Mandate

• To reduce cost of production, post harvest losses and increasing profitability through improved post harvest management practices.
• To develop protocols for value addition of fruits, waste utilization, organic farming, biosafety models against toxic pesticides.
• To evaluate the technologies for marketing and market intelligence studies.

Major Achievements

1. Maturity indices of commercially grown mango cvs. Dashehari, Langra, Mallika and Chausa have been worked out.
2. Fruits of Dashehari mangoes harvested with 8-10 mm stalks could be stored for 21 days at 12°C and 85-90 per cent RH, while under ambient conditions they can be stored for 6 days.
3. Uniform ripening of early harvested mangoes could be achieved by dip treatment of fruits in 750 ppm etherel in hot water at 52±2oC for 5 minutes. Concentration of the etherel could be reduced to 100-500 ppm depending upon stage of fruit maturity and variety.
4. The optimum low temperature for storage (2-3 weeks) of Langra, Dashehari and Chausa were found to be 14, 12 and 10°C, respectively.
5. Jelly formation in late harvested fruits, resulting into quality deterioration has been efficiently managed by post harvest calcium spray technology perfected by the institute. Firmness with delayed ripening has been noticed in the treated fruits. Govt. of U.P. has opted for this technology and pursuing the farmers for its adoption through its extension wing.
6. Pre-harvest sprayings of calcium chloride dihydrate (2%) at 10 days interval checked the jelly formation, while its combination with carbendazim and post harvest dip in calcium chloride (dihydrate) has extended the shelf life of fruits.
7. Post harvest dip of mangoes in 2 per cent calcium hydroxide solution inhibited the growth of stem-end rot and anthracnose fungi.
8. Salicylic acid at 50 ppm could check mango anthracnose (Colletotrichum gleosporides) during storage and improved the marketability of fruits.
9. Saccharomyces ceravisiae could enhance the shelf life of Dashehari fruits with better firmness and less spoilage.
10. Guava fruits of cv. Allahabad Safeda could be stored for 28 days in 0.25 per cent ventilated LDPE bags at 5°C.
11. CFB boxes (190X300X80mm) of 2 kg capacity with 0.5 per cent ventilation were designed and fabricated for extending the shelf-life of guava fruits (cv. Sardar).
12. Bacillus subtilis strains (MB4, MB5, MB6 and MB7) demonstrated the potential to enhance the shelf life of guava fruits (cv. Allahabad Safeda) during storage.
13. LDPE film of 200 gauge thickness with 2 per cent ventilation was found suitable to extend the shelf life of aonla fruits for 15 days.
14. Shelf life of aonla fruits of cv. NA-6 was 10 days, while in case of cv. Kanchan it was 6-8 days.
15. Dip treatment in 2 per cent Ca(OH)2 solution for 30 min was found most effective in extending the shelf life of aonla fruits with minimum spoilage.
16. Estimation of marmelosin, psoralen and tannic acid in bael pulp by HPLC at different stages of fruit development has been standardized and validated.
17. Different fractions of pectin and alcohol insoluble solids were estimated in bael selections (CISH B-1 and CISH B-2) at different stages of fruit development.

Post Harvest Engineering

1. A simple low cost mango harvester has been fabricated which could harvest 800-1000 fruits per hour.
2. A simple web removing device has been fabricated by which webs of leaf webber from 5-8 mango trees could be removed in an hour.
3. Sprayer and automatic packaging unit were evaluated and defects were rectified.
4. In an evaluation trial, fruit picking platform was found economical for bagging, harvesting and pruning operations.
5. A modular type of mango desapper and forced air solar dehydration unit were designed and fabricated.
6. Necessary adjustments were made in conveyor system to grade the fruits of Dashehari, Chausa and Langra on the weight basis.
7. A complete protocol for long distance transport and export of mangoes has been developed. A refined 1.0 ton packaging line for mangoes has been installed at CISH, Lucknow. Packaging and storage facility has been created at Malda, West Bengal adjacent to Food Park.
8. Corrugated fibre board (CFB) boxes of 5 and 10 kg capacities have been fabricated with 0.5 per cent ventilation for packaging mangoes as per Codex Standards.
9. A sprayer hood was developed to reduce the cost of labour required for moving the sprayer boom in the air carrier type power sprayer.
10. A simple manually operated low cost aonla destoning machine was developed.
11. A low cost portable, foldable ripening chamber has been developed.

