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Pomegranate fruit consumption has increased rapidly throughout the world, mainly because of its medical and nutritive attributes. Thus, considerable commercial and scientific interest exists in prolonging its postharvest life with non-chemical applications as much as possible to meet the year-round demand for this fruit. The present work aimed to study the effects of black seed oil (0.1% and 0.5%), propolis (0.01% and 0.1%) and fludioxonil (0.06%), with and without modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), on the postharvest quality of pomegranate cv. Wonderful. Treated fruits were stored at 6.5±1 °C and 90–95% relative humidity for 150 days. The results indicated that both black seed oil and propolis treatments significantly influenced the maintenance of fruit weight and quality. At 150 days after storage, the fruit weight loss of the samples treated with MAP + 0.5% black seed oil, MAP + 0.1% propolis and MAP alone were found to be 5.5%, 6.3%, and 9.1%, respectively, whereas the weight loss of the untreated control fruits was 19.8%. Application of either 0.5% black seed oil or 0.1% propolis, especially when combined with MAP, was also effective in controlling gray mold development and slowing the occurrence of chilling injury.

Edible coating gels developed from the Aloe vera plant have been used as a traditional medicine for about 3000 years. Aloe vera contains approximately 110 potentially active constituents from six different classes: chromone and its glycoside derivatives; anthraquinone and its glycoside derivatives; flavonoids; phenylpropanoids and coumarins; phenylpyrone and phenol derivatives; and phytosterols and others. Apart from medicinal uses, Aloe gels have an important role in food preservation as edible coatings. They provide an edible barrier for atmospheric gases and moisture and help to reduce the respiration and transpiration of fresh produce, which helps to preserve its postharvest quality. To date, numerous studies have been conducted on the postharvest use of Aloe vera gel. The present review article summarizes and discusses existing available information about the chemical constituents, antimicrobial activity, and food preservative characteristics of Aloe vera.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit is being cultivated since the civilization is known, and its production and consumption have been increased since the last century due to the scientific confirmation of its health benefits. Pomegranate fruits, fruit juice, its seeds, and peels are known to have higher contents of bioactive compounds, viz., phenolic acids, flavonoids, and hydrolysable tannins. The peels of pomegranate fruits are the major by-products produced during food processing of pomegranate enriched in antioxidants and broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents and can prevent food deterioration even. This health potential of pomegranate is known to vary significantly upon the varieties, growing conditions, cultivation practices, stages of the development, and the extraction methods. Herein, the biochemical composition of the pomegranate peel extract (PPE), its efficacy in food preservation, and antimicrobial activities are discussed to provide a comprehensive guide for farmers, food processing, and storage sectors and academia.

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The effects of hot air flow (HAF) treatment on the postharvest storage of ‘Newhall’ navel oranges were investigated in this study. Studies were conducted with two separate sections. First of all, the effects of HAF at 37 °C for 36 h, for 48 h, and for 60 h were tested on fruit decay and weight loss. Thus, the optimal treatment was found as HAF at 37 °C for 48 h based on the fruit decay percentage and weight loss, and further studies were carried out with this treatment. The HAF-treated and control fruits were flowed at 37 °C and 20 °C with relative humidity (RH) of 85–95% for 48 h, respectively. After flowing, fruits of both treatments were individually film-packed, precooled (10–12 °C, 12 h), and stored (6 ± 0.5 °C and 85–90% relative humidity) for 120 days. Regular (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 days) measurements were carried out for analyzing total soluble solid (TSS) content, titratable acid (TA) content, vitamin C (VC) content, total sugar content, respiration rate, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and protective enzyme activities. The results indicated that HAF treatment significantly inhibited the MDA content and respiration rate of navel orange fruits after 45 d storage. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) enzyme activities were enhanced after 60 d storage, while polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme activities were enhanced throughout the storage period. Results suggested that the SOD and POD activities are highly related with respiratory activities and could be enhanced with hot air flow. Meanwhile, HAF treatment maintained high content of TSS, total sugar, TA, and VC.

Solar light has fundamental roles in vast chemical, biochemical, and physical process in biosphere and hence been declared as “source of life.” Solar light is further classified into a broad range of electromagnetic waves, and each region in the solar spectrum bears its unique actions in the universe or biosphere. Since centuries, solar light is believed as a potent source of killing pathogens causing postharvest losses on food products as well as human skin diseases. Citrus fruit crops are widely produced and consumed across the world, but due to their higher juicy contents, Penicillium italicum (blue mold) and Penicillium digitatum (green mold) make their entry to decay fruits and cause approximately 80% and 30% fruit losses, respectively. Agrochemicals or synthetic fungicides are highly efficient to control these postharvest fungal pathogens but have certain health concerns due to toxic environmental residues. Therefore, the scientific community is ever looking for some physical ways to eradicate such postharvest fungal pathogens and reduce the yield losses along with maintaining the public health concerns. This review article presents and discusses existing available information about the positive and negative impacts of different spectrums of solar light exposure on the postharvest storage of citrus fruits, especially to check citrus postharvest rotting caused by Penicillium italicum (blue mold) and Penicillium digitatum (green mold). Moreover, a special focus shall be paid to blue light (390–500 nm), which efficiently reduces the decay of fruits, while keeping the host tissues/cells healthy with no known cytotoxicity, killing the fungal pathogen probably by ferroptosis, but indepth knowledge is scanty. The study defines how to develop commercial applications of light in the postharvest citrus industry.