Major Causes of Postharvest Decline in Fresh Produce

• The main causes for postharvest decline in fresh produce are mechanical damage, respiration, transpiration, ethylene, and senescence.
• The importance of each cause varies across classes of fresh produce, including root vegetables, leafy vegetables, flower vegetables, immature fruit vegetables, and mature fruits.
• Adequate technology adoption can significantly reduce postharvest decline.

Around 40-50% of fruits and vegetables are lost during the postharvest stages before they reach retailers. The causes of fresh produce decline are many and common. However, not all factors affect every fresh produce, and not to the same extent. The causes of decline vary by type of fresh produce. Therefore, the same postharvest management strategy cannot be suitable for preserving the quality and quantity of fresh produce. To design optimal postharvest programs, stakeholders must identify the leading causes of their products’ decline. This article can help by covering the top causes of postharvest decline across major fresh produce categories.

The Various Causes of Postharvest Decline

Postharvest losses occur in both developing and developed countries, though they are heavier in the former. Fresh produce loss covers post-harvest decline that occurs during the farm, packing, sorting, storage, and transport stages before it reaches retailers (see Figure 1). Postharvest decline is the loss of quality and quantity of fresh produce. The quality loss involves an undesirable change in appearance, taste, flavor, odor, and nutritional value. These can include alterations in peel and pulp color, texture, firmness, sweetness, tartness, wilting, shriveling, or vitamin loss.

Fresh produce is highly perishable due to its unique morphological and physiological features, since fruits and vegetables remain living even after harvest. The factors that lead to the decline of fresh produce can be internal physiological processes or responses to external conditions. Each of these causes is discussed further next.

Internal Causes of Postharvest Decline

Physiological and biological factors that lead to a loss of quality and yield include respiration, transpiration, senescence, ethylene production, harvest maturity, and preharvest factors (see Table 1).

Preharvest Factors

Growing conditions and agricultural management practices will influence the development of quality parameters and postharvest shelf-life. These include cultivar selection, field preparation, planting time, pruning, and pest, disease, nutrient, and water management. Several physiological disorders arise from nutrient deficiencies; for example, bitter pit and blossom-end rot result from calcium deficiency.

Figure 1: The different stages in the supply chain of fresh produce, Liu et al. (2025). (Image credits: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023643825014665)

 Harvest maturity

The maturity of fresh produce at harvest is very crucial. Fresh produce is consumed at vegetative, flowering, and fruiting stages. Each piece of fresh produce should be harvested at the appropriate maturity stage to preserve quality, meet consumer preferences, and allow adequate time for transport and storage.

Respiration

As living entities, fresh produce continues to respire after harvest throughout the postharvest phase. So, carbohydrates are used in the presence of oxygen (O2) to provide energy, generating heat and carbon dioxide (CO2). A high respiratory rate can trigger ethylene production, ripening, and senescence, thereby shortening shelf life. Fresh produce has varying respiration rates and is controlled by lowering temperature and gas composition in controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage and transport, and by modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP).

Transpiration

Fresh produce has high water content, ranging from 76 to 94%, depending on the species and part of the plant used. Every fresh produce, vegetative parts, fruits, roots, and tubers all transpire and lose water vapor, which is not replaced. It causes wilting, shriveling, loss of firmness and glossiness, weight loss, quality loss, and reduced shelf life. A 5% water loss alters the quality. Low temperatures and high relative humidity can help control transpiration, which continues throughout the postharvest phases.

Ethylene production

Ethylene is a natural phytohormone produced by plants and is essential for various processes. Though useful, the unintentional production of exogenous ethylene by anthropogenic sources can trigger endogenous ethylene production in fresh produce, hastening the fruit ripening of climacteric fruits. Many species and plant parts are sensitive to exogenous ethylene, which can increase respiration, enhance sensitivity to pathogens, promote decay, and cause yellowing, leading to a loss of quality and quantity. Ethylene monitoring and control are necessary in storage and transport facilities to keep its level low.

