Post-harvest management of horticultural crops is crucial as it can significantly affect the crop shelf life and quality. This management is necessary from harvest until the crops reach the customers. The post-harvest management is critical as it enables one to know the shelf life, taste, color, flavor, texture, and appearance of the crops, achieve high prices, know pest management, maintain freshness, increase sales of crops, and reduce contamination. This management takes place after the harvesting of the horticultural crop products, and proper handling of the crops prevents them from getting damaged.
Several post-harvest techniques have been developed and used before crops reach the market. These techniques include pre-cooling, cleaning/washing, trimming/sorting, curing, grading, waxing, chemical treatments, packaging, transportation, storage, ripening, and distribution. These technologies determine the final quality of horticultural crops, which are then sold for fresh consumption.