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What is pre-cooling? Write the advantages of pre-cooling in post harvest handling of flower crops |
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Answer» Pre-cooling is the removal of heat from harvested flowers. This is done by different methods like hydro-cooling, forced air cooling, room cooling and vacuum cooling etc. to bring down the temperature from 20-30°C to 1°C in a relative short period. Advantages of pre-cooling: 1. Flowers can be stored for a longer period at low temperature. 2. Lowering the required workload of a cold storage. 3. It restrict and minimize respiratory activity, thereby conserving the weight of the produce and enzymatic degradation of the harvested produce; thus preventing softening, water loss and wilting 4. Preventing microbial growth, such as bacteria and fungi thereby decreasing the rate of decay 5. Decreasing rate of ethylene production, thus increasing shelf-life |
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