Postharvest Pathology of Fruit and Nut Crops: Principles, Concepts, and Management Practices

Postharvest pathology is one of the most essential considerations in producing an agricultural commodity and is critical in minimizing not only crop losses but also the entire economic investment related to growing, harvesting, packing, transporting, and marketing a commodity. Understanding postharvest pathology is crucial for providing fresh, unspoiled produce to consumers.

Postharvest Pathology of Fruit and Nut Crops: Principles, Concepts, and Management Practices is the most complete guide to postharvest diseases ever published. This new book provides current reports of postharvest diseases of fruit and nut crops around the world.

Part I offers an overview of postharvest pathology principles, concepts, and management strategies, including alternative approaches that have emerged in response to the increasing number of fungicide-resistant fungal strains and growing concerns about the effects of fungicides on human health and the environment. Part II discusses postharvest diseases of fruit and nut crops of temperate zones, and Part III focuses on fruit crops of semi-arid, subtropical, and tropical zones.

The 20 crop-specific chapters in Parts II and III are organized similarly and provide descriptions of the importance and cultivation of the crop and reviews of related major and minor postharvest diseases, covering the etiology of the causal agent, disease symptoms, disease cycles, and epidemiology. Each chapter concludes with the latest integrated management practices, including biological, chemical, and cultural treatments. Two appendixes catalog fungal pathogens that cause diseases of selected fruit and nut crops and bacterial pathogens that cause diseases of selected fruit crops.

Editors James E. Adaskaveg, Helga Förster, and Dov B. Prusky have compiled information from 36 researchers with a wide knowledge of specific crops to complete this book, which serves as a single and singular resource for researchers, growers, and students looking for the most up-to-date knowledge about postharvest diseases.