Senescence

Premature senescence is among the top two causes of postharvest food loss in fresh produce. Many postharvest measures to extend shelf life can be stress factors that increase senescence or decay, such as chilling injury in cold storage, high CO2, high ethylene, and low light. It causes yellowing, necrosis, and browning. Senescence is caused by programmed cell death, ethylene, and lower cell energy availability. Decaying is a problem in sorting, storage, packaging, and transport, and can be limited by physical and chemical treatments, CA storage, and MAP packaging.

Table 1: “Important types of postharvest horticultural losses, quality deterioration, and food safety problems encountered by produce handlers and marketers,” Kitinoja and Kader (2015). (Credits: https://ucdavis.app.box.com/s/624ykm2s98arwm0oj24nabj30rl7zsrx)

External Factors of Postharvest Decline

Environmental conditions, such as temperature, relative humidity, and gas composition, as well as biotic stresses, including microbial spoilage, pests, and mechanical damage, contribute to a decline in the quality and quantity of fresh produce throughout the supply chain; see Table 1.

Environmental factors

High temperatures can increase respiration, transpiration, and unplanned ripening, leading to a shorter shelf life. Moreover, extreme temperatures can cause heat stress and chilling injury. While low relative humidity (RH) can increase transpiration. Lowering temperatures and maintaining RH at 90-95% are standard methods for limiting postharvest decline.

In addition to ethylene, the proportions of O2 and CO2 in air are also crucial for determining postharvest decline. The usual ambient O2 levels of 20% by volume and CO2 levels of 0.04% are altered in controlled-atmosphere storage and MAP packs to extend shelf life and make food safer. Lowering O2 levels below 5% reduces respiration and ethylene production. Increasing CO2 levels limit respiration, ethylene production, and microbial activity. The exact combination of O2 and CO2 varies by each type of fresh produce, as does the optimal temperature.

The environmental factors are crucial immediately after harvest and throughout the postharvest chain. Therefore, for many fresh produce items, there is an emphasis on immediate precooling and getting them to CA facilities.

Mechanical damage

Mechanical damage is the leading cause of postharvest losses, accounting for 30–40% of the harvest. Mechanical damage types include impact, puncture, compression, vibration, and friction. Mechanical damage results in bruising, breaking, cracking, or internal injuries. It can lead to a loss of color, texture, flavor, nutrition, and water. Damage to external tissue also increases the risk of microbial spoilage by facilitating pathogen entry and suppressing defense mechanisms, and leads to nutrient leakage. Internal factors, such as cultivars and harvest maturity, and external factors, such as environment, light, packaging, and operations, influence the outcome of mechanical damage. Careful handling and appropriate packaging types can be crucial to minimizing mechanical damage.

Microbiological factors

The high nutrient and water content of fresh produce makes it an ideal breeding site for bacteria and fungi. Microbial spoilage can start during harvest, storage, and packaging. Fungi are the leading cause of microbial spoilage, and Colletotrichum spp. causes the most damage among the fungal pathogens. Other important fungal pathogens include Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Botrytis cinerea, and Penicillium spp. The most prevalent bacterial pathogens include Escherichia coli, Listeria spp., and Salmonella spp. Microbes spread rapidly, reducing quality and shelf life. Moreover, they produce several metabolites that are neurotoxic and carcinogenic, mycotoxins, or aflatoxins, which are harmful or even lethal to humans and animals.

Macrobiological factors

Several pests can cause postharvest losses by feeding on fresh produce. These can be insects, moths, beetles, or rodents. They can reduce the quantity that can be sold, as affected fresh produce must be rejected. Moreover, there is a risk of pathogen transmission. The risk of pests and rodents is highest during storage.

The key factors affecting different categories of fresh produce are discussed below.

