HANDLING OF FRUITS
R.K. Goyal
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004.
Horticultural commodities are highly perishable in nature thus there may

be a glut of fruits and vegetables in the market during the peak harvest season.
These crops undergo a rapid transformation between the harvest and consumption
which results spoilage and reduces market value. The spoilage has been estimated
to be nearly 30-40 per cent in most of the produce which account for more than
25,000 crores of rupees every year. This is not only a loss to the growers but a net
loss of huge human nutrition and wastage of inputs involved. These losses can be
minimized to a considerable surplus with timely and safe management of post
harvest produce.
The postharvest management of fruits and vegetables includes pre and post
harvest practices, their harvesting, handling, packaging, storage, distribution,
marketing, etc. Since fruits and vegetables contain a very high percentage of their
fresh weight as water. Consequently, fruit exhibit relatively high metabolic
activity when compared to other plant derived foods such as seeds. This metabolic
activity continues post harvest and thus makes most fruits highly perishable
commodities. This perishability, with its inherent short shelf life, that presents the
greatest problem to the successful transportation and marketing of fresh fruits and
vegetables. Thus, enhancement of their shelf life would be of great help in
reducing postharvest losses, avoiding gluts in the peak season and avoiding
distress sale. This would also help in ensuring more availability of fruits and
vegetables without bringing additional land into production and fetching higher
economic returns to the farmers.
The advantages of reduction in post harvest losses are as under:
1. Availability of fruits for longer durations.
2. Better returns to the fruit grower
3. Increase production with out bring any additional land into fruits
4. Availability of fruits to the consumers at low price
5. Better nutrition to the consumers
Causes of Post Harvest Losses
Fruits are perishable in nature as it contains 80-95% moisture, high rate of
respiration, more surface area and delicate texture. Lack of harvesting
equipments, collection centers in major producing areas, suitable containers,
commercial storage plants and lack of cold chain in complete post harvest
handling are the possible reasons for providing a suitable media for the rotting and
senescence.
Control Measures:
1) Growing of varieties having better shelf-life.
2) Adoption of proper/ recommended cultural practices for the production quality
fruits free from insect pest.
4
3) Application of pre and post harvest treatment for the production of better
quality fruits.
4) Integrated approach to post harvest operations like harvesting at proper
maturity, grading, sorting, removal of field heat, use of appropriate packing
materials.
5) Appropriate packaging
6) Efficient and effective transportation according to the domestic or export
purpose.
7) Better storage and marketing.
Harvesting:
The proper stage of harvesting is decided according to the utility of the
fruit i.e. storage, marketing, processing etc. The fruit should be harvested at a
stage so that it may reach to the consumer at an ideal condition/quality. Immature
and over mature harvested fruits will give poor quality and erratic ripening and
poor shelf-life with more decay. The harvesting of the fruits should be done in the
early morning hours or late in the evening. The good quality fruits are obtained
only when harvesting is done at proper maturity without injuring the fruits.
Post Harvest Operations:
After harvesting, fruits should be kept in shade immediately so that field
heat may not accumulate and after that primary processing of fruits should be
done i.e. cleaning, shorting, grading and removal of field heat. Proper packaging
application of wax /oil emulsion are also potential ways required in reducing the
losses.
Sorting and Grading:
Sorting is a operation in which culled, unmarketable and diseased fruits are
removed from the lot. This will provide the better return to the growers by
checking the spread of disease and catagorising the lot for different use. Grading
is also an important operation required for better return by efficient marketing. It
is generally done manually in our country on the basis of colour, size
(weight/diameter). But now mechanical graders have been developed for apples
and citrus fruits mainly for Nagpur oranges by some agencies. These operations
help the grower/contractor for better returns.
Generally harvested fruits are transported to local/distant market for the
dispose off without processing. This results into high cost of packing and
transportation on one hand and on the other hand it creates garbage at the disposal
point causing pollution.. Therefore before transportation the fruits must be
processed which includes removal of unwanted material to reduce the quantity to
be transported for reducing the cost transportation and easier handling.
Cleaning and Washing:
It is done to remove the dust and microorganisms from the surface of the
fruit. The washing of fruits should be done under running water (chlorinated) only
in those cases which has acquired latex stains e.g. mango and banana. It should be
carried only if it is required absolutely and if it has to be done than fungicides
should be applied immediately after washing.
Post Harvest Treatments:
The shelf life of the fruits can be extended by various post harvest treatments.
5
1. Chemical treatments: Chemicals namely growth regulators and fungicides
applied as pre- harvest and post harvest are beneficial to enhance the shelf-life
of many fruits. e.g. GA, cytokinin and ethereal etc.
2. Waxes and oil emulsions: Application of different waxes and oil emulsions
have been found effective in increasing the shelf life of various fruits. e.g.
Kinnow, apple etc.
3. Hot water treatment: generally given as the wax layer is removed after washing.
It helps in controlling the ripening behaviour and pest control, which leads the
way for longer storability. eg. mango.
4. Irradiation: ionizing radiation control the growth of microorganism and alter the
physiology of the fruits. The dose and duration is vary from fruit to fruit.
Packaging:
Menas filling of containers for easy handling, transportation, storage and
marketing. Depending upon the nature of crop, distance to be transported and
requirement of the consumer the package is to protect the produce and maintain
its quality.
Requirement for container:
Easily transported when empty and occupies less space than when full e.g.
Plastic boxes which nest in each other when empty, collapsible card board boxes,
fiber boxes, paper or plastic sacks. It should be easy to assemble, fill and close
either by hand or by use of simple machine. It must provide adequate ventilation
for contents during transport and storage. Its capacity should be according to the
market demand. Its dimension and design must be suited to available transport in
order to load neatly and firmly. It must be cost effective and readily available.
Packaging Material:
i) Natural material like baskets made up of bamboo, straw, palm leaves etc.
ii) Wood: mango, popular.
iii) Cardboard: Generally corrugated fiber board boxes are used which are light
in weight, clean and can readily be presented with publicity and
information of the contents.
iv) Moulded plastics: reusable boxes moulded from high density polythene are
widely used for transporting the produce only in developed countries.
v) Paper and plastic film: this is used to line the packing boxes in order to
reduce the water loss of the content or to prevent the friction damage.
Storage:
Storage is very important to make available the commodity for longer
period. The practice of the storage must have been evolved during the hunter
gather society. Containers made up of plastic material were probably first to
evolve to store the products. Shelf life of the fruit depend not only on storage
condition but also on type of fruit, maturity level, bruising and decay.
Aim of storage:-
 Off season availability/round the year availability
 Avoiding the glut in the market
 Check infection
 Enhance the shelf life by controlling respiration rate.
6
Type of Storage:
1. Natural storage:- it is mainly done just after harvesting at the orchard itself.
2. Artificial storage:- it is done by regulation of atmosphere and chemical
treatments.
Duration of Storage:
 Temporary storage:- highly perishable fruits are stored for a short period i.e.
up to 5 days in vapourised cool chamber.
 Mid term storage:- the fruits are stored maximum up to 6 weeks to avoid the
glut in the market during the peak season.
 Long term storage:- the fruits are stored for year round supply.
Method of Storage:
1. Low temperature storage:- it reduces the rate of respiration. The cold stored
fruits should be stored at a temp. of 200C before bringing to the ambient
temp.
2. Controlled atmosphere storage:- fruits are stored in atmosphere of low
oxygen and more carbon dioxide than present in the air. The gas mixture of
oxygen, carbon diaoxide (2-10%) is prepared by gas blending system eg.
Apple can be stored at 3.5% oxygen and 1.5% carbon diaoxide at 0-40C
for 5-8 months.
3. Vaporized cool chamber:- these chamber are used for storing the fruits for
a short period i.e. up to one week. This is very useful in summer when the
temperature is very high particularly for the storage of grapes.
Marketing:
Marketing in India is poor and orchardist are bound to sell their produce at
a through away price through middle mans which are highly are highly exploited
but several developments has taken place for marketing the fruits like
establishment of NDDB, Delhi and Horticultural Producer Cooperative Marketing
Society, Bangalore and FRESH, Hyderabad provide fresh and graded fruits and
vegetables to the consumers at a low price and simultaneously gaining the profit.
7
MATURITY INDICES OF FRUITS
R.K. Sharma & R.K. Goyal

Maturity and ripening are two important stages in the development of fruit.
Clear distinctions between the stages of development namely growth, maturation,
ripening and senescence of a plant, organ or organism are generally not easy
because transition between the various development stages is often slow and
indistinct. However, maturity and ripening are distinguishable, the former
corresponds to the attainment of full size and the latter refers to the quantitative
transformation of the mature fruit.
Maturity is an integral component of quality. The principles which dictate
at which stage of maturity a fruit should be harvested are crucial to its subsequent
storage and marketable life and quality. These may be defined in terms of either
physiological maturity or their horticultural maturity or commercial
maturity. The former is a particular stage in the development of a plant or plant
organ and the later is concerned with the timing of harvest to meet particular
requirements. Commercial maturity indices generally involve some expression
of the stage of development and usually require the determination of some
characteristics known to change as the plant material matures. Indices may
involve decisions about levels of market and consumer acceptability and generally
necessitate objective measurements, subjective judgments or both. Objective and
subjective assessments may be destructive or non-destructive in nature.
Many criteria for judging maturity have been used as suggested based on a
variety of characteristics including:
1. Time for flowering planting
2. Accumulated heat units
3. Size and shape
4. Skin or flesh color
5. Light transmission or reflection
6. Flesh firmness
7. Chemical conductance or resistance
8. Respiratory behaviour and ethylene production and time to ripen.
A. Visual means:
By observing skin colour, size fullness of fruits etc. Here experience of the
fruit grower is very important as the above criteria are also influenced by
environments e.g.
- summer and winter guava
- south and north Indian citrus & grapes
- large and small size fruits
- fruits with high N
B. Chemical means:
TSS/acid ratio is the most suitable method for most of the fruit crops. A
minimum value for solids and higher limit for acid may be set. Starch content is
8
being used for mangoes, banana & apple. However, like other criteria, sugar and
acid status of crops is also influenced due to amount of sun light and temperature,
type of fertilizer and rate of fertilization.
C. Physical means:
Relative ease of separation: e.g. mango and guava etc. but not good for
pomegranate, citrus fruits and avocado which remain attached to the plants even
after ripening.
Specific gravity: is a very simple and quick way of testing maturity of mango
guava ber etc. but not true in case of fruits having air spaces in their tissues e.g.
apple and oranges.
Firmness: Fruit firmness can be tested by pressure tester kg/sq. cm.
D. Computation:
It involves computation of heat units or degree days from bloom/fruit set to
harvest period. The day degree type of heat unit is based on growth temperature
relation.
E. Physiological method:
Respiration data accurately express age especially the stage of ripening.
One measures respiration at different picking dates and decide the best picking
date. This can be correlated with position in the respiration curve.
F. Organoleptic quality:
By panel of judges on the basis of appearance, colour, texture, flavour,
teaste etc.
G. Electrical characteristics:
Changes in resistance or capacitance as a result of changes in the
concentrations of dissolved electrolytes of the flesh during maturation have been
demonstrated. However, while these measurements can be useful in the
laboratory, they appear to be of little practical value.
H. Novel technologies for determining maturity:

Some novel technologies that may in time find practical application for
maturity determination include chlorophyll fluorescence, computer aided x-ray
tomography, proton magnetic resonance imaging, molecular probes and volatile
detectors. Solid state broadband or biosensors may be applied to ‘sniff’ produce
in order to detect the presence of volatiles associate with ripening.
9
Table: Maturity indices of some fruits
Maturity index Commodities
Peel colour Citrus, papaya, pineapple, grapes, mango and
strawberry
Pulp colour Mango and apple
Size Ctrus, apple and pear
Shape Banana (fullness of fingers, disappearance of
angularity), mango (fullness of cheeks), pineapple
(flattering of eyes with slight hollowness at centre) and
litchi (flatterning of tubercles)
Surface charactertistics Grape, tomato, melon and mango
Ease of separate from plant Grape and Mango (tapka stage)
Aroma Jackfruit
Specific gravity Mango (1-1.02 for alphonso, less than one for
Dashehari) potato, pineapple (.98-1.02 and guava (1.00)
Firmness Apple and pear
Sugars Grape
TSS Grape (14-16o B for Anab-e-shahi, 18-22o B for
Thompson Seedless, 12-14o B for Banglore Blue)
mandarin 12-14o B Sweet orange 12o B, papaya 11.5o B
and pineapple 12-14o B
Acidity Citrus (mandarin 0.4%, sweet orange 0.3%) mango,
pineapple 0.5-0.6%
Starch index Apple, pear and banana
Juice content Citrus (35-50%)
Heath units Mango, grape, apple and pear
Days from full bloom Mango, citrus, apple and pear
Days from fruit set Banana (90 days for Dwarf Cavendish), mango (110-
125 days for Alphanso and Pairi)
10
PRECOOLING AND REFRIGERATED STORAGE OF FRUITS
J.K. Sandooja
An understanding of cooling requirement of horticultural commodities

