College of Engineering and Technology

Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Visca, Baybay City, Leyte, PHILIPPINES
Telephone: (053) 525-0140 local 1015
Email: dabe@vsu.edu.ph
Website: www.vsu.edu.ph

5th Virtual
Class
ABEn 131. Module 3
Overview Postharvest Operations of AB
Materials
Dr. Roberto C. Guarte
Professor
20 November 2020 10:00-12:00 Noon
Updates on Class Activities and Reminders

At the end of the lecture, students are expected to:

1. Define Postharvest Technology
2. Identify the different types and causes of
Postharvest losses
3. Discuss the economic implications of
postharvest losses

b
Postharvest Technology
Postharvest technology (PT) includes all operations which
are required for processing of food, feed, and by-products on
farms between harvesting and consumption or further
industrial processing.
Components of Postharvest Technology:
1. Technical operations that include any of the following:
• Harvesting, separation, peeling, dehusking, cutting,
grinding, crushing, grating, pulping, expelling,
threshing, fermentation, preservation, handling,
cleaning, drying, storage, milling, and transport
2. Associated trading- and mal-practices
Postharvest Technology
Postharvest technology (PT) includes all operations which
are required for processing of food, feed, and by-products on
farms between harvesting and consumption or further
industrial processing.
Components of Postharvest Technology:
1. Technical operations - include any of the following:
▪ Harvesting, separation, peeling, dehusking, cutting,
grinding, crushing, grating, pulping, expelling,
threshing, fermentation, preservation, handling,
cleaning, drying, storage, milling, and transport, other
technical operations specific to the product
Postharvest Technology

2. Associated trading- and mal-practices

3. Financial credit, infrastructure and other factors
supporting the industry
4. Government incentives and programs
5. Set of biophysical, socio-cultural, institutional,
technical and economic environment
6. Attitudes and preferences of different sectors
Postharvest Technology

Operational components of PT include:

1. Product - refers primarily to the initial condition
2. Human - refers to unskilled/untrained
manpower
3. Technology - includes improved practices, tools
and equipment
Postharvest Technology
Role of PT in the Food System
The food system is composed of sub-systems:
1. Production - sufficient amount of food for the people
2. Credit Banks – provides financial assistance
3. Research and extension universities – provides technology and
technical assistance
4. Government - formulate and impose laws, policies, and
programs to facilitate production process
5. Postharvest Technology - ensures the movement of product
from the point of production to the point consumption with
minimum losses in terms of quality and quantity.
6. Consumers - recipients of the product in the food system
Postharvest Technology
1. Grains and cereals 3. Oily Plants
Rice Coconut
Corn Palm Oil
Wheat Jatropha
Sorghum
2. Starchy crops 4. Fruits
◼ Potato Mango
◼ Cassava Pineapple
◼ Sweet Potato Papaya
Causes and Effects of
Postharvest Losses
Causes of Postharvest Losses
1. Harvest of Unripe Products
o Reduction in content of valuable constituents
o Increase susceptibility against mechanical or thermal
treatment
o Reduction of germination ability
o Reduction of separation/cleaning efficiency
o Decrease in intensity of color and aroma/flavor
Causes of Postharvest Losses
2. Harvest of Overripe Products
o Shattering losses (grains, legumes)
o Losses due to climatic conditions
o Changes in aroma, flavor and appearance (coffee,
fruits)
o Contamination by microorganism or insects
o Formation of mycotoxins
Causes of Postharvest Losses
3. Improper Harvesting
o Mechanical damage (grains, legumes, tubers, fruits)
o Picking losses (figs, apricots, coconuts, tea)

4. Intermediate Storage in the Field

o Losses due to microorganism growth
o Losses due to rodents and birds
o Contamination with insects
o Losses due to climatic condition (rain)
Causes of Postharvest Losses
5. Transport and Conveying
o Shattering losses (grains, legumes)
o Mechanical damage (fruits)
o Enzymatic reactions (root crops, vegetables)
o Growth of microorganisms (fish, fruits)
6. Separation Process
o Threshing losses (grains, legumes)
o Mechanical damage (fruits)
o Pedling losses (tubers, fruits)
Causes of Postharvest Losses
7. Chemical Pre-treatment
o Non-uniform dipping (grapes, apricots)
o High concentration of antioxidants, sulphur (apricots)
o High or low salt concentration (fish, meat)
o Hindering of germination of roots and tubers by
hazardous chemicals)