Different Categories of Fresh Produce

Depending on the type of fresh produce and its horticultural maturity, the factors affecting it can differ in importance. Horticultural maturity is the stage at which the plant part meets the necessary criteria for consumer use and is harvested. These can be seedlings, leaves, flowers, roots, immature fruits, and mature fruits. According to Kitinoja and Kader (2015), the vulnerabilities of fresh produce vary with horticultural maturity, determining which factor causes their decline.

Root Vegetables

Root vegetables are crops in which underground plant parts, such as roots, tubers, bulbs, or rhizomes, are used as staple foods, vegetables, or raw materials in industry (chips, sago, etc.). For example, beets, carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, tapioca, cassava, and ginger. The main causes, according to importance, of their postharvest decline are as follows:

1. Mechanical injuries
2. Improper curing
3. Sprouting and rooting
4. Shriveling due to transpiration
5. Heat stress and chilling injury, including decay in tropical and subtropical root crops
6. Microbes and insect pests

Several traditional practices are in use, especially in developing countries. Based on the factors that cause decline, the appropriate handling is as follows:

• Minimize mechanical damage and improve curing: To prevent mechanical damage, gentle harvesting and handling are necessary. It should be followed by curing as soon as possible to reduce diseases and transpiration. Use clean containers of uniform size for convenient and efficient stacking
• Control sprouting: Refrigerated cold storage with CA above 2°C and 12°C to prevent chilling injury in potatoes and yams, respectively. Low temperatures also protect against decay caused by mechanical damage, reduce sprouting and rooting, and reduce transpiration and heat stress. Chemical sprouting inhibitors are also used.
• Shriveling and disease control: Applying a wax coating and chemical treatments also helps reduce water loss due to transpiration and the entry of pathogens, thereby controlling diseases.
• Pest control: Over 60% yam can be destroyed by moths and insects. Good hygiene, preharvest inter-cultivation practices, and chemical-free insecticides can be used.

Leafy Vegetables

Greens, lettuce, chard, cabbage, spinach, spring onions, and microgreens are among the most popular leafy vegetables. Their postharvest decline factors, according to importance, are as follows:

1. Wilting due to transpiration
2. Loss of green color or yellowing due to ethylene
3. Mechanical injuries
4. Relatively high respiration rates
5. Decay

Leafy vegetables have a very high moisture content, respiration, and sensitivity to ethylene, and have some of the lowest shelf life among fresh produce.

• Precooling: After field sorting and cleaning, precooling before packaging is recommended to reduce transpiration, respiration, and decay. The methods of precooling to 0-5 °C are vacuum cooling and hydrocooling. Hydrocooling should be followed by water drainage; it also helps in microbial control.
• Reducing mechanical damage: Since leafy vegetables are very sensitive, automated handling and vision-based sorting are recommended. Vibration during transport should also be reduced.
• Ozone treatment: Ozone is a good sanitizing agent against microbes.
• Ethylene control: Ethylene can be controlled to limit yellowing and decay through scavengers in MAP, air monitoring in CA, and using 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) technology.

Flower Vegetables

Flower vegetables with unopened inflorescence include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and artichokes. The main causes, according to importance, of postharvest decline are as follows:

1. Mechanical injuries
2. Yellowing and other discolorations due to ethylene
3. Abscission of florets
4. Decay

The causes of decline can be controlled by the following measures:

• Handling: Careful handling is necessary to prevent mechanical damage and floret abscission. Specialized equipment may be used during mechanized harvesting to avoid damage.
• Precooling: Flower vegetables are sensitive to moisture loss and should be cooled for a sufficient time to ensure complete cooling, for example, to below 5°C for cauliflowers. Loss of over 5% makes cauliflower soft. Hydrocooling, vacuum cooling, and ice cooling are the commonly used methods.
• Control ethylene: Low-temperature, controlled-atmosphere storage and packaging, and air monitoring are necessary to manage ethylene levels during storage and transport.
• Prevent decay: Packaging in ventilated containers helps prevent moisture buildup. Low oxygen and high CO2 are recommended during storage and packaging.