begins with adequate knowledge of their biological responses. All fresh
horticulture crops are living organisms, carrying on many biological processes
that are essential to the maintenance of life. They must remain alive and healthy
until process are consumed. The energy that is needed for these live processes
comes from the food reserves present in the fruit. This is utilized by the processes
of respiration. Oxygen for this process is taken from the surrounding air and
carbon dioxide is released. All the horticulture commodities are having the cells
with air spaces and oxygen concentration in these spaces increases. As a result of
which the rate of respiration is high in the horticulture commodities.
Precooling is the cooling of fresh produce to remove the field heat.
Excessive field heat prevalent in the fruits leads to higher rate of respiration
during storage and transportation. Higher respiration rate generally leads to early
deterioration of fruits during storage and transportation. Pre-cooling is a device to
enhance the shelf life of fruits.
Temperature affects the rate of ethylene production which affects the
fruit ripening. In a ripening fruit minimum concentration of ethylene maintain the
slow rate of ripening and enhances the shelf life. In terms of respiratory activity
the fruits are classified into two categories i.e. climacteric and non-climateric.
Climateric fruits normally ripen after harvesting so these are harvested before the
process of ripening. Non-climacteric fruits such as citrus, grapes have got
ripening before the harvest and are to be harvested only after ripening.
There are many methods of cooling. The horticulture products before
storage. Some commodities can be cooled by several methods but most
commodities respond best to one cooling method. Pre-cooling requirement of any
commodity and method used are determined by nature of fruit and the ambient
temperature at the harvest time. Highly perishable commodities must be pre-
cooled as soon as possible after harvest. Pre-cooling is not as important for winter
crops such as apple.
Different methods of pre-cooling are as follows:
1. Room cooling: It is most widely used technique due to its versatility and
low cost. However, this is not true method of pre-cooling. The room cooled
product must be tolerant of slow heat removal because it involves the
cooling by heat conduction through container walls. Containers are placed
in room cooled by refrigeration system. This system must provide air
circulation through and around containers. Cold air from evaporators enters
the room from ceiling moves horizontal under the ceiling and then it passes
through the produce. Container position is very important in the handling
sequence. Main advantage of room cooling it can be cooled and stored in the
same room without being transferred, however, it is too slow and can result
11
in excessive water loss. Moreover, addition of warm produce into the cold
room may result in condensation of already cooled produce.
2. Forced air cooling: Cooled air is pulled by using fans through container went
and warm air is swept away. It is 4 to 10 ten faster than room cooling and 2-
3 time slower than hydro cooling. It is most effective for strawberry, grapes
and soft fruits in general.
It consists of row off containers on either side of the exhaust fan
leaving space between the rows. Exhaust fan creates negative air pressure
within tunnel. Cold air from rooms moves through the opening in between
the containers and sweeps the heat from the product. In this case containers
must be rearranged in order to prevent dehydration after precooling is
achieved.
In this method permanent air column is created by the construction
of dummy wall equipped with exhaust fans. It is located at one end of the
cold room opening are located along the room against which the containers
can be placed. This is a good system for operation in which produce arrives
at a variable time.
3. Hydro cooling: Cold water treatment is old and effective method for
quickly pre-cooling. Wide range of fruits and vegetables hydro cooling can
be based on immersion are showering in shower type hydro cooler. Cold
water is pumped from bottom to overhead perforated pan. Water shower
over commodities may be in bin are boxes or loose on conveyer belt passing
beneath. Water leaving product may be filtered to remove the dabarge then
passed over refrigeration coils where it is recooled by evaporation or
refrigeration. Ice can also be added to water when cooling system is not
enough to keep the water temperature near 0oC. Cooling by this method is
generally greater than air cooling and there is no product dehydration. Only
precaution in this method is that packing and packaging material must be
tolerant to wetting, resistance to water impact and tolerant to chemicals
which we generally used to santies hydrocooling water. Produce must be
tolerant to prolonged exposure to a temperature of 0oC.
Hydro cooling operation can require rehandling of produce before
packing or storage and increases the labour cost. This is a best method for
cherries.
12
MINIMAL PROCESSING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
S. Siddiqui
Centre of Food Science and Technology
With increasing urbanization, fragmented life styles, nutritional awareness

and dual income have further made the consumer more demanding. Quality and
convenience are the new objectives of the food market. Consumers’ renewed
interest in fruits and vegetables as health foods with low cholesterol, low to no fat
and sodium, high levels of vitamins, minerals, fiber and more recently potential
antioxidants has accelerated the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. In this
regard frozen and minimal processed fruits and vegetables would be the foods in
future ahead. Minimal processing has a good scope in hotel industry and fast
chain restaurants. There has been continuous demand of pre-cut salads, shredded
onion and cabbage from airlines. The success in this field would depend on the
application of strict sanitation in processing, improved technology in packaging
and maintenance of correct temperature during storage and transportation.
Minimal processing falls in the realm of an art by which trimmed and cut fruits
and vegetables are preserved without causing significant changes in their fresh
like properties. Such products are quite suitable for salads, curries, porridge and
custard like preparations.
Essential requirements in minimal processing of fruits and vegetables (Fig.1)
 Good quality raw materials (appropriate cultivar/variety, proper cultivation,
harvesting and storage conditions)
 Sorting, sizing and grading of the raw material: This provides uniformity
and standardization of the finished products for buying and selling. The
most important grade factors are size, shape colour, firmness, flavour,
friability, bruises, cut surfaces, chemical composition, disease and
soundness. Overripe, undersized and blemished products are separated
from those of acceptable quality.
 Careful cleaning and washing before and after peeling: Cleaning and
washing may be the only preservation treatments in most of the minimal
processed fruits and vegetables. Cleaning refers to the removal of the
foreign materials. As a unit operation, cleaning is a form of separation
concerned with the removal of twigs, stalks, dirt, sand, soil, insects,
pesticides and fertilizer residues from fruits and vegetables, as well as
containers and equipment. The cleaning process also involves separation of
light from heavy materials by gravity, destoning, floatation, picking,
screening, and others.
In a minimal processed fruit and vegetable process line, washing should be
done in an isolated chamber with a restricted number of entrances and
human contact to product should be limited.
 Good quality water for washing: Water is the key element in the minimal
processed products. The source and quality of water must be considered.
13
The water used should be potable, free from the bacterial contamination,
undesirable odour and flavour and should be colourless.
 Application of various pretreatments: In minimal processing, the trimmed,
peeled, cut pieces and shreds of fruits and vegetables are non- thermally
treated by dipping them in solution, generally, consisting of potassium
metabisulphite (0.01-0.09%), sodium benzoate (0.03-0.08%), citric acid
(0.5-1.2%), ascorbic acid (200-300 ppm) and salt (3-6%) at 20-250C for a
few hours or at 5± 10C for several hours. Sometimes very mild in-pack
thermal treatments (70-800C for 5 minutes) are given to non-acidic
products to bring down their microbial loads. However, the intensity of the
treatment is very closely monitored and kept at a minimum to avoid heat
induced chlorophyll degradation.
Minimal processing encompassing various non-thermal pretreatments
including ionizing radiations, dipping in soak solutions, etc. offers a
promising technology that can be used to improve the wholesomeness of
ready-to-eat cut fruits and vegetables. Ionizing radiations used at 1-5 KGy
have also been found to check food borne pathogens in pre-cut fruits,
vegetables and juices. Irradiation penetrates the entire product to inactivate
pathogens that have penetrated the food.
 Gentle spin-drying following washing: Soaked products are drained and
moisture is removed in a basket centrifuge operating at 1000 rpm.
 Gentle peeling, cutting, slicing and/ or shredding: Size reduction describes
all means by which fruits and vegetables are cut or broken into smaller and
uniform pieces of definite shape and size. Size reduction may be an
essential step to improve taste, digestibility and ease of handling. Unit
operations like peeling, dicing, cutting and slicing cause injury to the fruits
and vegetables that are perishable and demonstrate rapid deterioration in
quality at ambient temperature. Loss of cellular integrity at the cut surface
destroys compartmentation of enzymes and substrates, which leads to
elevation of respiratory activity and ethylene production, further resulting
in enhanced senescence besides providing sites for pathogen entry and
substrate for their growth. In addition to this, it may also activate enzymes
responsible for browning and oxidative reactions. In order to retard the rate
of these reactions the product should be immediately kept at 5±10C after
cutting.
 Correct packaging materials and packaging methods: The product is
subsequently exposed to the ultraviolet light for ten minutes in a clean
room, packed in flexi polymeric sachets and stored at 5±10C. Also new
approach of eco-friendly packaging material i.e. biodegradable plastics,
edible coatings and films can also be used.
 Low temperature during processing: The ambient temperature during
various unit operations should be 10-120C and the humidity should be 60-
70% RH.
 Correct temperature and humidity during distribution and retailing: The
temperature should be around 10-12oC with RH around 60-70%.
14
 Strict hygiene and good manufacturing practices: This would facilitate in
controlling the product quality. Techniques like HACCP (Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Points) can be used to take account of the various unit
operations which may be detrimental for the final product quality.
Minimal processed products offer a number of advantages as pre packing
allows for more efficient portion control. Solid waste disposal problems and
demand on storage under refrigeration are reduced. Supply of a variety of ready to
eat items that exhibit excellent uniformity of quality and identity is available over
many weeks.
Figure1: Schematic representation of minimal processing of fruits and vegetables

Marketing
Marketing of minimal processed fruits and vegetables require achievement
of high level of sensory quality, which is a prime prerequisite. This is dependent
upon several factors, such as stage of harvest, quality control for post harvest life,
effective packaging using in-form graphics, competitive pricing and providing
service at all levels of distribution system. Capability to deliver finished products
to customer within 2-3 days from receipt of an order is a vital merchandising
potential thrust area.
Since the extensiveness of the distribution system is the foundation of
marketing in the industrialized countries. Selection and establishment of a
distribution system is a key decision area as it usually binds the firm long term
15
involves heavy investments and can be the deciding factor in determining the
success or failure of a marketing strategy. If a product is to sell, it must be made
readily available to tatget segment such as fast food chains, supermarkets,
restaurants, hotels, institutional cafeterias and caterers. Quality maintenance is
aided by the following procedures in distribution channels;
 Minimize handling frequency.
 Provide continued control of temperature, % RH, modified atmosphere
(MA)/ controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions (total environmental control)
during storage and transportation.
 Always transfer product from truck to refrigerated storage immediately.
 Always rotate product on a first-in first-out basis, rotate the complete
inventory on a weekly basis.
 Never stack individual cases more than five high.
Minimally processed fruits and vegetables are an important and rapidly
developing class of minimally processed foods. Unique applications of the basic
and food sciences and their supporting technologies and engineering is producing
these convenience foods. Minimally processed fruits and vegetables have attracted
the interest of many facets of the food industry including such diverse areas as
food manufacturers, retail stores, restaurants, carry- out establishments and
commissary units. The purpose of Minimally processed foods is to deliver to the
consumer a like- fresh fruit or vegetable products with an extended shelf life and
at the same time ensure food safety and maintain sound nutritional and sensory
quality.
References
Amarante, C. and Banks, N.H. (2001). Postharvest physiology and quality of
coated fruits and vegetables. HortScience 26 ; 161-238.
Brecht, J.K. (1995). Physiology of lightly processed fruits and vegetables.
HortScience 30: 18-22.
Cantwell, M. (2002). Minimally processed fruits and vegetables. University of
California, USA.
Lamikanra, O. (2002). Fresh cut fruits and vegetables. CRC Press, Boca Raton,
Florida. 466 p.
Lurila, E. and Ahvenainen, R. (2000). Minimal processing of fresh fruits and
vegetables. In. Fruit and vegetable processing: Improving quality.
CRC press, Woodhead Publishing Limited, U.K. pp 288-306.
Tal, S.L. and Perera, C.O. (2004). Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene treatment and
edible coating on the quality of minimally processed lettuce. J. Food Sci.
69(2) : 131-135.
16
PREPARATION OF JAM
R.K. Godara
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004
Jam is a reasonably thick consistency fruit product prepared by boiling

fruit pulp with adequate quantity of sugar. Jam can be prepared from apple,
sapota, apricot, loquat, peach, papaya, karonda, plum, strawberry, raspberry,
mango, and grapes alone or in combination of two more fruits. Jam should
contain minimum 68.5% total soluble solids.
Commercially jam is being prepared from pieces of fruit, fruit scraping
and pulp adhering to cores of fruits which are available in plenty in canning
factories. In home, it can be prepared by using the recipes as given in the table.
Fruit/Vegetable Ingredient for one kg pulp

