Current postharvest handling practices of mango and salak fruit in Indonesia
M.S. Mahendra, J. Janes and I N. Rai
Program and Abstracts, 4th International Symposium on Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, November 3-7 2008, Bogor, Indonesia. 215 pages.
2008
บทคัดย่อ
Current postharvest handling practices of mango and salak fruit in Indonesia
Mango and salak are two exotic tropical fruit growing in Indonesia that are enjoyed by both local consumers and foreign tourists. There are many varieties of mango however, two varieties Arumanis and GedongGincu are commonly cultivated. The fruit of these two varieties of mango are sort after by consumers and have excellent prospects for export. Two varieties of salak namely Pondok and Bali are widely marketed within Indonesia and in recent years have attracted interest in the export market. This paper will examine good handling practices for these fruit that enhance the commercial prospects of the growers. Efforts have been made to improve the quality of the mango and salak fruit marketed to consumers who purchase in modem markets. However, the quality of the fruit produced by local farmers is still a long way from meeting quality requirements of consumers shopping at modem markets because of the number constraints being experienced by the producers. Salak and particularly mango fruit typically suffer physical, chemical and microbiological damage that reduce quality and that is further exacerbated during transport, storage and sale of the produce. The major challenge to the achievement of improved fruit quality occurs at the farmer level and it is here that the main effort must be directed and also supported from outside by a number of agencies particularly government.