Vegetable Research & Innovation

Postharvest Handling of Fresh Carrots for Asia

This report covers the first year of investigation into the postharvest handling practices for export carrots. The main emphasis has been on trying to identify the likely causes of poor market out-turns of carton-packed carrots sent to Asian markets. The research focused on measuring the storage potential of carrots stored at 0-1°C, on assessing the benefits of rapid cooling and good sanitation practices and on identifying important postharvest diseases. The report also makes a number of recommendations for improving the quality of export carrots and on the direction of future research.