Sugar (kg) Citric acid (g) Water (ml)
Aonla 0.75 - 150
Apple 0.75 2.0 100
Apricot 0.60 1.0 100
Carrot 0.75 2.5 200
Grapes 0.70 1.0 50
Guava 0.75 2.5 150
Karonda 0.80 - 100
Mango 0.75 1.5 50
Plum 0.80 - 150
Peach 0.80 3.0 100
Pear 0.75 1.5 100
Papaya 0.70 3.0 100
The proportion of sugar added, depends on the acidity of the fruit and the
degree of fruit ripeness. More sugar is required for jam preparation using the tart
fruits as compared to sweets fruits. The quantity of sugar added should be
adequate to give the maximum strength to the pectin sugar acid jell. The finished
jam should contain 30 to 50% reducing sugar i.e. glucose to avoid sugar
crystallization during storage. If the reducing sugar is >50% then jam develop into
a honey like mass due to the formation of small crystal of the glucose.
17
FLOW-SHEET
Judging of end-point by further
Filing hot into satirized
18
PREPARATION OF BEVERAGES
Rakesh Gehlot
Centre of Food Science and Technology
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
India has made a fairly good progress on the horticultural map of the world
with a total annual production of fruits and vegetables touching over 197.6 million
MT from about 14.1 million ha. Area (2008-09). The perishable fruits and
vegetables are available as seasonal surpluses during certain parts of the year in
different regions and are wasted in large quantities (25-30%), the monetary value
of which is over 40,000 crores per annum. This is due to absence of facilities and
know-how for proper post-harvest handling, storage, marketing, processing and
distribution. Further more, massive amount of perishable fruits and vegetables
produced during a particular season result in a glut in the market and become
scarce during off seasons. They are neither consumed in fresh form nor sold at
economically viable prices.
Fruits and vegetables are important ingredients in human diet. They make
significant contribution to human health due to their high nutritional and
therapeutic value. They are, thus, cheaper and better sources of protective foods. If
they are supplied in fresh or preserved form for human consumption throughout
the year, the national picture will improve obviously. At present, only 1-2 per cent
of the total fruits and vegetables produced are processed in our country as against
40-60 per cent in developed countries. In India, all forms of preserved fruit
products are in the reach of only urban elite and rural population who produce
more than 90 per cent of these fruits and vegetables are usually deprived of their
usage. So, fruit and vegetable processing activities can improve nutrition of the
poor farmers by allowing them to consume their own processed value added fruit
and vegetable products during off season and it can also generate new sources of
income for both rural and urban masses with concomitant reduction in fruit and
vegetable losses.
Viewing the overall scenario, fruit preservation and processing industry has
now become more of a necessity than being a luxury. Production of fruit
beverages on a commercial scale was practically unknown until 1930, but since
then, it has gradually become an important industry. In a tropical country like
India, fruit beverages provide delicious cold drinks during hot summer. Due to
their high nutritional value, they are becoming more popular than synthetic drinks
which have a very large market in our country at present. Synthetic drinks contain
only water (about 88%) and total carbohydrates are only about 12 per cent,
whereas fruit based drinks contain vitamins (A, B and C), minerals (calcium, iron,
etc.) and also provide more calories. Thus, fruit based drinks are far superior to
many synthetic drinks. If synthetic preparations are replaced by fruit beverages in
our country, it would be a boon to the consumers as well as to the fruit growers.
19
Fruit beverages
Fruit beverages are easily digestible, appetizing, thirst-quenching, highly
refreshing and nutritionally far superior to many synthetic drinks. They have two
groups.
I) Unfermented / Non-fermented beverages
Fruit juices which do not undergo alcoholic fermentation by yeasts are
termed as unfermented / non- fermented beverages. They include natural juices,
sweetened juices, blended juices, ready-to-serve (RTS) drink, nectar, cordial,
squash, crush, syrup, fruit juice concentrate, fruit juice powder, barley water and
carbonated beverages.
II) Fermented beverages
Fruit juices which have undergone alcoholic fermentation by yeasts are
called fermented beverages. They include wine, champagne (French wine), port
(red wine), sherry (white wine of Spain), tokay (aromatic wine), muscat, perry
(pear wine), orange wine, berry wine, nira (fermented drink from palm juice) and
cider (fermented drink from apple juice).
The technology of unfermented/non-fermented fruit beverages is briefly
discussed as follows
I) Unfermented / Non-fermented beverages
1. Juices
a) Natural juice (pure juice)
It is the juice as extracted from ripe fruits and contains only natural sugars
e.g. apple juice, orange juice, mosambi juice, kinnow juice, grape juice, pineapple
juice, pomegranate juice,etc.
b) Sweetened juice
It is a liquid product which contains at least 85 per cent juice and 10 per
cent total soluble solids. e.g. mango juice.
c) Blended juices
Sometimes two or more juices are mixed to yield a well-balanced, rightly
flavoured, highly palatable and refreshing drink. Juices are blended so as to utilize
a too sweet fruit (grapes), a bitter fruit (grape fruit), too acidic or tart fruits (sour
time, sour plum, galgal, etc.), insipid tasting fruits (apple or pear) and strongly
flavoured fruits (guava and banana). Some of common commercial blends of
juices are :
1. Grape (97%) and lime (3%)
2. Apple (97%) and lime (3%)
3. Grape (50%) and orange (50%)
4. Orange (50-75%) and grape fruit (25-50%)
5. Apple (74%), grapefruit (25%) and sugar (1%)
6. Apple (50-75%), pineapple (25-50%) and sugar (1%)
2. Ready-to-serve (RTS) drink
This is a type of fruit beverage which contains at least 10 per cent fruit
juice/pulp, 10 per cent total soluble solids and 0.3 per cent total acids. It is not
diluted before serving, hence, it is known as ready-to-serve (RTS) drink. For
preparing the fruit beverages like RTS and nectar, the total soluble solids and
acidity in the juice/pulp are first determined and the requisite amount of sugar and
20
citric acid dissolved in water are added for the adjustment of total soluble solids
and acidity in the finished products. In home, RTS can be prepared from mango,
guava, papaya, bael, ber, aonla, lemon/lime, etc.
3. Nectar
This type of fruit beverage contains at least 20 per cent fruit juice/pulp, 15
per cent total soluble solids and 0.3 per cent total acids. It is also not diluted
before serving. In homes, nectar can be prepared from mango, guava, papaya,
bael, jamun, etc.
Flow-sheet for processing of RTS and nectar
Fruit (pulp/juice) →Mixing with strained syrup solution (sugar + water +
citric acid) →Homogenization →bottling (200 ml capacity bottles) →crown
corking →pasteurization (900C) for 20-30 minutes →cooling (air) →storage.
4. Cordial
It is a sparkling, clear, sweetened fruit juice from which pulp and other
insoluble substances have been completely removed. It contains at least 25 per
cent juice, 30 per cent total soluble solids, 1.5 per cent total acids and 350 ppm
sulphur dioxide. Lime and lemon are quite suitable for making cordial and cordial
is very suitable for blending with wine. In homes, cordial can be prepared by
using following recipe :
Lime/lemon juice 1L
Sugar 1.25 kg
Water 1L
Potassium metabisulphite 0.6 g /L product
The prepared sugar syrup is mixed with strained clarified lemon juice after
thorough cooling. Fill cordial in 700 ml squash bottled after adding preservative
as per recipe. Properly cap and store bottles in cool and dry place.
5. Barley water
Fruit beverage which contains at least 25 percent fruit juice, 30 percent
TSS, 1 percent total acids and 0.25 percent barley starch is known as barley water.
Barley water is prepared from citrus fruits such as lime, lemon, orange and grape
fruit. Among these, lime and lemon are mostly used. It is prepared by using about
1 L of fruit juice, 2 kg of sugar, 15 g of barley flour and 1.3 L of water. Essence
and potassium metabisulphite may also be added if desired.
6. Squash
to 50 per cent total soluble solids, 1 per cent total acids and 350 ppm sulphur
dioxide or 600 ppm sodium benzoate. Mango, orange and pineapple are used for
making squash commercially. In homes, squashes can be prepared according to
following recipe:
Fruit pulp/juice 1L
Sugar 1.5 to 2.0 kg
Water 0.75 to 1.00 L
Citric acid 0 to 30 g
KMS or Sodium benzoate 0.6 or 1.0 g/L product
The flow sheet for processing of squash is similar to that mentioned in the
flow sheet for processing of RTS and nectar except that in case of squash,
21
concentration of juice/pulp and sugar is increased and bottling is done in 700 ml
capacity squash bottles leaving 2-3 cm head space after adding requisite amount
of preservative in the finished product. It is diluted four times with chilled water
before serving.
7. Crush
This type of fruit beverage is more or less similar to squash except that it
contains 55 per cent total soluble solids in place of 40 to 50 per cent TSS in
squash.
8. Syrup
per cent total soluble solids and 1.3-1.5 per cent total acids. Fruits like lemon,
orange, grape, pomegranate, phalsa, jamun and aonla can be used for preparation
of syrup. It is also prepared from extracts of rose, sandal, almond, etc. In homes,
syrups can be prepared according to following recipe :
Fruit pulp/juice 1L
Sugar 2 to 3.2 kg
Water 0.50 to 1.0 L
Citric acid 0 to 20 g
The flow sheet for processing of syrup is similar to RTS, nectar and
squash except that in case of syrup, chemical preservative is added only when it is
stored for long period. It is diluted 5-6 times with chilled water before serving.
9. Fruit juice concentrate
Fruit juice from which water has been mostly removed by heating or
freezing is known as fruit juice concentrate. It contains pure juice with at least 32
per cent total soluble solids. Mostly, carbonated fruit beverages are prepared from
fruit juice concentrate.
10. Fruit juice powder
Fruit juice can be converted into a free flowing, highly hygroscopic powder
by drum drying, freeze drying, puff drying, spray drying or vacuum drying. The
powder has long shelf life and is soluble in cold water. However, much of
characteristic fresh fruit flavour is lost during the drying process which is
compensated by adding to juice powder natural fruit flavour in powder form.
Reconstitution of powder yields full strength fruit juice drink. Fruits like mango,
orange, lemon, guava, banana and tomato are suitable for making fruit juice
powder.
11. Carbonated beverages

The use of fruit juices in preparation of carbonated beverages is practically
unknown in India. Mostly, artificially flavoured drinks which have no nutritive
value are. prepared by carbonation. The use of fruit juices will increase the
nutritional value of carbonated beverages. The juice can be directly carbonated or
can be stored as such or in the form of concentrate for carbonation in future.
Carbonated beverages can keep well for about a week without addition of any
preservative. If the beverages are to be stored for a long period, 0.05 per cent
sodium benzoate should be added as chemical preservative. For preparing
carbonated orange syrup, juice, sugar and citric acid in ratio of 1:1.55:0.044 are
22
used. Similarly, syrups of lime, lemon and pineapple are prepared. For
carbonation, 42-56 g of the prepared syrup is filled in 285 to 340 g bottles.
Lemonade, orangeade, lime juice and strawberry are examples of carbonated
beverages.
Further Reading
 Fruit Products Order, 1955-Third Edition, 2003. Ministry of Food
Processing Industries, Government of India. International Law Book
Company, Delhi.
 Lal, G., Siddappa, G.S. and Tandon, G.L. 1998. Preservation of fruits and
vegetables. ICAR, New Delhi.
 Srivastava, R. P. and Kumar, S. 1998. Fruit and vegetable preservation -
principles and practices. International Book Distribution Company,
Lucknow, U.P. (India).
 Verma, L.R. and Joshi, V.K. 2000. Post-harvest technology of fruits and
vegetables. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi.
23
PREPARATION OF POTATO PRODUCTS
Dr. (Mrs.) Raj Bala Grewal

