Post-Harvest Technology, Value Addition and Marketing
This domain tests maturity indices, harvesting, precooling, grading, packaging, storage, value addition, food standards and marketing efficiency. Horticultural produce is perishable, so every handling step affects loss and price.
Core rules
- Harvest at correct maturity: physiological maturity for storage, commercial maturity for distant markets.
- Precooling removes field heat; cold chain continuity matters more than a single cold storage step.
- Ethylene promotes ripening in climacteric fruits; ventilation and ethylene absorbers reduce spoilage.
- Grading and packaging reduce bruising; MAP modifies oxygen and carbon dioxide around produce.
- Value addition includes juice, pulp, jam, dried products and minimally processed packs; FSSAI and AGMARK are quality/food safety references.
- Marketing channels affect price spread; e-NAM and FPOs aim to improve farmer access.
Worked example
Farmer receives ₹20/kg and consumer pays ₹35/kg. Farmer’s share = 20 ÷ 35 × 100 = 57.1%. Middlemen gross margin = ₹15/kg, or 42.9% of consumer price. If transport is ₹3/kg and wastage ₹2/kg, net margins differ from gross margins.
Traps
- Treating all fruits as climacteric.
- Confusing gross margin with net margin.
- Ignoring wastage and transport in price spread.
- Using ethylene for non-climacteric produce.
- Mixing FSSAI and AGMARK roles.