Post-harvest handling of bananas © University of Greenwich

The Natural Resources Institute undertakes research on the post-harvest quality management of a wide range of perishable food crops. These include high value fruit and vegetable crops, which provide a means for income generation through both domestic and export markets, and root and tuber crops that are more commonly used as domestic staples. Research focuses on assurance of produce quality, efficient supply chain management and marketing.

 

NRI collaborates with national programmes in many countries. In such collaborations, a multi-disciplinary, participative approach is taken to solving the problems and exploiting the opportunities that these crops provide for improving the incomes of poor people. In-country work is supported by laboratory-based strategic studies.

 

Key Research Areas

• Development and improvement of post-harvest treatments against pest, pathogens and physiological disorders, with emphasis on non-chemical methods.
• Improvement of handling and transport of perishables for domestic markets
• Improvement of handling and transport of high-value produce for export, including the use of controlled and modified atmospheres.
• Quality assurance systems and techniques, including application of HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points).
• Market legislation and requirements.
• Development of post-harvest technologies and management systems to improve the marketability and value of horticultural produce;
• Quality assessment techniques, with emphasis on non-invasive techniques such as electronic volatile sensors and chlorophyll fluorescence.
• The application of ethical trading standards for export produce

Post-graduate research

Packaging tomatoes for the retail trade © University of Greenwich

Opportunities exist for postgraduates to work with the upstream research programme. Current post-graduate research topics include:

• Improving the handling and storage of fresh sweet potato
• Mechanisms for alleviating oxidant stress after wounding of sweet potato storage roots
• Systems for detecting and identifying internal disorders of yam using gas sensor arrays
• The potential of chlorophyll fluorescence for assessing quality of fruit and vegetables
• The effect of organic production methods on the post-harvest quality of fruits
• Mechanism of post-harvest modification of internal gas atmosphere of fruit in resistance to fungus A
• New Approach to the Analysis of Progressive Change in Food Quality by Isothermal Calorimetry
• Investigation of in vivo chlorophyll fluorescence as a non-invasive tool for optimising P-H storage
• Investigation of the role of pectate lyase in banana fruit softening using gene transformation techniques
• Changes in post-harvest physiology and biochemistry in response to organic production systems

Staff

Debbie Rees
John Orchard
Andrew Graffham
Andy Hall
Ulrich Kleih
Keith Tomlins
Andrew Westby

Projects

A0500 -- Improving the quality and value of non-grain starch staples

A0946 -- Development of integrated protocols to safeguard the quality of fresh yams.

A0687 -- Developing integrated post-harvest techniques to enhance small-holder livelihoods in India.

C1210 Assessment of trial shipments of selected varieties of mango by CA container to UK and other export markets

A0931 Optimisation of Horticulture Research and Uptake in India.

A0895 Development of technical and managerial quality assurance systems, particularly post-harvest handling operations, to optimise supply chain management of horticultural produce

A0892 Improving the livelihoods of peri-urban vegetable growers, promotion of indigenous vegetables

A0918 Improved quality assurance systems for fresh fruit and vegetables produced by resource poor farmers

 

Publications

Rees, D., Kapinga, R., Mtunda, K., Chilosa, D., Rwiza, E., Kilima, M., Kiozya, H. and Munisi, R. (2001). Effect of Damage on market value and shelf-life of sweet potato in urban markets of Tanzania. Tropical Science. In press

Aked, J., Wainwright, H., Rees, D. and Westby, A. (2000) A review of the post-harvest research issues for cooking banana and plantain with specific reference to Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania. Acta Horticulturae 540, 529-537.

Ndunguru, G.T., Westby, A., Gidamis, A. and Tomlins, K.I. (2000) Losses in sweet potato quality during post-harvest handling in Tanzania. African Potato Association Conference Proceedings 5, 477-479.

Tomlins, K.I., Ndunguru, G.T., Rwiza, E. and Westby, A. (2000) Postharvest handling, transport and quality of sweet potato in Tanzania. Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 75, 586-590.

Dadzie, B.K. (1999) A guide to banana production in Jamaica. Natural Resources Institute. 192 Pages.

Smith, L., Metcalfe, E. and Taylor, S. (1999). Olfactory analysis of postharvest apples by an electronic sensing device. Proc. Int. Symp. On Effect of Pre- and Post- Harvest Factors on Storage of Fruit. Ed. L. Michalczuk. Acta Horticulturae. 485, ISHS 1999.

Taylor, S.J. (1999). Trial shipment of selected varieties of mangoes by CA container to UK and Hong Kong. NRI report. September 1999 249pp.