Centre of Food Science & Technology,
CCS HAU, Hisar.
Potato is one of the important vegetable crops grown in our country. India is amongst
the five major potato producing countries of the world. The yield of a good variety of
potato is about 500 quintals per hectare in a short duration of 90-120 days. Potato
cultivation fits extremely well into cereal based cropping system. Potato is a major staple
food, next to cereals. The average consumption of potato (fresh or processed) in some of
the western countries ranges from 100-175 kg per annum. But in India its consumption
is about 17 kg per capita per annum. Potatoes are liked by people of all age groups and
are valuable article of diet in both rural and urban areas.
Potato is nutritionally superior and provide easily available carbohydrates,
contain protein of high biological value and low in fat content (Table 1). It is a rich
source of vitamin C and minerals. It has been reported that under suitable conditions,
potato yield a higher food value per hectare than any cereal. In addition to good
productivity, potatoes are easy to cook and palatable in all forms. But the principle
disadvantage in comparison with cereals is their high moisture content (i.e. more than
75%) as a result can be stored for limited time and increase in sugar content with storage.
Due to lack of proper infrastructure and transport facilities, there is glut, resulting in
crash of prices of potatoes. In order to decrease the post harvest losses, there is need to
improve the storage and transport facilities or need to develop value added products.
As a versatile food it can be cooked in many ways, and processed into a number
of products having characteristic taste. There is an urgent need to find diversified uses of
potato by developing different processed products to solve the problem of its storage, to
serve as a means to increase the supply in off-season, to save the wastage of precious
food during gluts and to cater to the fast changing taste of different sections of the
society. Various value added products such as dehydrated, canned, ready to eat and
ready to cook products can be prepared. Potatoes have been processed to prepare potato
chips, bhujia, papad, potato flour and various snacks. Some of these products are
available in market at very high prices. These products can be prepared at household
level/small scale level. Method of preparation of some of the products is given.
Table 1. Comparison of Nutritional composition of Potatoes with other Foodstuffs
(per 100g edible portion)
Nutrients Potatoes Sago Rice Bread
Moisture, g 74.7 12.2 13.7 31.0
Protein, g 1.6 0.2 6.8 7.8
Fat, g 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.7
Minerals, g 0.6 0.3 0.6 0.2
Fibre, g 0.4 - 0.2 0.2
Carbohydrates, g 22.6 87.1 78.2 51.9
Energy, Kcal 97 351 345 342
Calcium, mg 10 10 10 11
Phosphorus, mg 40 10 160 -
Iron, mg 0.48 1.3 0.7 1.1
24
1. Ready-to-eat fried snacks- These include potato chips, potato bhujia, frozen
French fries and other frozen products.
Potato chips
Ingredients:
Potatoes 1 kg
Oil for frying
Alum 2.5 g
Salt & spices to taste
Citric acid a pinch
Method:
Select good quality potatoes low in sugar content. Wash, peel &
slice potatoes (0.06-0.07 cm) . Dip slices in water containing alum for one
hour. Wash the slices & drain. Fry in pre heated oil (160-185oc) till crisp.
Drain excess oil. Dry in oven at 40 +5oc. Sprinkle salt, spices & citric
acid. Pack in air-tight container.
Potato bhujia
Ingredients:
Potatoes 1 kg
Gram flour 750 g
Moth bean flour 250 g
Salt 10 g
Spices(Ajwain,Hing,Cloves) 10 g
Garam masala 10 g
Oil For frying
Method:
Wash, boil, peel and mash potatoes. Add all the ingredients and
make hard dough. Extrude bhujia through extruder. Fry in pre-heated oil
till golden brown & drain excess oil. Dry in oven at 40+5oc. Pack in air
tight container.
French fries
Ingredients:
Potatoes 1 kg
Salt & spices to taste
Corn flour 50 g
Oil for frying
Method:
Select good quality potatoes, wash, peel and make half cm thick
long fries. Wash in cold water. Drain, sprinkle salt, spices and corn flour.
Fry in preheat oil till crisp. Drain oil and serve.
Similarly, Potato lachha can be prepared. For Potato lachha peel potatoes (500
g), wash and pass through shredder to form sticks of 6-7 cm length. Wash in cold
water, dry and fry in oil at 180-200oC. Add salt and spices as per taste and serve.
Its 100 g serving provides 520 K calories. Its shelf-life is 2 months.
Potato chiclets: Peel potatoes (500 g) and cut into slices of 2.5 mm thickness.
Further cut these slices into small squares of 1 cm x 1 cm size. Wash and soak in
25
0.2% calcium carbonate solution for 1 hour to give firmness and then wash
thoroughly. Fry at 180oC till bubbling ceases. Add salt and spices and serve. Its
100 g serving provides 450 K calories. The shelf-life of chiclets is 3 weeks.
2. Dried products: Variety of dried potato products can be prepared using the
following recipe/process -
Ready-to-fry chips.
Ingredients:
Potatoes 1 kg
Salt 20 g
Alum 1-2 g
Method:
Select good quality big size potatoes. Wash, peel and slice. Boil
water, add salt & alum. Blanch potato slices for 1-2 minutes. Dry potato
slices in tray in oven at 65+5oc. Pack dry slice.
Note: Fry whenever required in oil. Sprinkle salt, spices & citric acid and
serve.
Potato papad
Ingredients:
Potatoes 1 kg
Salt 10 g
Red chillies 10 g
Garam masala 5g
Spices(Ajwain, Jeera) 10 g
Oil 20 g
Method: Wash and boil potatoes, peel and mash. Add all the spices and
make small balls. Spread polythene sheets. Smear with oil and spread
potato on it in round shape. Dry papad in hot sun or oven at 65+5oc.
Pack in airtight container.
Note: Fry papads whenever required in hot oil.
Potato can also be processed to prepare other dried products such as-
Potato flour: Potatoes can be processed properly to prepare
organoleptically acceptable potato flour. For preparation of potato flour, wash
peel cut & boil potatoes in 0.5 per cent potassium meta-bisulphite solution (1
kg/lt.) in pressure cooker. Mash the cooked potato and dry in an oven at 60+5oc
by spreading as a thin layer. Grind the dried material to fine powder. Pack potato
powder in air-tight container or seal in polythene bags. Potato flour can be stored
for 2-3 months and can be utilized to replace fresh potatoes or cereals/pulses in
preparation of various products such as bhujia, cutlets, panjiri, sevian, ladoo,
biscuits, cake and bread.
Potato waris: Peel, cut and blanch potatoes (500 g) in 0.2% sodium
metabisulphite and mash uniformly. Soak rice (75 g) in water for 4 hours. Boil,
cool and whip in mixer after addition of sodium bicarbonate (0.5 g). Mix it with
potato mash and add cumin and black pepper (15 g each) and salt. Extrude the
mix to form waris in round shape on oil smeared polythene sheets. Dry in the
26
oven at 60oC for 6 hours. Cook them either with other vegetables or fry them in
refined oil at 200oC and serve. The 100 g waris provide 85 K calories. These
remain as such for 6 months.
Dehydrated potato sticks: Peel mature potatoes (500 g), wash and pass through
square dies of 3 mm x 3 mm to form sticks of 6-7 cm in length. Soak them in
0.2% solution of calcium carbonate for one hour to give firmness and then wash
thoroughly. Blanch the sticks in boiling water containing 0.2% sodium
metabisulphite for 2-3 minutes. Drain off the hot water and cool immediately in
cold water to avoid excessive softening of the tissue. Natural cooling is not
recommended because it takes longer time and leads to significant loss in vitamin
C. Dry them in a oven at 60oC for 6-8 hours. Fry in refined groundnut oil at 180-
200oC, add salt and spices and serve. Its 100 g provides 165 K calories. Their
shelf-life is 6 months.
Potato-sago papads: Peel, cut and blanch potatoes (200 g) in 0.2% sodium
metabisulphite (o.25 g) and mash uniformly. Soak sago seeds (40 g) in 5 times of
water for 3 hours and cook partially. Mix potato mash and gelatinized sago paste,
and add sodium bicarbonate, cumin and black pepper (each 15 g) and salt. Spread
the prepared slurry in round shape on oil smeared polythene sheets. Dry in oven
at 60oC for 6 hours. Fry in refined oil at 200oC and serve. Its 100 g serving
provides 527 K calories. The shelf-life of papads is 6 months.
Potato flakes
Peel mature potatoes (200 g), wash, cut into 3-4 pieces and pour into water
containing 0.2% solution of sodium metabisulphite for 2-3 minutes. Drain off the
water and steam cook the potatoes for 15 minutes. Mash thoroughly to form
sticky paste. Mix condensed milk (5 g) and citric acid (0.5 g) uniformly to the
paste. Pass through extruder, commonly available in the market to make ribbon-
shaped stripes of 1.2 mm in thickness and 1.5 mm width. Place in the oven tray
and cut along the long ribbons into pieces of 3-4 cm length. Dry in the oven at
45oC for 6-8 hour and store in air-tight containers. Before serving, add flakes in
hot milk containing sugar. The product prepared by this method lacks proper
puffing and uniform thickness which can be obtained by drying on single drum
dryer with applicator rolls. The 100 g potato flakes prepared in milk provide 78 K
calories. The shelf-life of flakes is 6 months.
The dehydrated products are cheap and a common man can afford them unlike
fresh fried chips which are costly and not within the reach of an ordinary man.
3. Other preserved products
Potato pickle: Peel mature potatoes (500 g), wash and pass through square die of
1.5 cm x 1.5 cm to form pieces of 6-7 length. Soak in 0.2% solution of calcium
carbonate for one hour to give firmness and then wash thoroughly. Blanch the
pieces in 0.2% sodium metabisulphite and wash with cold water. Separately heat
mustard oil (100 ml) and fry ginger and garlic paste (100 g). Add ground rye (20
g), methi seeds (15 g), spices and salt to taste. Cut tomatoes (200 g) in small
pieces and fry them in the paste. Add potato pieces and keep on the flame for
sometime. After cooling, add vinegar (80 ml) and store in air-tight sterilized
27
containers. Its 100 g serving provides 445 K calories, the shelf-life being 3
weeks.
Canned potatoes: The quality of processed products is mainly influenced by the
morphological characters, dry-matter and reducing sugar content of potatoes.
There are different tuber quality requirements for various types of processed
products. Large size potatoes having high dry-matter and low reducing are
suitable for the preparation of chips and French fries, while small potatoes with
low dry-matter are preferred for canning.
Potato jam: Peel mature potatoes (1 kg), wash and chop into small pieces. Treat
with 0.2% calcium carbonate solution for 1 hour and then wash with water
thoroughly. Blanch the pieces in 0.2% sodium metabisulphite and wash with cold
water. Mash and add both the sucrose (500 g) and dextrose (300 g) to avoid
crystallization in jam. Boil with continuous stirring until sufficiently soft. Add
citric acid (1 g) to avoid stickiness in the jam and cook further up to 105oC. Fill
hot in sterilized bottles, place wax on the top and seal the cap. Store at ambient
temperature. Its 100 g serving provides 245 K calories. The shelf-life is 15 days.
Sweet and sour potato lachha: Shred peeled potatoes (500 g) into 6-7 cm long
pieces. Wash thoroughly and dry. Put these shreds into an open container and
heat over flame. Add sugar (500 g) and cook. During cooking, add cardamom
seed powder (5 g), salt (10 g), black pepper powder, raisins (50 g) and pieces of
dried date palm (50 g). When the desired consistency is obtained, add lemon juice
(25 ml) (one-fourth table spoonful). As an alternative to lemon juice, citric acid
may be added. On cooling, add sodium benzoate powder (2 g) and fill in
sterilized cans. Its 100 g serving provides 290 K calories. It lasts for 3-4 weeks.
These products can be easily prepared, stored and are nutritious and tasty.
These can be prepared at small scale to earn livelihood, and to add value to
potatoes, commonly grown by the farmers of our State. Potato-sago papads,
dehydrated chips, dehydrated potato sticks and potato waris are such products
which do not require costly machinery and techniques for their preparation are
also very simple. These products can be easily prepared by rural folks and can
become an activity of cottage industry. There is a need to encourage village-level
processing of potato for value addition which apart from providing employment
will bring remunerative returns to small-scale producers.
28
POST-HARVEST HANDLING OF FLOWERS
S.K. Sehrawat and R.K. Goyal

In flower industry, the most important aspect is post harvest handling of

flowers. It is estimated that 30-40% of total production of flower is lost due to
lack of post harvest handling and due to lack of knowledge about the harvesting or
cutting flowers from mother plants for transportation to distant market. Just after
detaching the flower from mother plant necessity arises to replenish the required
metabolites to avoid any damage in the internal mechanism of absorption and
transpiration and damages caused by environmental factors.
i) Internal mechanism: Just after harvesting the flowers from plant, the link
breaks from mother plant and due to rate of high transpiration, respiration, water
loss and with the increase in production of hormones like ethylene, wilting of
flower and freshness of flowers is affected.
ii) External factors: Include environmental condition, temperature, relative
humidity, wind velocity, accumulation of ethylene in atmosphere, harvesting stage
microbial attack or development of fungus at the cut end causing blockage.
Among internal mechanism, food depletion is most important factor.

