Plant breeding has undergone a period of very rapid and significant development in recent years and the area of fruit breeding is no exception. This book provides a balanced, up-to-date and comprehensive account of the developments in the field of breeding tropical and subtropical fruits. It offers not only the theoretical and applied aspects of breedings fruits but also provides an authoritative manual of the conventional and new techniques used for increasing efficiency of crop improvement programmes. In specific chapters the book deals with crop taxonomy, genetic resources, floral biology, breeding objectives, inheritance patterns and information on new improved cultivars/hybrids.

Tropical and sub-tropical fruits have gained significant importance in global commerce. This book examines recent developments in the area of fruit technology including: postharvest physiology and storage; novel processing technologies applied to fruits; and in-depth coverage on processing, packaging, and nutritional quality of tropical and sub-tropical fruits. This contemporary handbook uniquely presents current knowledge and practices in the value chain of tropical and subtropical fruits world-wide, covering production and post-harvest practices, innovative processing technologies, packaging, and quality management. Chapters are devoted to each major and minor tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, banana, papaya, date, guava, passion fruit, lychee, coconut, logan, carombola) and each citrus and non-citrus sub-tropical fruit (orange, grapefruit, lemon/lime, mandarin/tangerine, melons, avocado, kiwifruit, pomegranate, olive, fig, cherimoya, jackfruit, mangosteen). Topical coverage for each fruit is extensive, including: current storage and shipping practices; shelf life extension and quality; microbial issues and food safety aspects of fresh-cut products; processing operations such as grading, cleaning, size-reduction, blanching, filling, canning, freezing, and drying; and effects of processing on nutrients and bioavailability. With chapters compiled from experts worldwide, this book is an essential reference for all professionals in the fruit industry.

While products such as bananas, pineapples, kiwifruit and citrus have long been available to consumers in temperate zones, new fruits such as lychee, longan, carambola, and mangosteen are now also entering the market. Confirmation of the health benefits of tropical and subtropical fruit may also promote consumption further. Tropical and subtropical fruits are particularly vulnerable to postharvest losses, and are also transported long distances for sale. Therefore maximising their quality postharvest is essential and there have been many recent advances in this area. Many tropical fruits are processed further into purees, juices and other value-added products, so quality optimisation of processed products is also important. The books cover current state-of-the-art and emerging post-harvest and processing technologies. Volume 1 contains chapters on particular production stages and issues, whereas Volumes 2, 3 and 4 contain chapters focused on particular fruit.Chapters in Volume 4 review the factors affecting the quality of different tropical and subtropical fruits from mangosteen to white sapote. Important issues relevant to each product are discussed, including means of maintaining quality and minimising losses postharvest, recommended storage and transport conditions and processing methods, among other topics.With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, Volume 4 of Postharvest biology and technology of tropical and subtropical fruits, along with the other volumes in the collection, are essential references both for professionals involved in the postharvest handling and processing of tropical and subtropical fruits and for academics and researchers working in the area. - Along with the other volumes in the collection, Volume 4 is an essential reference for professionals involved in the postharvest handling and processing of tropical and subtropical fruits and for academics and researchers working in the area - Reviews factors affecting the quality of different tropical and subtropical fruits, concentrating on postharvest biology and technology - Important issues relevant to each particular fruit are discussed, such as postharvest physiology, preharvest factors affecting postharvest quality and pests and diseases

Tree species are indispensable to support human life. Due to their long life cycle and environmental sensitivity, breeding trees to suit day-to-day human needs is a formidable challenge. Whether they are edible or industrial crops, improving yield under optimal, sub-optimal and marginal areas calls for uni?ed efforts from the s- entistsaroundtheworld. Whiletheuniquenessofcoconutaskalpavriksha(Sanskr- meaning tree-of-life) marks its presence in every continent from Far East to South America, tree crops like cocoa, oil palm, rubber, apple, peach, grapes and walnut prove their environmental sensitivity towards tropical, sub-tropical and temperate climates. Desert climate is quintessential for date palm. Thus, from soft drinks to breweries to beverages to oil to tyres, the value addition offers a spectrum of pr- ucts to human kind, enriched with nutritional, environmental, ?nancial, social and trade related attributes. Taxonomically, tree crops do not con?ne to a few families, but spread across a section of genera, an attribute so unique that contributes immensely to genetic biodiversity even while cultivated at the commercial scale. Many of these species in?uence other ?ora to nurture in their vicinity, thus ensuring their integrity in p- serving the genetic biodiversity. While wheat, rice, maize, barley, soybean, cassava andbananamakeup themajorfoodstaples,manyfruittreespeciescontributegreatly tonutritionalenrichment inhumandiet. Theediblepartofthesespeciesisthesource of several nutrients that makes additives for the daily diet of humans, for example, vitamins, sugars, aromas and ?avour compounds, and raw material for food proce- ing industries. Tree crops face an array of agronomic and horticultural problems in propagation, yield, appearance, quality, diseases and pest control, abiotic stresses and poor shelf-life.

This new volume is a rich and comprehensive resource of the basic information and latest developments and research efforts on tropical and subtropical fruits. It presents an extensive overview of crop production techniques, processing, marketing, breeding efforts, harvesting, postharvest handling, pest and disease management, and more of banana, citrus, durian, grapes, guava, jackfruit, litchi, mango, and papaya.