Westby, A., Kleih, U., Hall, A., Ndunguru, G., Crentsil, D., Bockett, G. And Graffham, A. (1999) Needs assessment in post-harvest research and development. In Decision Tools in Sustainable Development, Chapter 6. Edited by I. Grant and C. Sear. Natural Resources Institute, Chatham. ISBN 0 85954 500-8.

Westby, A., Henry, G., Best, R., Sourang, C., Bokanga, M. and Kapinga, R.,. (1998) Towards a Global Strategy for Cassava Development. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 75, 111-114.

Bancroft, R. D. Crentsil, A. Gray, S. Gallat and S. Gogoe (1998). The Marketing System for Fresh Yams in Techiman, Ghana and Associated Post-Harvest Losses. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 75, 115-119.

Bancroft, R., Crentsil. D. and Westby, A. (1998) Preliminary assessment of the marketing systems for Yam in Ghana. In L'igname, plante seculaire et culture d'avenir. Actes du seminaire international CIRAD/INRA/ORSTOM/CORAF. Pp. 343-345. Ed.

Berthaud, J., Bricas, N. and Merchand, J.-L. , 3-6 June 1997, Montpellier, France.

Bancroft, R.D. (1998) The impact of a surface coating on the internal gas atmosphere and the rate of post-harvest rot development in Conference Pears. Acta Horticulturae, 518, 79-86.

Dadzie, B.K. (1998) Post harvest characteristics of back sigatoka resistant banana, cooking banana and plantain hybrids. INIBAP Technical Guideline 4, 75 Pages

Gallat S, D. Crentsil, D. and R. D. Bancroft (1998) 'Development of a Low Cost Cassava Fresh Root Storage Technology for the Ghanaian Market'. Pp. 77-84. In Postharvest technology and commodity marketing R.S.B. Ferris (ed.) 300 pp. 1998 ISBN 978-131-111-8

Hall, A.J., Bockett, G.N., Nahdy, S. (1998) Sweet Potato Postharvest Systems In Uganda: Strategies Constraints and Potentials. International Potato Centre (CIP) Social Science Department Working Paper Series No. 1998-7 CIP, Lima, Peru. ISSN 0256-87 48

Ndunguru, G., Thomson, M., Waida, R., Rwiza, E. and Westby, A. (1998) Methods for examining the relationship between quality characteristics and economic value of marketed fresh sweet potato. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 75, 129-133.

Ndunguru, G.T., Modaha, F., Bancroft, R.D., Digges, P.D., Kleih, U., Westby, A. and Mashamba, F. (1998) The use of needs assessment methodologies to focus technical interventions in root and tuber crop systems: A case study to improve the marketing and post-harvest handling of cassava entering Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Proceedings of the 6th symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops - Africa Branch. Edited by A.O. Akoroda and I.J. Ekanayake. Pp 76-82. International Society of Tropical Root and Tuber Crops-Africa Branch, c/o International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria. ISBN 978-33604-O-X.

Taylor, S.J. (1998). Evaluation of gas sensor array for monitoring quality of apples during storage. NRI report. October 1998 19pp. Taylor, S.J. (1998). Evaluation of hot water treatments for the control of anthracnose. NRI report. August 1998 37pp.

Westby, A., Kleih, U., Hall, A., Bockett, G., Crentsil, D., Ndunguru, G., Graffham, A. J., Gogoe, S., Hector, D., Nahdy, S. and Gallat, S. (1998). Improving the impact of interventions in the post-harvest sector of non-grain starch staples. The needs assessment approach. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad). 75, 143-146.

Dadzie, B.K. and Orchard, J.E. (1997) Routine postharvest screening of banana and plantain hybrids: criteria and methods. INIBAP Technical Guideline 2, 63 Pages.

Kleih, U., Digges, P. and Westby, A.. (1997) Assessment of the needs and opportunities in post-harvest systems of non-grain starch staples. Natural Resources Institute: Chatham. ISBN 0 85954 471 0.

Rees, D., Kapinga, R., Rwiza, E., Mohammed, R., van Oirschot, Q., Carey, E. and Westby, A. (1997) The potential for extending shelf-life of sweet potato in East Africa through cultivar selection. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 75, 208-11

Taylor, S.J. (1997). Electronic sensing of volatiles for classifying tomato fruit according to variety, ripeness and eating quality. NRI Report. March 1997. 17pp Taylor, S.J. (1997). Electronic sensing of volatiles for the determination of ripeness and quality of mangoes. NRI Report, March 1997, 15pp.

Bainbridge, Z., Tomlins, K., Wellings, K. and Westby, A. (1996) Methods for assessing the quality characteristics of non-grain starch staples. Natural Resources Institute: Chatham. ISBN: 0-85954-400-1.