Respiration rate causes depletion of stored food and thus its role often determines
the life of flower. The rate of respiration depends on the amount of sugar available
in the plant tissue, temperature and use of chemicals to regulate it. During the
process of respiration the sugar stored in plant tissues are burnt and consequently
the cut flower life will depend much upon the potential availability of ugars at the
time of cutting and on the lowering of rate of respiration after cutting. At the time
of cutting, the plant tissue contain a good amount of sugar. For achieving this
feeding of the plant is necessary.
Ethylene production: The quantity of ethylene produced by flowers and other
plant tissues is greatly accentuated by tissue damage, air pressure, chilling and
diseases which causes premature fading of flowers during storage and transit.
Production of ethylene may cause early senescence and cause abscission of
florets. Low holding temperature minimize the physiological effect of ethylene
and slow down the opening of flower. Moreover, this process can be delayed or
retarded by using permanganate or brominated carbon, high concentration of
carbon dioxide. Low temperature not only reduce metabolic activity but also
makes ineffective any ethylene present. High concentration of carbon dioxide
reduces respiration rate but also appears to reverse effect of ethylene. On the other
hand lower oxygen concentration limits the ability of ethylene to function.
Plugging or blockage of stem: It is reported that in cut flowers plugging is
caused at cut end by complex gum like material having the characteristics of
lignin and tannins. Beside this some phenolic compounds cause plugging of stem.
The lignification of cut stem check the absorption of water and cause wilting of
29
flowers. Sometimes blocking may be caused by microbial organism, bacteria,
yeast and fungi.
Harvesting stage: Stage of harvesting the flowers from mother plant also affect
the longevity of cut flower. So flower should be cut at the stage, which allows
subsequent full floral development and longevity. Flower should be harvested at
tight bud stage and at the youngest stage as far as possible. This will allow
subsequent full development of flower after reaching to the destination.
Temperature: Improper temperature is also a major cause of spoilage particularly
when flowers are exposed to warm or high temperature for longer period. If the
temperature will be high there will be faster rate of respiration and burning of
tissue due to which life of cut flower is reduced. Similarly holding of flowers at
low temperature may cause chilling injury to some flowers.
Relative humidity: It affects the rate of transpiration. Higher the humidity the
rate of transpiration will be less and ultimately there will be increase in vase-life.
Wind velocity: It also plays an important role. Strong and breeze wind cause high
rate of transpiration and shorten the life of cut flower.
Light Intensity: The quality of cut flowers like pigmentation and coloration of
flower is affected by pre-harvest light and temperature condition also. Sometimes
even short term shading (3 days) of flower bud or exposing the buds to high
temperature for 4-7 days before harvest affect the anthocyanin content.
Quality of water: Contaminated water or water with high mineral salts are also
responsible for reduction of vase life.
Bruising and Crushing: During storage and transportation, flower bruising and
crushing occurs. Marketability and longevity of crushed flowers is reduced.
Hence, bloom must be handled carefully.
Practices/treatments to be given for prolonging the vase life of cut flowers:
A. Harvest maturity/Harvest stage:
For maximum vase life after harvest, most flower should be cut at early
stage and at bud stage, as early harvesting of flower assure full opening and
development of flower for longer period in the vase. Moreover, it becomes easy to
handle, less susceptible to detrimental environmental condition like high
temperature and ethylene. It also helps in reduction in relation to sensitivity of
flower to drastic climatic condition and ethylene during handling and transit.
Harvesting in early stage at tight bud stage helps in accommodating more number
of flowers during shipment and storage, minimise the hazards of damage to field
grown flowers by adverse climatic conditions like hail storm, extreme hot and
cold temperature.
30
Optimum stages of harvesting for important flowers
Flower name Stage of harvest
Anthurium andreanum Spadix almost fully developed
Calendula Officinalis Fully open flowers
Chrysanthemum morifolium
(Florist’s chrysanthemum)
(i) Standard When outer florets fully expanded
(ii) Spray Flowers open but before shedding of
pollens.
(iii) Pompons and decoratives Centre of the oldest flower fully open.
(iv) Anemones Open but before central disc florets begin to
elongate.
Dahlia Variabilis Fully open flower
Dianthus caryophyllus (Carnation) Paint brush stage when flowers are half
(i) Standard open
(ii) Spray At least 2 flowers fully open
Gerbera jamesonii Flowers open but outer 2 rows show
shedding of pollens (fully mature)
Gladiolus cultivars 1-5 florets show colour
Lilium spp. (Lily) Coloured buds
Polianthes tuberosa (Tuberose)
(i) Single Buds fully developed but unopen
(ii) Double Maximum florets open
Rosa hybrida (Rose) 1-2 petals beginning to unfold
Tulipa spp. (Tulip) Half coloured buds.
B. Floral Preservatives
Term “Floral Preservative” is used for any chemical formulation which is used
for extending the vase life of flowers. Besides increasing vase life, floral preservatives
help to improve flower opening, flower size, shape and colour. Many commercial
formulations are also available in the form of tablets and powder form in advanced
countries like U.K., U.S.A. and Holland for extending flower vase life but their
constituents are kept secret and are to be used as per guidelines of the manufacturer.
Floral preservatives have two basic constituents: sugar and biocide. Sugar
provides an additional food to the cut flower whereas biocide checks the growth of
bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms in the vase water. Besides, foral preservatives
may also have other ingredients such as inorganic salts, growth regulators and anti -
ethylene compounds.
A. Types of Floral Preservatives
Floral preservatives can be applied in three ways i.e. as (i) pulsing solutions; (ii)
bud opening solutions; and (iii) holding or vase solutions.
(i) Pulsing solutions: “Pulsing” refers to short duration (16-24 h) pre-shipment or
pre-storage treatment. The effect of such a treatment lasts throughout the
entire vase life of the flower. Sugar (sucrose) is one of the main components
of the pulsing solution. Since pulsing involves short duration treatment,
relatively high levels of sucrose are used.
(ii) Bud opening solutions: Immature buds of many flowers can be made to open
in chemical solutions, referred to as “Bud opening solutions”. The
components of bud opening solutions are essentially the same as those of
31
pulsing solutions, but in case of bud opening solutions, lower concentrations
of sucrose are used.
(iii) Holding or vase solutions: Vase solutions are meant to hold flowers
continuously, till the termination of their vase life. The level of sucrose in
vase solutions is therefore also kept very low (0.5 to 2 per cent), due to long
duration for which flowers are kept in the solution. Many commercial vase
preservatives are also available for use as holding solutions and should be
used as per recommendations of the manufacturers.
B. Constituents of Floral Preservatives
The main constituents of floral preservatives are (i) Water; (ii) Sugar; and (iii)
Biocides. Besides, mineral nutrients, acidifying agents, anti-ethylene compounds and
growth regulators are also used in floral preservatives. The brief account of these
constituents is given herewith:
(i) Water: Water is the most important component of floral preservatives. It
affects vase life in terms of its quantity as well as quality. Sometimes tap
water can be harmful due to its high pH (alkalinity), presence of total
dissolved solutes (TDS) and toxic ions. High pH reduces vase life. Therefore,
acidifying water to low pH 3.0-3.5 is advantageous because it decreases
microbial growth and considerably improves water absorption. The longevity
of cut Super Star roses was improved by the use of tap water over that of
single and double distilled water. The presence of higher amounts of ions in
the tap water was responsible for better water uptake and keeping quality of
cut roses. Use of holding solution of pH 3.0 and use of Tween 20 at 0.001%
concentration in holding solution improved the quality and longevity of cut
flowers (IARI, New Delhi). Sensitivity of different flowers to the present of
TDS in vase water varies. Vase life of rose and chrysanthemum flowers
decreases at low level (200 ppm) of TDS in water. Some flowers like
gladiolus show decline in vase life when TDS in water is relatively high
(more than 700ppm).
Presence of sodium ions in vase water is detrimental for roses whereas fluorides
are highly toxic to some flowers like gladiolus, freesia, gerbera, chrysanthemum and
rose. In such cases, it is therefore, always advantageous to use deionized or distilled
water. If tap water is to be used, it should be boiled and decanted to remove the dissolved
salts.
(ii) Sugar: Sucrose is the most widely used sugar in floral preservatives. Sugar
acts as additional food source and also improves water balance of cut flowers.
The optimum concentration of sugar required however, varies from species to
species. Since sugar promotes microbial growth, it is usually combined with
biocides before use.
(iii) Biocides: Biocides are chemical substances which are used to inhibit
microbial growth in the vase water as well as on the stem surface. Important
biocides used for treating cut flowers are 8-hydroxyquinoline citrate, silver
nitrate, aluminium sulphate, citric acid, slow release chlorine compounds and
quarternary ammonium compounds.
8-hydroxyquinoline citrate (8-HQC) is very effective broad spectrum biocide. It
acidifies water and also induces partial closure of stomates. This compound is used at the
concentration of 200-600 ppm.
Silver nitrate (AgNO3) is also very effective biocide. AgNO3 at the concentration
of 25 ppm completely inhibits the microbial growth. Very high concentrations (1000-
1200 ppm) of AgNO 3 can also be used for short term (10-15 minutes) treatment Ag NO 3
32
has very low mobility and remains concentrated at the cut surface of the stem where it
inhibits microbial growth. A lot of concern is however, being voiced in the developed
countries regarding the use of silver, as it is considered to be an environmental hazard.
Aluminium sulphate (100-300 ppm) has also been found very effective in
increasing keeping quality of gladiolus, carnation and roses. It reduces pH of the
solution, very effectively inhibits bacterial growth and also causes stomatal closure,
thereby increasing vase life. It is, however, known to cause foliage wilting in
chrysanthemum, and hence, must be used with caution.
Citric acid (50-1000 ppm) has been reported to improve vase life of roses,
chrysanthemum, gladiolus and carnation. It acts as an acidifying agent, lowers pH of the
solution and also prevents blockage of xylem vessels.
Several slow release chlorine compounds such as sodium dichloro-iso-cyanurate
(DICA) and 1,3-dichloro-5, 5-dimethyl hydrazide (DDMH) have been found very useful
for many flowers and also form constituent part of many floral preservatives.
Quarternary ammonium compounds have also been found very useful biocides for cut
flowers.
Besides, some other compounds such as thiabendazol, dichlorophen, salts of
nickel, cobalt and copper and benzoic acid have also been found to extend vase life of
some flowers.
33
DEHYDRATION OF FLOWERS
D.S. Dahiya and S.K. Sehrawat

CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar – 125 004
Dry flowers also known as “dehydrated or everlasting flowers” are becoming

