Teaching — Dr. Cornelius Barry, Assistant Professor

HRT 403, Handling and Storage of Horticultural Crops

The postharvest handling and storage of horticultural crops represents a critical point in the food production chain. As the world strives to produce more healthy and nutritious foods to feed an increasing population, postharvest handling systems will become increasingly important to ensure that fresh fruits and vegetables reach consumers with minimum loss of quality and low energy input. HRT403 is a middle level course that describes the basic principles of postharvest biology and technology. The aim of the course is to outline the biological processes that occur in horticultural crops following harvest and describe how these processes impact product quality. In addition, practical strategies that are employed by the fresh produce industry to reduce rates of postharvest decay and maintain quality will be discussed. The course integrates basic biological knowledge with industry practices and introduces current research topics. The course runs during the fall semester of each academic year and is comprised of a two lectures and a laboratory per week. The laboratory time is used to demonstrate principles discussed during the lectures, for student presentations and field trips. Following completion of the course, the student will have gained knowledge of postharvest handling systems for fruits, vegetables and ornamental crops and be able to relate the perishable nature of these crops to their underlying biology.

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