Fruits and vegetables are highly perishable in nature and have a very short shelf-life. During different handling and marketing procedures, there is massive post-harvest loss of horticulture produce, either or both qualitative and quantitative, between harvest and consumption. Factors affecting post-harvest losses differ with topography, varieties of crops, climate, etc. and are difficult to understand. Considering the fact, the present study aims to describe the status of post-harvest losses of horticultural produce and their potential management techniques. Secondary data is used to collect the related information. The demand of high-quality horticulture produce is increasing due to its healthy nutrition. Post-harvest management of the produce includes pre- and post-harvest practices, their handling, packaging, storage, distribution, and marketing. The storage life and marketable quality of the produce can be maximized by limiting (not stopping) the respiration and transpiration through proper control of temperature and relative humidity of the produce. The right selection of packaging materials and technologies play vital role in maintaining product quality and freshness during storage and distribution. Moreover, the innovative techniques like modified active packaging, active and intelligent packaging, controlled atmospheric storage, and use of antimicrobial could extend the shelf life of produce to a significant time. This review mainly focuses on the causes of qualitative and quantitative losses of horticulture produce along with the effective measures to control the losses in Nepalese context. It emphasized on the adoption of innovative technologies to improve the storage life, marketable quality and freshness of the produce.
Watersheds are acknowledged as a paramount form of green substructure that provides us with important services like; drinking water, irrigation water, fodder/forage, pebbles/boulders, and timber including recreational, regulating, and other available services. The hills and mountains of Nepal are the watershed areas with the most fragile ecosystem and poor agricultural potential, as more than 15% of the total population of the country and 13% of the total land area is covered by Chure that has fragile ranges of hills. Hence, it can’t be denied from the fact that many of Nepal’s watersheds are in a state of physical and biological deterioration where landslides, soil erosion, floods, biodiversity loss, unsustainable water extraction, and farming practices are among the major issues leading towards watershed degradation. Therefore, proper strategies like developing stream and rainwater harvesting programs, strict implementation of EIA, IEE, adoption of SALT technology for income generation, etc. needs to be prioritized based on the principles of integrated watershed management while planning, monitoring & implementing soil and watershed management.
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