very poplar due to their non-perishability and longer indoor life. Dry flowers are used in
bouquets, flower arrangement, topiaries, swags, wreaths, greeting cards, festive
decorations and potpourri. The Indian dry flower industry can be broadly classified into
four categories viz., dried flowers and plant parts in bulk; potpourri; arrangements (with
dried plant material and dried flowers); and floral handicraft.
1. Dried flowers and plant parts in bulk
This is the high volume, well-established end of the business which Indian
exporters have supplied over an extended period of time. The varieties shipped under this
classification include globe amaranth, celosia, marigold, agro waste products as well as
‘assembled’ flowers, exotics and material for liners and fillers used in flower
arrangements.
2. Potpourri
Potpourri is a mixture of dehydrated flowers berries and leaves which is exported
either raw or scented. The common method of display is in bowls which are placed in
bathrooms and bedrooms. This product can be packed in small muslin bags, which are
then placed in wardrobes and drawers as ‘clothes fresheners’. Use of potpourri as a
natural scent as well as a decorative feature has gained wide acceptance in western
homes as well as in a wide variety of retail stores.
Over 300 products are used in potpourri mixes. In India, major products used in
potpourri are bachelor’s buttons (globe amaranth), cockscomb (Celosia argentea),
marigold flowers (Tagetes species), rose petals, bougainvillea petals, green leaves (such
as bay leaves), neem leaves (Azadirachia indica), stones from plums, peaches or apricot
and amaranth.
The United Kingdom is the biggest potpourri market for Indian raw bulk
materials. In turn they export potpourri to the rest of Europe, both in the form of basic
ingredients and mixed and scented products. Generally, potpourri material should have a
strong natural colour or be a light enough shade to absorb non-toxic dyes. In addition, the
material should be dry (maximum moisture content of 7 per cent), resistant to mold, non-
toxic, free from noxious odours of a low bulk density and sufficiently robust to withstand
mechanical blending. Potpourri mixes are made up according to formulae so that
products can match specifications year after year. Companies usually aim to build
combinations of colours, dried plant materials and fragrances.
3. Arrangement (with dried plant materials and dried flowers)
Arrangements with dried plant materials
This market is small, specialized and high value. Aristic inputs are the
determining factor, more so than price. The product is targeted to higher income buyers,
who generally are in a price inelastic demand group. A range of usually shaped and
coloured material is used to make arrangements that are distinctive in appearance.
Examples are wreaths, topiaries and swags. Examples of common products used in India
are cotton pods, large pine cones (Pinus species), dried capsicums (capsicum annum and
frutescent), ornamental gourds, seed pods and heads, exotic grasses and leaf material,
unfurling fern fronds and bark and twigs.
34
There is significant opportunity for new market entrants in this subsector. Indian
cottage industries are well developed in handicrafts. These same skills are readily
transferable to creating dried flower arrangements of both materials and dried flowers
offer the potential for higher marginal return than for other types of output.
Dried flower arrangement
These arrangements have the same markets as those identified for dried
plants/materials. The manufacturing skills and marketing strategies are also much the
same with the principal end use being for high income private, hotel and retail use.
Arrangement styles are extremely diverse. Dried items offer the arranger more flexibility
than do fresh flowers. As a result, the creative possibilities are greater, which may
explain the current popularity in foreign markets.
The products used in dried flower arrangements are classified as “main blooms”,
“fillers”, “liners” and “exotics”. “Main blooms” often play a key role, because of their
shapes, sizes and/or colours, in making bouquets or arrangements. They also include the
“assembled” everlastings, which consist of a number of parts of one or more sorts of
everlasting flowers.
In India, “assembled” everlastings are prepared and used or exported as “main
blooms”. But in Europe and the U.S., flowers are cultivated and dried to be used as
“main blooms”. The most common “main blooms” used within the market are statice
(sea lavender), strawflower (helichrysum), nigella, larkspur and roses. “Fillers” are a
group of products which are used in making bouquets and arrangements. Their function
is to add bulk to the flower arrangement. “Liners” are mostly ornamental grasses, so
named because these grasses give a linear accent to an arrangement. The most commonly
used ornamental grasses are avena (animated oats), halaris (canary grass), phleum
(timothy) and triticum (ornamental wheat). In addition, a wide variety of plants such as
typha (cat’s tail or reed mace), maize, sorghum, spiked millet (pennisetum species), dried
branches and twigs of trees (e.g. silver dollar eucalyptus) and shrubs can be also used.
The exotics consist of a group of plants and plant materials which originate from
various tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Indian exotics which are produced
in India include lotus heads (the seed head from nymphaea species), palm spears, palm
leaf cut into spear shapes and okra pods.
Dried plant and flower arrangements are the most lucrative segment in the dried
flower market, in terms of both total gross sales and unit returns.
4. Floral handicraft
The growth of the niche market for arrangements has spawned a new industry in
floral handcrafts. Traditional Indian artisanship facilitated the entry of new firms to this
sector. At the same time, handicraft products have undoubtely serve to generate new
demand for dried flower products. In effect, the handicraft serves as a point of sale item
in promotions and market development as well as generating significant revenues in their
own right. This segment includes items such as colleges, flower pictures, cards and
covers (press-dried flowers and foliage). Innovative items such as candle stands, table
lamps, picture frames, floral jewellery, mirror decorations and arrangements in glass
containers are being produced to satisfy the demand of both local and export markets.
Despite the segmentation in each of these markets, India can offer competitive
value added services to secure an increasing market share. In the case of the bulk, high
volume sales, tray packing and labeling has proven a convenience and purchase incentive
for the wholesale and retail outlets, particularly in florist shops and supermarkets. Indian
suppliers of potpourri have already introduced successful innovations in assembly,
varieties, coloring and scent. Arrangement and floral handicrafts are new niche markets
with the highest growth curve that has already tapped into by Indian suppliers.
35
Despite the product differentiation which is inherent to marketing in these
different markets, a key consideration for future success will be the level of integration in
exporter operations. The exporter/supplier which can respond to all market segments will
be better positioned because of the level of parallel integration on the buyer side. Foreign
buyers handling bulk, for instance, are in many cases doing their own arrangements.
Indian supplier potentially can reduce the labour inputs for the buyer and hence increase
their profit ratios. The degree to which these separate but nonetheless linked markets are
captured by Indian suppliers will depend on their integration, quality, pricing, reliability
and their niche marketing strategies.
Production technologies
The main production technologies used are sun drying (very common but results
in poor quality material), air drying (cheapest method but results in delicate petals and
presence of pests), pressing (difficult and can be done on limited scale), polyset, hot air
oven drying or embedded drying (slightly costly but maintain shape and colour of the
dehydrated product and quality is better), microwave oven drying (quick but suitable for
few flowers only) and freeze drying.
(i) Sun drying
The most common method practiced in India is sun drying. The produce, mostly
collected from natural forests and hilly areas, is dried naturally in the sun. the produce
may be dried at the collection point itself or brought by the exporting houses to certain
specific drying locations. The skill involved is in determining the period of drying for
each product since its colour and longevity depend on the intensity of and exposure to
heat. There is no formal training system for the labour involved in collection and drying.
Over the years, they have learned the art of drying by experience can have started using
innovative methods for shielding the flowers/material from intense heat. The other step
involving patient labour is in rotating or turning the flowers/material for uniform drying.
The advantage of sun drying is that it is the cheapest possible mode since there is
no cost of energy. All other modern methods require electric power which, besides being
expensive, is not available throughout India. Nonetheless, sun drying also has the
following disadvantages which can affect commercial production costs.
 Variability in natural climatic conditions, causing seasonal restrictions as well as
supply uncertainties.
 Large requirement of open spaces
 Low productivity due to extended time for sun versus artificial drying techniques
 Risks in loss of natural colours induced by overexposure to the sun
 Lack of uniform quality in dried product
 Non-removal of pests present in the flowers/materials
(ii) Air drying
Air drying refers to the technique that allows flowers to dry naturally without the
use of a chemical desiccant. Air drying is the least expensive process for drying flowers,
but results in delicate petals and does not ensure elimination of pests. Another air drying
method, kiln-drying, uses convection heat to dry plant materials. Although kiln-drying
speeds up the drying process, the heat breaks down the chemicals in the flower, which
may result in color deterioration. A third technology and the most energy intensive
system is air tunnels which operate on a convection air system at a minimum of 500C.
The most popular air dried flowers are larkspur, delphinium, roses, maidenhair fern,
oregano and lemon mini.
(iii) Pressing
36
Pressing refers to placing picked flowers in a press along with an absorbent
material. Pressed flowers can be limited in their use in that they can only be used on flat
surfaces. They may, however, be used as craft decorations between panes of glass.
(iv) Polyset
Polyset is a polymer preservation method which is applied to the flower 45
minutes before drying. It is a chemical pre-treatment application which is used before air
drying to improve the quality of the dried flowers. This method lessens drying time and
improves the intensity of flower color. It also minimizes shattering and wrinkling of the
petals which may occur during air drying.
(v) Hot air oven drying or embedded drying
Drying agents such as silica sand or gel can be used for some types of flowers to
improve the integrity and quality of the product. Delicate flowers which shrivel when air
dried may be dried more successfully with a drying agent, because sand or gel will
support the petals more rigidly, helping the flower to maintain its shape as it drys. The
drying material removes the moisture from the flowers more quickly than the air drying
which allows the product to retain more vivid colors when dry. This drying method is
more labor intensive and will require the expense of the drying agent supplies and other
materials.
(vi) Freeze drying
Freeze drying is now also becoming a popular, although more expensive, method
of producing dried flowers for the U.S., European and Japanese markets. Worldwide, the
market for freeze dried products in 1997 is estimated to be $ 18-20 million, $ 12 million
of which is purchased in the U.S. The necessary equipment is more costly than vacuum
dehydration equipment, but freeze drying doubles the value of the finished flower. The
process is relatively simple. After the flowers are arranged in the specimen chamber,
they are frozen to -20 F. Then any frozen ice crystals on the flower are sublimed, or
vaporized, with the application of heat. Transformed into consideration, the vapour is
captured into a separate chamber as ice. By eliminating the water, the flower drys with a
life-like freshness and retains better integrity and more durability. One advantage to
freeze drying is that flowers come out looking exactly as they did when they went into
the machine. Solvent based polymers may also be applied post freeze drying to help hold
the flowers together or to help the flowers retain their colours longer. The full drying
cycle takes 4-5 day to complete. Potpourri can be dried using a 2-3 day fast cycle. The
process requires the purchase of special machinery and supplies. Though expensive,
freeze drying is becoming more commonly used in the United States to preserve special
occasion flowers. For example, brides often choose freeze drying to preserve their
wedding bouquets.
Different flowers can be dried according to the suitability for different techniques
(Table 1).
The principal export houses/processing units for dried flowers are concentrated in
Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu) and Calcutta (West Bengal) accounting for nearly 50 and 40%
export, respectively. The other parameters contributing towards economics are:
1. Drying ratio (fresh: dried) product: 6:1 to 10:1
2. Wastage at grading stage: 10-15%
3. Profit margin at storage and processing: 50-60%
4. Net Profit (General): 30%; Certain products: upto 75%
For diversification of agriculture, horticulture is an important sector which has
proved its credibility in improving income, generating employment, enhancing export
and nutritional household security. Playing a significant role in Indian economy, this
sector fetches huge amount of foreign exchange every year. Global floriculture industry
37
is also growing at the rate of 10-12% per annum with an investment of about US & 60
billion. India’s diversity in topography and climate makes it a rich source of plant
material, year round, for the dried flower industry. The export of dried flowers and their
products accounts for more than 60% of the total floricultural export since more than a
decade. The Indian dry flower industry is relatively mature, traditional and has a good
reputation owing to its rich wealth of wild species. But India’s share to the global dried
flower market is only 10%. This may be due to excessive reliance on wild species of
flowers and plant material (only 20% raw material is cultivated and 80% collected from
the wild), failure to introduce new technologies and regulatory disincentives for efficient
export. In such an environment, a comprehensive strategic plan is required to enhance
the export and to sustain the burgeoning challenges of international market.
Table 1: Suitable flowers for different techniques
Techniques Flowers
Air-drying Helipterum, Helichrysum, Statice
Press-drying Candytuft, chrysanthemum, Euphorbia leucocephala, Lantana,
Ixora, Mussaenda, Galphimia nitida, Pentas carnea, rose, verbena,
larkspur, pansy, grasses, golden fern, silver fern
Oven-drying Helipterum, chrysanthemum cultivars, candytuft, gerbera,
Gomphrena globosa, straw flower, Delphinium ajacis, rose, Zinnia
linearis, bougainvillea, narcissus, dahlia, gladiolus, Tagetes patula,
Tagetes erecta, Nymphaea sp.
Microwave oven Antirrhinum majus, Callistephus chinensis, chrysanthemum, dahlia
drying (pompon), carnation, bougainvillea, gerbera, gladiolus,
Lagerstroemia indica, Narcissus sp., Delphinium ajacis,
Helichrysum bracteatum, Phlox, Helipterum roseum, Ixora coccinea,
Nymphaea sp.
38
POST HARVEST TECHNOLOGY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS
I.S. Yadav
Medicinal, Aromatic & Under Utilized Plants Section,
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding,
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that at least 80% of the world
populations rely on traditional systems of medicine for their primary health
needs. These systems are largely plant based and over 21000 plant species are
useful in the preparation of medicines. Due to the growing awareness about side
effects and complications of chemical and synthetic medicines, cosmetics and
health supplements, usage of herbal products has gained importance both in the
Eastern and Western Worlds. This is the proper time for India to make relentless
efforts to take substantial cultivation and share in current herbal market. The
uncontrolled collection and sale of large quantities of plant material from the
forest leads to destruction of many forest plants. Local communities, traditional
medicinal herbalists and herbal medicine vendors collect roots, bark and whole
shrubs. This is a serious problem. Cultivation of medicinal plants especially high
value medicinal plants is creating new dimension in the field of agriculture. The
medicinal plant industry puts together the various facets of this multi-disciplinary
industry and its global interest. Indian herbal industry is at blooming stage,
however cultivation of medicinal plants is not so easy. Indian farmers are facing
various problems in cultivation of medicinal plants because of lack of proper
agro-technology, high fees for packages developed by various organizations, lack
of reliable and standardized technology package, lack of planting material,
market potential and system, cultivated vs wild plants, organic farming
techniques, etc. Knowledge of post-harvest processing technology of plants for
the extraction of chemicals and preparations of active formulations is still needed.
For this purpose one has to take help of research organizations, private institutes,
farmers, NGO's public sector institutes etc. for better technical know-how of
cultivation and post-harvest techniques of medicinal plants.
PROCESSING, VALUE ADDITION AND UTILIZATION OF
MEDICINAL PLANTS:
Processing, Value Addition and Utilization of Medicinal Plants gave formal
recognition to traditional medicine and recommended the association of
traditional healers in the national healthcare programme. The future is demand
challenging task with enormous opportunities for India in the fast changing global
economy as far as production and trade of natural raw materials are concerned.
There has been an unparalleled growth to 60 per cent of the plant derived
medicinally useful formulations, drugs, cosmetics, food and health care products.
India is the third largest producer and consumer of medicinal and aromatic plants
after China and Cambodia. Due to lack of processing facilities, medicinal plants
provide a raw material for the production of pharmaceuticals, nutraceutical, herbal
cosmetic and perfumery preparation is blooming. Demand for these herbs is
increasing progressively in consumer oriented cosmetic, herbal food products and
39
pharmaceutical units. There is a great demand of medicinal plants (raw material)
in national and international market.
PROCESSING OF MEDICINAL PLANTS:
Development of primary processing and secondary processing techniques
of these medicinal plants is one of the most important parameter to attract the
farmers to grow these plants commercially. Primary processing means, semi
processing of medicinal plants at the farm level or at small scale level to provide
quality raw material to large industries. These include drying, sorting, washing,
extraction etc. The medicinal plants are of varying nature. Different parts of the
plants such as leaves, bark, roots or tubers whole plant and extract of these plants
are useful to make drugs. Therefore the post harvest processing technology of
each herb is different and requires different machines.The machines and unit
operations used to process other agricultural and chemical products can be used
for processing medicinal plants by making suitable modifications and adjustments
of processing parameters in the existing machines. The post harvest processes and
the machines must be designed scientifically and carried out in such a manner that
the chemical and medicinal contents of the material are not affected qualitatively
as well as quantitatively.
The following processes are commonly carried out after harvesting to
increase their storability, upgradation of the quality of raw material and for their
value addition.
Cleaning and washing: Cleaning and/or washing are particularly important when
the medicinally useful parts are roots, rhizomes or other underground parts. The
prime aim is to remove adhering dirt. In some cases as for example in Bramhi etc.
the whole herb is washed. Leaves of plants like Aloe vera are also washed before
further processing. The washing is done in washers by spraying water under
pressure on these parts of the plants to remove dirt, soil and other contaminating
material.
Grading: Grading classifies the produce based on certain parameter that
essentially reflects the quality. These parameters are size, length, thickness, colour
etc. The roots of some plants are graded as per their length and thickness and
colour. Unwanted material is also removed from leaves of some plants. The
grading is done by specific machines or manually. Produce of superior grade
fetches a higher value.
Peeling: Peeling offers value – addition particularly in case of those under ground
drugs in which bark is devoid of medicinal activity. Peeling imparts elegance to
the product. Safed musli, Satawar are the example which fetches higher value in
the peeled form. Special peelers are designed to peel the particular herb.
Drying: Drying is the most important operation in processing. The main aims
behind drying the plant material are to bring down moisture content to
pharmacologically acceptable level and to make it resistant to enzymatic as well
as microbial degradation to maintain its chemical quality for a longer time. Drying
also reduces the volume of the material, facilitate its pulverization or grinding and
thus is favourable for its packing and transportation. Drying is generally not done
when the plant material is to be processed further for extraction of volatile oil in
case of tulsi, lavender, Aloe vera, aromatic plants, mint etc.The method of drying
40
and temperature of drying depends on the chemical nature of plant material,
prevailing climatic conditions, quantity of raw material to be dried. Material
containing thermo labile active constituents needs special care.
Following are the different methods of drying.
Natural Drying: It is most commonly used method for drying the plant material
and is time consuming Natural drying is of two types, direct sun drying and shade
drying.
a)Direct sun drying: It is preferred when plant constituents are stable at higher
temperature and are not photosensitive. Different parts like leaves, seeds, roots
and rhizomes are spread in a thin layer on clean area free from dust and animals
directly under the sun. The material is occasionally turned over to ensure uniform
drying.
b)Shade Drying: It is preferred when the constituents of plants are susceptible to
thermo and photo degradation. Drugs containing volatile and essential oils are
dried under shade. When the material is dried under shade the place must be clean
and properly ventilated. Shade drying generally retains the original colour and
aroma of the plant material. Solar dryer direct type and indirect type are designed
to enhance drying of the plant materials.
Artificial Drying: It is advised for drying large scale cultivation. Its main
advantage is rapid drying with better control of process variables and is weather
independent. However depending on the selected method and material it require
different equipments.
a)Oven or Trey Drying: The plant materials, which contains non-volatile and
heat stable chemical constituents, are dried by this method. It is also used when
certain enzymes in the plant material need to be deactivated. Hot air at the desired
temperature is circulated through the dryer which evaporates the moisture. Dryers
of different design and load capacities are available.
b)Vacuum Drying: Plant materials which are prone to degradation of active
chemical constituents at higher temperature (more than 50ºC) are dried by this
method. Moisture is removed from the material under reduced pressure at a faster
rate.
c)Dehumidify air drying: The drugs containing volatile oils are dried by
circulating dehumidified ambient air through the plant material. The vapour
pressure difference between air and material removes the moisture from the
material.
d)Spray drying: This method is used to concentrate or dehydrate plant
constituents in liquid form. Liquid aloe gel, pectins, tannins, paupine extract are
dried to powder form by this method. The drying is much faster.
Pulverization or Grinding: Pulverization of crude drugs offers many advantages
over their natural form. It facilitates packaging and transportation. Blending of
different herbs to produce a drug can also be done by grinding. Different types of
grinder viz. burr mill; hammer mill; ball mill; roller mill of different capacities are
used to grind specific raw material. The product temperature in their grinder can
be increased during grinding in traditional grinding machine. Normal grinding is
not recommended in herbs containing volatile and thermo degradable compounds.
41
Cold grinding: The materials containing volatile and thermo degradable
compounds are ground by this process. The product temperature by this method
does not increase and the loss of volatile aromas is minimized by grinding in cold
grinders.
lined bags for market.
Extraction:
Extraction can be categorized based on solvent, solvent plus discolouring agent,
adsorption chromatography, ion exchange and selective precipitation of individual
glycosides. The extraction process involves four steps aqueous or solvent
extraction, ion exchange, precipitation or coagulation with filtration, then
crystallization and drying. Ultra filtration method is recently used
Usual Forms of Herbal Extracts/Remedies:
Various forms of herbal extracts viz. infusion, decoction, strong decoction,
tinctures, syrups, infused oils, essential oils, ointments, creams, mist, maceration
etc. are commonly used by herbal practitioners for medicinal effects. As discussed
above, the method of preparation of herbal extracts depends upon the type of
plants/plant parts to be used and the active ingredient present in it. However,
general methods of preparation of various types of herbal extracts are given
below:
Infusions: Infusions are typically used for delicate parts of the herbs i.e. flowers
and leaves etc. Preparing an infusion is much like making a cup of tea. Water is
brought just to a boil and then poured over an herb (or combination of herbs), it is
covered and allowed to sit/steep for 10-15 minutes or so. It can be prepared in the
drinking cup (by just pouring the heated water over the herb in the cup) or by
dropping the herb into the pot in which the water was heated. It is also
recommended to use distilled or purified water when extracting medicinal plants.
Regular tap water can contain chlorine and other chemicals which might have an
interaction or chain reaction with one or more of the many chemicals found in
plants. The ratio of herb to water can vary depending on the remedy, the plant,
and whether cut herb or powdered herb is used. Generally for using 1 teaspoon of
powdered herb or 3 teaspoons of more bulky cut herb, 150 ml of water is
sufficient. Always cover the cup containing the infusion with a lid to prevent
delicate chemical constituents/essential oils from evaporating, and always make
an infusion fresh daily. It can be taken hot, warm, or cold.
Decoctions: Similar to an infusion but instead of flowers and leaves the harder
parts of the herbs are used such as the roots and bark etc. Fruits, roots and barks
being thicker and less permeable than the aerial parts of medicinal plants, do not
liberate their active principles by simple infusion. It is necessary to simmer these
parts in boiling water (about 20 min.) in order to extract their medicinal
constituents. The material should be cut or broken into small pieces. In order to
avoid loosing volatile constituents, use a lid over the simmering pan. After
cooling down and separating the solid from the liquid, decoctions can be taken
hot, warm, or cold.
Strong Decoctions: Depending on the type of plant material used, strong
decoctions are prepared in two general ways. The first involves boiling the
mixture longer. This is usually done when working with larger woody pieces of
42
bark. Longer boiling time, up to 2 hours or more, is sometimes necessary to break
down, soften, and extract the larger pieces. Alternatively, when smaller woody
pieces are used yet a stronger remedy is wanted, the decoction is prepared as
above (boiling 20 minutes), then it is allowed to sit/soak overnight before
straining out the herb. When straining, again, make sure to press on the cut herb
pieces in the strainer to get as much moisture/decoction out of the herb pieces.
Tinctures: A tincture is an extract of alcohol (ethyl alcohol) and water mixture
which is used when plants have active chemicals that are not very soluble in
water, and/or when a larger quantity is prepared for convenience and wanted for
longer term storage. Many properly prepared plant tinctures can last several years
or more without losing potency. The percentage of alcohol usually helps
determine it's shelf-life: the more alcohol used, the longer the shelf life.
Sometimes the percentage of alcohol and water is unique to the herbs that are used
as some active ingredients are more soluble in alcohol and others more soluble in
water. To prepare a tincture with a shelf-life of at least one year, 40% alcohol and
the balance distilled water is generally required. Never use methyl alcohol,
methylated spirits, isopropyl alcohol or any other kind of unknown spirit to make
tinctures. For the preparation of tincture, dip/soak the woody pieces of plant(s) for
about 2 weeks in the mixture of alcohol and water of appropriate ratio. Shake the
bottle/jar at least once daily while allowing it to soak. At the end of two weeks,
filter the tincture through a strainer to remove the plant parts (pressing hard on the
plant material to get as much liquid out as possible) and pour into a fresh clean
glass container/bottle with tight fitting lid or cork. For storing the tincture, use of
dark colored bottle (like a recycled green/amber wine bottle) is to be preferred.
Seal the container and store at room temperature away from direct sunlight. The
tincture can be placed directly in the mouth for immediate absorption, or placed in
a small amount of water or juice. If a person dislike the alcohol content (or want
to give the remedy to a child), place the dosage in about 50 ml of very hot water
so that most of the alcohol will be evaporated in the hot water in a minute or two.
Let cool it before taking.
Syrups: With some rare exceptions, like peppermint that is a familiar flavoring
agent in tooth paste and chewing gum, infused or decocted herbs are not palatable,
specially for children. In order to disguise their taste, infusion and decoctions can
be mixed with honey or unrefined sugar from cane. These syrups combine the
soothing action of these solvents to the medicinal properties of the infusions and
decoctions resulting in additional benefits specially for treating cough and sore
throats.
Essential Oils: Essential oils are the volatile oily components of aromatic plants,
trees and grasses. They are found in tiny glands located in the flowers (neroli),
leaves (eucalyptus), roots (calamus), wood (sandal) and resins (frankincense).
Essential oils are extracted by four main methods: steam distillation, expression,
solvent extraction and effleurage. In the first method the oil is extracted by the
action of hot steam and then selectively condensed with water from which it is
separated. In the second method the oil is extracted by pressure or centrifugation.
In the third method, herb is soaked in suitable organic solvent so that the oil is
dissolved in the volatile solvent which on evaporation leaves a heavily natural
43
wax substance called concrete. When separated from the wax, the resulting liquid
is called an absolute, the most concentrated from of aroma available. Effleurage is
a longer process involving the dissolution of the oils in animal fat and its
separation using alcohol. Although essential oils main usage is in cosmetics and
perfumery, many of them do have proved therapeutic properties.
Ointments: Ointments are prepared like hot infused oils in which herbs are
simmered in beeswax or fats containing no water. After separating the simmered
herbs by squeezing and cooling, the result is a solid mixture of the wax or fat with
the medicinal constituents of the plant. Petroleum jelly, soft paraffin wax and bees
wax are some common bases used. Ointments form a oily barrier on the surface of
injuries and carry the active principles to the affected area.
Creams: Creams are mixtures of oils or fats with water. Since water and oils are
not miscible, it is necessary to add an emulsifying agent that avoids their
separation. Medicinal properties are added to creams when they are made with
tinctures, infusions, oil infusions, essential oils or decoctions. Creams are
permeable allowing the skin to breathe and sweat. Their water content and some
additional hydrophobic agent like Glycerin promotes the hydration and cooling of
the skin.
Mist: Mist is a combination of water and fresh or dried herbs made as an infusion
but left to sit in a covered container for 1 to 3 hours. Mists can also be made with
essential oils and a small amount of alcohol for emulsifying and preservation.
Different herbs can be used for the preparation of a mist depending on its purpose.
It could be used as an air freshener or for disinfecting areas of the home. A mist
could also be used to refresh oneself after a long hard day by spraying the face, or
it could be used to soothe irritated skin. Lavender mist is good for skin care and is
very refreshing when feeling tired, just mist the face. It has mild anti-bacterial
properties useful after cleansing the face to inhibit bacteria, which can cause
pimples. Lavender will also promote regeneration of healthy cells which would be
good for cuts, burns, sunburn and sores. Also when inhaled, lavender mist will
soothe and calm.
Macerations: This method of preparation is certainly the easiest. The fresh or
dried plant material is simply covered in cold water and soaked overnight. The
herb is strained out and the liquid is taken. Normally this is used for very tender
plants and/or fresh plants, or those with delicate chemicals that might be harmed
by heating or which might be degraded in strong alcohol.
Poultices and Compresses: Many herbal remedies are applied directly to the skin
as poultices - usually on rashes and wounds and as topical pain-relieving
remedies. Poultices are prepared in various ways. Sometimes just enough hot
water is poured over dried or fresh plant material to soften them. Then the wet
herbs are placed directly on the skin or between two pieces of cloth and laid on
the skin. A light cotton bandage to bind the poultice to the area is generally used.
Compresses are simply soaking a cloth in a prepared infusion, tincture or
decoction and laying the cloth onto the affected part of the body/skin.
Vapour Baths and Bathing Remedies: Medicinal plants are added to bath water
and the patient is soaked in it. The skin is a wonderful organ capable of absorbing
plant chemicals (and even synthetic chemicals) directly through the skin, and into
44
the underlying fat tissue, then into the bloodstream. Since fresh plants are
generally used for bathing remedies, therefore, it should be chopped or crushed
first before adding to the bath water. In the alternative, 500 to 750 ml of a strong
decoction or infusion can be added to bath water and sit in it for at least 10
minutes. Similarly, steam containing infusion/decoction of suitable herbs can be
inhaled for respiratory problems.
ANNEXURE-I
MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS OF HARYANA AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE
No Common Name Scientific Name Uses