Immature-fruit Vegetables

Several common vegetables are fruits harvested before they mature, still green, including cucumbers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, beans, peppers, peas, sweet corn, and okra. The factors, according to importance, that cause their postharvest decline are as follows:

1. Over-maturity at harvest
2. Shriveling due to transpiration
3. Bruising and other mechanical injuries
4. Chilling injury
5. Decay

The various postharvest practices in order of importance are discussed below.

• Maturity indices: Using maturity indices such as peel color, firmness, weight, fruit size and shape, titrable acidity, and soluble sugar content can help growers identify the optimal maturity stage for harvest. If these vegetables stay on the plant longer, they begin to ripen, lose their value as vegetables, and have a shorter shelf life.
• Precooling: Cooling as soon as possible to remove field heat, using vacuum cooling, hydrocooling, and air cooling, can reduce transpiration and decay.
• Handling: Proper harvesting methods to avoid cuts and bruising, and reducing subsequent handling can minimize mechanical damage. Ensuring clean tools, surfaces, and containers can help limit the spread of disease.
• Ethylene control: Many of the immature fruit vegetables are sensitive to ethylene and can ripen and decay faster, or undergo loss of color, texture, and flavor. So, cold CA storage and MAP packaging with controlled O2, CO2, and ethylene are necessary to extend shelf life and prevent decay.
• Temperature control: All vegetables except peas and sweet corn are susceptible to chilling injury. So, while cold storage is recommended, the temperatures should not be too low. The exact temperatures below which chilling injury begins can vary among vegetables: 5 °C for snap and lima beans, 7.5 °C for peppers, 10 °C for eggplant, okra, and cucumber, and 12.5 °C for pumpkins. RH of 90-95% is suitable for most vegetables except pumpkin and squash that need 60–70%.

Mature Vegetables and Fruits

Mature fruits are harvested when fully mature in climacteric fruits, which produce a significant amount of ethylene, and when ripe for non-climacteric fruits. Examples include tomatoes, apples, bananas, melons, citrus, mangoes, grapes, and stone fruits. The factors causing their postharvest decline, according to importance, are:

1. Mechanical damage, mainly bruising
2. Late harvest leading to over-ripeness and softening
3. Transpiration
4. Chilling injury in tropical fruits
5. Internal compositional changes
6. Decay

• Handling: Mature fruits are softer and more prone to mechanical damage than immature fruits. They must be harvested carefully, avoiding dropping and throwing. Damage can also occur during transport and storage.
• Maturity indices: Using maturity indices based on peel color, firmness, and internal composition, like titrable acidity, soluble sugar content, and dry matter, can help growers fix the correct harvest time so that the fruits are not harvested too early or too late, both of which can affect quality, shorten shelf-life, and lead to rejection by consumers.
• Environmental control: Controlling temperature, RH, and gas composition in storage, transport, and packaging can minimize respiration, transpiration, unwanted ripening, and senescence. It can also reduce unwanted internal composition changes by controlling ripening and senescence. Care should be taken to maintain temperatures for tropical fruits and other sensitive crops prone to chilling injury.

Adequate and Appropriate Technology Adoption

Management practices during the postharvest stages can either contribute to the decline of fresh produce or reduce it. Unfortunately, technology adoption is uneven across the globe and among producers with different operational sizes. Lack of or non-adoption of cooling infrastructure, proper handling, hygiene controls, good transport conditions, and environmental controls can lead to significant loss of fresh produce. Technology can be relevant and cost-effective for small and mid-sized operators, reducing losses and optimizing storage, ripening, and transport. Check out the gas analyzers and quality control tools offered by Felix Instruments Applied Food Science, customized for the fresh produce supply chain.

Contact us to find out more about our precision tools for your postharvest management needs.

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