8. Fermentation
o Improper fermentation (cocoa, coffee, tea, tobacco,
vegetables)
Causes of Postharvest Losses
9. Drying
o Non-uniform drying
o Insufficient drying (rainy season)
o Change of sensorial properties due to enzymatic reactions
o Losses due to insects, birds, and rodents
o Theft
o Contamination with dust
o Contamination with pathogenic microorganisms or substances
o Growth of microorganisms due to long drying time Formation of
mycotoxins
Causes of Postharvest Losses
10. Storage
o Losses due to adverse weather conditions
o Losses due to rodents and insects
o Contamination with animal excrements
o Respiration losses
o Change of sensory properties due to microorganism growth
o Oxidation of fatty acids (copra, nuts, oil seeds)
o Formation of mycotoxins (copra, nuts, peanuts, corn)
o Contamination with pesticide residuals (Lindan, malathione,
phospane)
o Bag storage favors losses due to insects and rodents
Causes of Postharvest Losses
11. Processing
o Milling losses
o Peeling losses
o Extraction losses (sugar, coconut oil, palm oil, starch)
12. Packaging
o Weight losses and reduction of quality due to packaging
material, which is not adapted to the product
- Air tight Dry meat, dry fish
- Air permeable Tubers, grains
- Lightproof Dried fruits, medicinal plants
 Rice Production
and Postharvest Operations
I. Rice Origin, Distribution, and Description
1.1 Description
▪ Rice is a cereal grain (Oryza
sativa) of the grass family
(Graminae)

▪ It is probably native to the deltas of the great Asian rivers—the

Ganges, the Chang (Yangtze), and the Tigris and Euphrates. a
different grass plant.
I. Rice Origin, Distribution, and Description
1.2 Origin and distribution

▪ According to Chang (1976), domestication of rice in Asia may

have occurred independently at about same time in many
places along a broad belt extending from the Ganges Plains
below the eastern foothills of the Himalayas, across northern
Burma, northern Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, to Southwest and
South China.
I. Rice Origin, Distribution, and Description
1.2 Origin and distribution

▪ Japanese analysis on variations in isoenzymic genotypes in

native rice varieties showed that the center of genetic diversity
exists in the area of Assam India and Yunnan China (Nakagahra
and Hayashi 1977).

▪ Therefore they concluded that the area is the origin of cultivated

rice and it was broadly accepted up to early 1990s.
I. Rice Origin and Distribution
1.2 Origin and distribution

▪ However Korean archaeologist Ahn Sung-Mo insisted in his

book(1999) that middle and lower Yangtze river is the origin of
cultivated rice based on the earliest archaeological evidences in
China.
I. Rice Origin and Distribution
1.2 Origin and distribution

Figure 1. The origin and diffusion of rice.

II. Rice Production
2.1 Introduction

▪ Rice is the staple in the diet for much of the world. It runs a close
second to wheat in its importance as a food cereal in the human
diet.

▪ About 560 Million Metric Tons of rice is grown annually compared to

600 MMT for wheat, 300 MMT for oil seeds, and 900 MMT for coarse
grains (corn, sorghum, barley, oats, rye, millet and mixed grains.
II. Rice Production
2.2 World Production

Figure 6. World Top Rice Producers

II. Rice Production

Figure 7. Top Rice Exporters

II. Rice Production

Figure 8. Top Five Rice Importers

II. Rice Production
2.3. Environmental Factors
1. Temperature:
▪ Longer sunshine durations during establishment stage
particularly in the coastal rice-growing region would enhance
rice yield.
▪ In the upland and inland regions shorter day length would
promote rice yields.
▪ Rice-weather relationship analysis in Coastal region has
revealed a warm sunny and calm weather is favorable for
sustainable rice productivity
▪ . In the Upland region rice crop would be sustainable in cool,
cloudy and moist conditions.
II. Rice Production
2.3. Environmental Factors

2. Rainfall - In normal rainfall year:

• Autumn rice - 450-550 mm
• Winter rice - 600-720 mm and
• summer rice - 775-875 mm