1 Satawar Asparagus racemosus Roots - Refrigerant, Demulcent, Diuretic,
Aphrodisiac, Antispasmodic, Alterative,
Antidiarrhoea, Antidysenteric and
Galactagogue
2 Ashwagandha Withania somnifera Roots - Aphrodisiac, Tonic, Diuretic,
Narcotic, Rheumatism, Debility from old
age, Emaciation of children.
Leaves - Infusion in Fever.
3 Antamul Tylophora indica Leaves - Asthma, Bronchitis, Whooping
cough, Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Emetic,
Diaphoretic and Expectorant
4 Brahmi Bacopa monnieri Plant - Nerve Tonic, used in Asthma,
Epilepsy, Insanity, Hoarseness; Diuretic
and Aperient
5 Giloe Tinospora cordifolia Stem - Stomachic, Antiperiodic,
Antipyretic and Aphrodisiac.
Roots and Stem - Chronic Dysentery arid
Chronic Diarrhoea.
Juice of fresh plant- Diuretic and in
Gonorrhoea
6 Guar Patha/ Aloe A. barbadensis Plant - Stomachic, Purgative, Anthelmintic,
vera in Piles and Rectal Fissures.
Dried Juice - Cathartic, Constipation.
Fresh Juice - Cathartic, Cooling, Fevers.
Pulp - Menstrual Suppression
7 Sarapgandha Rauwolfia serpentina Root - Hypnotic, Sedative, Specific for
Insanity, Reduces Blood Pressure.
Juice of leaves - Removal of Opacities of
Cornea of Eyes
8 Isabgol Plantago ovata Forsk. Seed - Demulcent, Cooling, Diuretic, used

in Inflammatory conditions of the Mucous
member of Gastrointestinal and
Genitourinary Tracts, Chronic Dysentery,
Diarrhoea and Constipation
9 Mulhatti/ Glycyrrhiza glabra L. Root - Tonic, Laxative, Demulcent,
Liquorice Emollient, in Genitourinary diseases,
Coughs and Sore throat and in Scorpion -
sting
45
10 Kalihari/Shakrapus Gloriosa superba Linn. Root – Purgative, anthelmintic, in leprosy,
hpi /Agnisikha parasitical affection of skin, piles, tonic,
colic, snake-bite and scorpion sting.
11 Bach Acorus calamus L. Rhizome - Emetic, Stomachic, Dyspepsia,
Colic, Remittent Fevers, Nevetonic,
Bronchitis,
Dysentery of Children, Insectifuge and in
Snake-bite
12 Kalmegh Andrographis paniculata Plant - Febrifuge, Tonic, Anthelmintic,
useful in Debility, Dysentery, Dyspepsia
and Stomachic
13 Antamul Tylophora indica Leaves - Asthma, Bronchitis, Whooping

cough, Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Emetic,
Diaphoretic and Expectorant
14 Haldi Curcuma domestica Rhizome: Aromatic, Stimulant, Tonic,