Value Addition of Fruits by Processing  

1. Mango varieties are regularly screened for processing potential.
2. Addition of Mallika or Dashehari pulp (up to 30%) improved the appearance of RTS drink prepared from Rumani, a poor pulp coloured mango variety.
3. Beverages prepared from blends of mango-pineapple (1:1), mango-pear (any ratio) and mango-papaya (2:1) was ideal with better acceptability.
4. Recipe of oilless pickle of mango has been developed with salt, chilli and asafoetida as ingredients. It could be safely stored for nine months.
5. Free flowing good quality spray-dried mango powder from Dashehari and Bangalora could be prepared with good yield after clarification of pulp with cellulase enzyme and adding 8 per cent maltodextrin.
6. The storage study of nectar prepared from 5 pink fleshed varieties of guava revealed that nectar prepared from HPS-I-35 was best after 6 months of storage.
7. Among 5 pink fleshed guava varieties, HPSI-16 was found best for processing.
8. Guava slices from cv. Lalit could be stored in 40°Brix sugar syrup for 9 months.
9. Methodology was standardized for the preparation of raw mango squash (panna). It could be successfully stored for 9 months.
10. Technologies for the preparation of aonla segments-in-syrup and spray-dried aonla powder were standardized.
11. Methodology was standardized for the preparation of aonla-lemon-ginger blended squash.
12. Recipe for the preparation of aonla churan from dried powder was standardized.
13. Among aonla segments, supari and shreds, the shreds took minimum time for freeze drying, while maximum retention in vitamin-C content was in segments.
14. Techniques for preparation of sweetened and brined (salted) aonla segments have been standardized.
15. Papaya pulp can be mixed with bael pulp in the ratio of 3:2 for the preparation of acceptable quality drink.
16. Recipe of sweet papaya chutney has been developed, which can be stored for 9 months in plastic jars.
17. SO2 (500 ppm) found effective for the preservation of aonla juice.

Value Addition of Fruits by Fermentation and Waste Utilization
 Protocols have been standardized for the development of following products:

1. Aonla cider
2. Guava cider
3. Raw mango cider
4. Bael cider
5. Mahua wine
6. Bael wine
7. Mango wine
8. Mulberry wine
9. Mango face and body scrub
10. Mango kernel based lip balm
11. Probiotic drink and pickle from vegetables
12. Fat free aonla prash
13. Sugar free Jamun drink
14. Jamun based mouth freshner
15. Mango peel vinegar
16. Aonla vinegar
17. Bael vinegar
18. Mango stone shell ply
19. Aonla dietary fibre based biscuits
20. Mango dietary fibre based biscuits
21. Bael bar
22. Aonla tea
23. Jamun tea
24. Bael tea
25. Probiotic fish meal from mango and guava waste
26. Fast composting of mango peel
27. Pectinases & cellulases from mango peel and amylases from mango kernel
28. Aonla pomace as substrate for mass multiplication of bioagents
29. Protein enriched mango peel for animal feed

Food safety

• Methodologies were standardized for the analysis of carbendazim, paclobutrazol, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, carbosulfan, dimethoate, carbaryl and lambda-cyhalothrin residues in mango fruits by HPLC. Techniques for the estimation of paclobutrazol and chlorpyriphos in soil by HPLC have also been developed and validated.
• Carbendazim @ 0.05% has been found safe (due to less waiting period of 3 days) and can be recommended as post harvest dip in hot as well as cold water for management of post harvest diseases of mango.
• The safe pre-harvest intervals for imidacloprid and carbosulfan were suggested to be 55 and 46 days for consumption of mango fruits after spraying at 0.3 and 2.0 ml/l of water.
• The residue level of carbaryl was found below detectable limit (0.01 µg/g) in mango pulp after 16 days of spraying at 3.0 g/L of water. Ripe mango pulp was also free from carbaryl residues.
• Thiamethoxam persisted in Dashehari mango fruits up to 20 days after spraying at 0.2 and 0.4 g/l of water concentrations during fruit development stage. Pre harvest intervals of 7 and 11 days were suggested for normal and higher doses, respectively.
• Dimethoate persisted in mango (cv. Dashehari) fruits up to 10 days after spraying at 0.06 and 0.12% doses during fruit development stage. Pre harvest intervals of 6 and 7 days were suggested after spraying at single and double doses, respectively.
• The residues of paclobutrazol persisted up to 300 days in soil after applying to tree basin soils of Dashehari @ 3.2 and 6.4 ml/m canopy diameter. The residual half-life values were calculated as 42 and 43 days for single and double doses, respectively.
• Minute amount of paclobutrazol (0.27 and 0.39 mg/kg) was detected in mango inflorescence after 150 days of its application in tree basin soil. Residues of paclobutrazol were detected in unripe mango fruits at levels below permissible level (0.5 mg/kg), but it was not detected in fully mature fruits at harvest. Paclobutrazol was translocated to mango leaves and its residues were initially increased in leaves and then decreased.
• Chlorpyriphos persisted in mango orchard soil up to 50 days with residual half-lives of 18 and 17 days after application at 2.5 and 5.0 ml/l of water. No residue was detected in mature mango fruits after harvest.   