Note: Water requirement was computed using CROPWAT 4.0

model
II. Rice Production
2.4. The Growth Stages

Figure 5. Rice growth

stages
II. Rice Production
2.5. Production Factors

1. Soils
2. Irrigation

Figure 10. The depth of the water layer may vary during
the growing season.
II. Rice Production
2.6. Disease and Insect Pests
1. Rice Thrips (RTH): Stenchaetothrips biformis (Bagnall)
(Thysanoptera: Thripidae )

Figure 11. Infested crop of RTH

II. Rice Production
2.6. Disease and Insect Pests
2. Brown Plant Hopper (BPH): Nilapavata lugens (Stal) (Homoptera:
Delphacidae)

Figure 12. Infested with BPH

II. Rice Production
2.6. Disease and Insect Pests
3. Yellow Stem Borer (YSB): Scirpophaga incertulas (Lepidoptera:
Pyralidae)

Figure 13. Infested with

YSB
II. Rice Production
2.6. Disease and Insect Pests
4. Rice Leaffolders (RLF): Cnaphalocrocis medinalis; Marasmia spp.
(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Figure 14. Infested with

RLF
II. Rice Production
2.6. Disease and Insect Pests
5. Rice Gall Midge (RGM): Orselia oryzae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

Figure 15. Infested with

RGM
II. Rice Production
2.6. Disease and Insect Pests
6. Paddy bug (PB): Leptocorisa oratorius (Hemiptera: Alydidae)

Figure 16. Infested with

PB
III. Postharvest Technology of Rice
3.1. Introduction
• Postharvest technology (PT) includes all operations which are
required for processing of food, feed, and by-products on farms
between harvesting and consumption or further industrial
processing.
• Postharvest technology implies the inclusion of harvesting, the
common intersection between production technology and
postharvest technology.

• The conditions of the products during harvesting influence the

quality during PH.
Postharvest Problems of Rice
▪ Inefficient harvesting and handling methods
▪ Labor shortage during harvest season
▪ Harvesting immature and over-mature crops
▪ Poor processing techniques
▪ Limited drying facility
▪ Intermittent weather conditions (rainfall exposure)
▪ Lack of storage facilities
▪ Rough transportation/load/unload
▪ No or poor access to new technology
▪ No farmers friendly business model
Postharvest Operations of Rice
1. Harvesting (cutting – field drying – hauling)
2. Stacking/Piling - Threshing (and winnowing)
3. Moisture control (drying)
4. Fine cleaning (for seed)
5. Bagging
6. Fumigation (for seed)
7. Storage (paddy storage)
8. Parboiling & milling
9. Transportation - Marketing
Postharvest Operations of Rice
Pre-drying
in field

Harvesting
Hauling Threshing Winnowing Drying
Start

Parboiling and drying Storage

For milling
Utilization by Milling
Consumer
End Processing (pre
Packaging cleaning, fine
Cleaning, grading)
and fumigation
for seed

Figure 17. Schematic showing the postharvest operations of rice processing

Postharvest Technology of Rice
1. Harvesting

Manual
Hand-operated
Harvester
Combine Harvester
Postharvest Technology of Rice
2. Field Pre-Drying

▪ Normally done for 2-3 days under

the heat of the sun
Postharvest Technology of Rice
3. Threshing

▪ Small scale pedal or engine-

operated threshers ▪ Medium size threshers
Postharvest Technology of Rice
4. Winnowing

▪ Combined
threshing and
winnowing
▪ Winnowing done through the help of
external fan or blowers
Postharvest Technology of Rice
5. Drying

Traditional sun drying

Mechanical drying

Drying with Storage

Postharvest Technology of Rice
5. Drying

Low-cost dryer

Flat bed dryer

Industrial scale drying

Postharvest Technology of Rice
6. Parboiling

▪ Soaking of paddy (min 12 hours)

▪ Parboiling with steam(5-10 min)
▪ Drying (12-16%)
Postharvest Technology of Rice
7. Storage

Storage IRRI Super bag

Cocoon bag storage
Hermetic bag storage
Postharvest Technology of Rice
7. Storage

Warehouse Bag storage

Steel storage bins

Postharvest Technology of Rice
8. Milling

Village level rubber roll-type rice mill

Large-scale rice mill facilities

Ultimate Objectives of Postharvest
▪ Food Safety

▪ Quality assurance

▪ Better storage

▪ Better protection from pests

▪ Reduce losses (quantity & quality)

▪ Better marketing opportunities

Thank you!

Entrance to the VSU Upper Campus