Carminative, Blood purifier, externally
applied to Sprains and Wounds.
15 Periwinkle/Sadabah Catharanthus roseus Roots - Hypertension.
ar Leaves - Anticancer Drugs, Diabetes
16 Harar Terminalia chebula Retc. Fruits - Laxative, Stomachic, Tonic and

Purgative. Finely powdered as Dentifrice,
in Carious teeth, Bleeding and Ulceration of
gums.
Bark - Diuretic and Cardio-Tonic
46
PACKAGING TECHNOLOGIES
M.K.Garg
College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology
CCS HAU, Hisar – 125 004
Packaging plays a vital role in the conservation, preservation and transportation of

food products. Packaging is considered as an index of civilization. As the country
progresses, the use of packaged products increased considerably. Packaged
products create confidence with the consumer with respect to quality, quantity,
safety and protection. There is the growing sophistication and changing market
trends, indicating the requirements of convenience, use of materials, which are
eco-friendly, recyclable and reusable.
With the advancement in preservation technologies coupled with introduction of
suitable packaging materials and systems, it has been possible to introduce new
generation products into the market.
In the present era of consumerism, supermarkets and electronic media, packaging
has assumed a multifunctional role by serving as a symbol of value addition, an
assurance on quality and quantity, a conveyer of convenience and ultimately a
marketing tool.
Food packaging is a coordinated system of food for ensuring safe delivery to the
consumer in sound condition through techno-economic functions at minimum
cost. A coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, distribution, storage,
retailing and end-use. A means of ensuring safe delivery to the ultimate consumer
in sound condition at minimum cost. An techno-economic function aimed at
minimizing costs of delivery while maximizing sales and hence profits.
FUNCTIONS OF PACKAGING
1. Packaging serves as a material handling tool containing the desired unit
amount of food within a single container and may facilitate the assembly of
several such units into aggregates. For example, some fluids are packaged
in bottles, which may be placed in boxes, and these boxes in turn can be
assembled into easily handled pallets.
2. The package may also serve as processing aid. The metal can be used in
heat sterilization of many food items serves not only a protective function
but, by its dimensional stability, assures that when fully packed the food
maintains a certain shape and location for which heat penetrations can be
calculated.
3. A package is a convenience item for the consumer. A cold drink bottle
serves as the drinking utensil as well as a process, storage, and distribution
container.
4. The package is a marketing tool. The sales appeal and product
identification aspects of packaging are particularly important to the sales
and marketing branches of food companies.
47
5. Packaging can be a cost-saving device. Certain packages have obvious
economic benefits such as prevention of spills, ease of transporting,
prevention of contamination, reduction of labour cost etc.
6. Protection of the product.
7. Value addition.
PRINCIPLES
1. It must contain the product efficiently throughout the journey.
2. It must provide protection against external climatic conditions and
containments.
3. It must be compatible with the product.
4. It must be easily and efficiently filled and closed.
5. It must be efficiently handled by the appropriate mechanical or other
means.
6. The package must be inexpensive.
7. The package must be readily disposable or be reusable.
8. To protect an item against mechanical damage resulting from shock and
vibration encountered during transportation and storage.
9. To protect the contents against dehydration, oxidation, light, flavour and
other loss.
10. To protect the contents against environmental factors.
11. To provide handling facilities for loading and storage and in many cases
provide sufficient protection to act as its own warehouse for long periods
of time.
12. To protect the contents against pilferage.
METHODS OF FOOD PACKAGING
VACUUM PACKAGING
Vacuum packaging provides anaerobic condition to the product and hence aerobic
organisms are completely destroyed by vacuum packaging. Further, the vacuum
packaged products are found to have better flavour retention. This is also found
more suitable for beef. However, due to anaerobic condition, it is not safe for fish
and fish products with pH over 4.5.
MODIFIED/CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING
The undesirable changes in the food influence by various factors can be
controlled/minimized by this method. The internal atmosphere of the package is
controlled by other agents or modified by some inert gases. In this packaging
technique, there are two kinds of methods are followed.
Carbon dioxide packaging: To control moisture loss and to prevent drying out
without promoting mould growth in baked products, this has been found to be
more useful.
Nitrogen packaging: Protection of fatty and vitamin containing foods against
oxygen is more difficult to achieve in flexible packages than is protection against
moisture vapour. This is because the quantity of oxygen, which can cause
spoilage, is usually very small. However, flushing with an inert gas such as
nitrogen can afford some protection against oxidation.
48
ASEPTIC PACKAGING
It preserves food by preventing microbial contamination from the raw state to the
finished product. Aseptically packaged products require sterilization of the
starting material, packaging material and sterile surroundings. Aseptic packaging
of liquid foods such as milk and fruit juices is found to be more acceptable in the
market.
FLEXIBLE PACKAGING
Flexible packaging provides an alternative solution to the distribution of many
types of foods for which crush protection is not important. If functions primarily
in retaining the goods, separating them from their environment whilst identifying
and displaying them to advantage. Dried foodstuffs and precooked dehydrated
foods are packed by this method.
ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING
The packaging scenario and the requirements world over are constantly
undergoing change with respect to materials, forms, systems, machinery and also
legal aspects which are linked with environmental equilibrium and maintenance.
These requirements vary for different countries.
The Indian Exporters of processed food products are advised to use eco-friendly
packaging for their products. They have to follow the following priorities:
1. Wherever possible, certain materials and packages like secondary
packaging materials may be eliminated.
2. Reduction in weight and volume of packaging materials.
3. As far as possible, reusable and recyclable packaging materials may be
used.
4. Possibility of energy recovery by incineration without creating any air
pollution.
5. Biodegradable materials may be considered.
6. Packaging materials like bitumanised paper/ paperboard and coated
materials, which are difficult to recycle, have to be restricted.
7. Conventionally processed jute/hessian material should be substituted by
hydro-carbon free materials.
8. All plastic films/materials must be clearly designated by internationally
accepted marking for recycling.
FOOD PACKAGE LABELLING
The goal of all labelling laws is to ensure that all information is
communicated through the package without any trace of deception.
Labelling laws applicable to packaged foods in India :
1. The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976, and The Standards of
Weights and Measures ( Packaged Commodities ) Rules, 1977 (SWMA).
2. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,1954, and the prevention of Food
Adulteration Rules,1955 (PFA).
3. The Fruit Products Order,1955 (FPO).
4. The Meat Food Products Order,1973 (MFPO).
5. The Agmark Rules
49
SWMA
1. Regulation of quantities that can be packed in a certain product category (to
enable the consumer to make a comparative assessment of the prices of
competing brands).
2. Declarations to be made on every retail package:
(i) Common/generic name of the product
(ii) Net quantity (should be expressed in standard units like kg, grams, liter,
milliliter etc.).
Additional information is required to be furnished, where a simple
declaration of quantity by weight, measure or number alone is not
sufficient to give the consumer full information.
(a) In case of a concentrate – the dilution ratio
(b) In case of a dehydrated commodity – the reconstitution ratio
(c) In case of a product like gulab jamun mix – the number of gulab
jamuns that may be obtained from the mix and the weight of each
gulab jamun.
(iii) Retail sale price ( It should include all taxes ).
(iv) Unit sale price ( in certain cases ).
(v) Month and year of manufacturing.
(vi) Name and address of the manufacturer or packer.
The use of word like ‘minimum’, ‘not less than’, ‘about’, ‘giant’, ‘jumbo’,
‘economy’, ’large’, extra’, ’king’, etc is strictly prohibited.
The phrase “when packed” can accompany a quantity declaration only for
specified commodities.
All declarations “where practicable “ should appear together on the Principal
Display Panel, and should parallel to the base on which the package is
intended to rest.
Every declaration should be “legible, prominent, definite, plain, unambiguous
and conspicuous as to size, number and colour.
PFA
Objective: To protect the consumer’s health and safety.
The general declarations that are required to be made under PFA:
1. Name of the product
2. Net quantity
3. Month and year of manufacturing
4. Batch/code number
5. Name and address of the manufacturer or packer
6. List of ingredients in descending order of their composition
7. Nutrient quantities when claimed to be enriched.
Under these rules, the name of the product can be coined or fancy name but the
name or description of the food has to be given.
Label should not contain any statement, claim design, etc., which is false or
misleading in any way concerning the food.
In case of added colours, the label should carry the statement ‘CONTAINS
50
PERMITTED COLOURS’.
In case of extraneous flavours, the statement should read ‘CONTAINS ADDED
FLAVOURS’.
Every synthetic product should be clearly and conspicuously marked as
‘SYNTHETIC’. No package containing such product can have a label which may
lead the consumer into believing that it is a fruit product. Neither the word
‘FRUIT’ can be used in describing the product, nor can it be sold under the cover
of a label which carries a picture of a fruit.
When claimed to be enriched, the label should state the quantities of nutrients
present.
No label should carry any statement or wording implying that it has been
recommended, prescribed or approved by the medical profession or practitioners.
The declarations should be given either in English or Hindi in Devanagiri script.
The use of other languages in addition to one of the above is not prohibited.
There are exceptions to some of the rules. Declarations regarding month and year
of manufacturing need not be given for foods like milk, soft drinks, RTS
beverages and similar foods using returnable containers; bread, uncanned
vegetables, fruits, butter, meat, fish, etc. and foods weighing less than 20 g or
measuring 20 ml. For all foods weighing less than 60 g and for biscuits,
confectionery and sweets weighing not more than 120 g, net quantity and batch
number need not be given.
FPO
Objective : To regulate the quality and hygiene of fruits and

vegetable products including synthetic beverages, syrups,
sharabats and vinegar.
1. All labels should have the approval of the authorities concerned, and carry the
licence number allotted.
2. When a bottle is used as the package, it should be so sealed that it cannot be
opened without destroying the license number. Special identification mark of
the manufacturer should be displayed on the top or neck of the bottle. The
batch/code number along with the date of manufacturing should also be
declared.
MFPO
Objective : To regulate the licensing and labelling of all meat
products.
1. All labels have to be got approved by the licensing authority and the license
number and category of manufacturer should be declared on the label.
2. Name of the product.
3. Net quantity
4. Trade names ( should have prior approval of the licensing authority ).
5. The words ‘ Artifically Flavoured ‘ should appear on the label in prominent
letters, if used.
6. List of ingredients should be given.
7. No statement, word, picture or design which may convey a false impression or
give a false indication of origin or quality, can appear on the label.
51
AGMARK RULES
Objective: Relate to quality specifications and needs of certain agricultural
products (edible nuts, ghee, honey, pulses, spices and condiments
and vegetable oils) to be eligible for Agmark certification.
1. It specifies the type of packages that can be used for various products and
labelling declarations that have to be given.
TRENDS IN PACKAGING OF FRESH HORTICULTURAL PRODUCE
Traditional forms of packages (unscientific )
- Bamboo baskets
- Wooden boxes
- Gunny sacks
- Earthen pots
Advantages
- Cheaper
- Available locally
- Biodegradable
- Recyclable nature
- More familiarized with the rural horticultural produce growers
Disadvantages
- They are not rigid and stackable to protect the delicate texture and other
attributes of horticultural produce
- These containers ( except earthen pots ) are rough on its inside surface which
causes lot of bruises and injuries besides loosing water from the produce due
to their more ventilation.
- Nails used for fixing plywoods in case of wooden boxes can also cause
injuries to produce.
Properties of Various Packaging Materials
Paper and board
 No barrier without coatings
 Good stiffness
 Absorbent
 Low density
 Tear easily
 Not brittle
 Creasable
Metal
 Perfect barrier, if sealed
 Rigid
 High density
 May react with foods
 Good tensile strength
 Need joints and closures to form packs
52
Plastics
 Wide range of barrier properties
 Low density
 Flexible creasible
 Transparent
 Low stiffness
 Tensile and tear strength variable
Glass
 Perfect barrier, if sealed
 Rigid
 Brittle
 Inert towards foods
 High density
 Needs separate closure
 Transparent
53
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Post Harvest Technology of Horticultural Crops

Research · April 2017

Ramesh Kumar Goyal Surender Singh

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