Chemicals have played an important role in improving the lives of millions of people worldwide. The use of chemicals has been integrated into every aspect of human life. In agriculture, the safe and effective use of agrochemicals, especially pesticides, has successfully been carried out to solve various problems. These include: hunger; preand postharvest losses due to insects, weeds, fungi; and...

Commercial regulation of ripening is currently achieved through early harvest, by controlling the postharvest storage atmosphere and genetic selection for slow or late ripening varieties. Although these approaches are often effective, they are not universally applicable and often result in acceptable, but poor quality, products. With increased understanding of the molecular biology underlying r...

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) plays a key role in the postharvest pericarp browning of litchi fruit, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we cloned the litchi PPO gene (LcPPO, JF926153), and described its expression patterns. The LcPPO cDNA sequence was 2120 bps in length with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1800 bps. The ORF encoded a polypeptide with 599 amino acid residues,...

The past twenty years has seen the field of postharvest biocontrol evolve into a sophisticated science with global research programs worldwide, numerous yearly publications, patented technologies, and the development of new commercial products. The use of these products, however, still remains limited. The practical application of postharvest biocontrol has changed from a very classical view of...

Preand postharvest contamination of aflatoxin in maize is a major health deterrent for people in Africa where maize production has increased dramatically. This chapter highlights management options for preand postharvest toxin contamination in maize. Sound crop management practices are an effective way of avoiding, or at least diminishing, infection by Aspergillus jlavus and subsequent aflatoxi...