Postharvest Handling of Fruit Vegetables

果菜類因可於夏季彌補蔬菜之不足值得重視，但採收後仍有失水、失重、變色、腐敗等問題，必須妥善處理才可保持良好之品質。導致損失之原因除生理障礙外，還包括機械傷害，採收後病蟲害等問題，而採收後處理主要以包裝、緩衝等保護措施，降低溫度，調整氣體濃度等抑制損耗的措施，以及運銷期間經常保持冷藏狀態的冷鏈，均為保持良好品質，減少損失之重要手段。本文並介紹作者等對茄子、甜椒、虹豆、苦瓜、毛豆等果菜類的採收後處理試驗，其結果顯示，降低溫度均可減少內容成分之損耗，但有些果菜如茄子、甜椒為易受寒害之果實則必須注意，勿貯藏於臨界溫度以下。薄膜包裝可減少果菜之失水現象，惟薄膜之透氣性必須適度，透性差時易發生無氧呼吸，有發酵味產生，而透性大時失水嚴重，造成縐縮乾扁等不良之現象。乙烯亦為促進後熟、老化之因素，若於包裝袋內添加乙烯吸收劑，則可減少黃化，老化及腐損之發生。 The fruit vegetables can meet the needs of vegetables during summer time when the supplying of other vegetables are shortening.There are still some postharvest problems remained to be solved, such as, lossing of moisture, weight loss, discoloration, quality deterioration, which might enhance the commercial loss, and they should be delicately handled. The postharvest loss of fruit vegetables including physiological disorder, mechanical damage, postharvest diseases and pests infestation. The technics to prevent losses are protective packaging by lining and padding,and lowering the storage temperature, modifying (or controlling) the atmosphere gases, and the so called ¡¥cold chain¡¨which keeps the commodities in constant cold temperature along with the whole marketing period. In this presentation, the results of some researches on fruit vegetables such as on eggplant, sweet pepper, yard-long bean, bitter gourd and vegetable soybean are also introduced. That is, cold temperature storage can inhibit the respiration rates and reduce the losses of some endogenous constituents, but the storage temperatures are not benificial when they are below the critical temperature of chilling injury. Packaging with plastic films can reduce the moisture loss in the fruits. Yet the permeability of gases should be taken into consideration. A less permeable film might cause oxygen deficiency and result in fermentation, and a more permeable film might cause loss of moisture and result in dryness and shrinkage. Ethylene is a promotor of ripening and senenscence, and should be removed from the surroundings of fruit vegetables. Ethylene absorbent which made of alkali potassium permanganate carried by vermiculite can reduce the atmospheric ethylene and keep the vegetables more fresh and green, thus reduce the loss