Market Intelligence and Exports Promotion

• The disposal of mango from Lucknow region during 2013 was 73.40 MT out of which 66.33 per cent was traded in markets situate out side the state of Uttar Pradesh and rest was traded within the state. In fact disposals during the current year depicted a decline of 10.7 per cent in comparison to 2012, when the disposals were highest at. 82.18 thousand MT during last 7 years.
• Although Dashehari was the most traded cultivar during 2012 (27.5 %) of total mango trading in the country), its share dropped to 20.2 per cent during the current year. On the other hand trading in Banganapalli, which ranked second during 2012, increased from 283.31 to 377.98 thousand MT, depicting an increase of 33.4 per cent, making it the most traded cultivar during the current season.
• Delhi continued to be the most important markets for Dashehari mangoes as it accounted for 73.7 per cent of total trading in the cultivar in the country. It was followed by Nagpur, Lucknow and Jaipur with a share of 5.2, 4.4 and 3.6 per cent, respectively. The price of Dashehari was found to be highest at Rs. 6,375, 6,300 and 4,312 per quintal in Gangtok, Chennai and Guwahati, respectively, although, the traded volume was quite low. Therefore, these markets could be exploited profitably.
• Delhi market alone accounted for 68.4 per cent of the total Langra trading of 127.72 thousand MT, while the share of Kolkata, Patna and Jaipur was 12.5, 9.2 and 4.0 per cent, respectively. The highest average weighted seasonal price was Rs. 6,296, 6,207, 3,864 and 3,530 per quintal in Chennai, Gangtok, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar markets, respectively.
• Amongst the major north Indian commercial cultivars, Chausa was the least traded at 49.94 thousand MT, out which Delhi’s share was 76.2 per cent. Highest weighted average seasonal price of Rs. 7,000 per quintal for the trading of 0.42 thousand MT was worked out in Mumbai. It was followed by Rs. 5,489 and 5,396 per quintal in Bhubaneswar and Guwahati, respectively.
• Banganpalli was traded in highest number of markets (25) with highest volume of 377.98 thousand MT as it it had the price advantage due to its early arrival in the season. The share of Mumbai and Delhi in the total trading in the cultivar was 39.4 and 34.3 per cent respectively. The highest weighted average seasonal price of Rs. 4,269 per quintal was worked out in Raipur followed by Rs. 3,830, 3,783, 3,685 and 3,606 per quintal in Guwahati, Bangalore, Chennai and Srinagar, respectively.
• Delhi again traded highest volume of Totapuri cultivar accounting for 45.4 per cent of the total trading of 234.49 thousand MT. The highest weighted average seasonal price of Rs. 3,3472 per quintal was worked out in Abohar, followed by Rs. 3,246 per quintal in Guwahati,
• Total trading of guava in major markets of the country was 51.38 thousand MT during 2013-14. Delhi was the largest market for the fruit as it traded 32.6 per cent of the total trading of the fruit in the country. The trading of guava was highest during the months December 2013 and January 2014 as they accounted for 24.7 and 17.3 per cent, respectively. The weighted average annual price was the highest, i.e. Rs. 4,151 per quintal in Bangalore.
• India exported 55.58 thousand of mangoes worth Rs. 264.71 crores during 2012-13. Quantity of mango exports form the country has increased by 60.5 per cent over the period 1999-00 to 2012-13. However, it has shown a decreasing trend after attaining an all time high of 83.70 thousand MT during 2008-09. The decline in the current year exports could be mainly attributed to drastic reduction in exports to Bangladesh from 27.60 to 4.65 thousand MT during 2011-12 and 2012-13, depicting a decline of about 83.2 per cent. On the other hand the exports to UAE, a dependable importer of Indian mangoes, increased from 22.01 to 37.60 thousand MT during these years, respectively showing an increase of 70.8 per cent..
• Modified exponential trend function explained 76.0 per cent variation in the quantity of mango exports from India.  
• The export of mango pulp was highest at 186.20 thousand MT in the year 2009-10, after which it has been declining continuously, so much so that it attained the level of 147.82 thousand MT during 2012-13, depicting a decline of 20.6 per cent. On the other hand value of the exports attained its peak at Rs. 814.01 crores during 2010-11after which it has been declining. The exports to the Saudi Arabia, which is the most important importer of mango pulp from India, declined drastically (31.6 %) from 63.48 to 43.45 thousand MT in the years 2009-10 and 2012-13, respectively. The value of pulp exports to Saudi Arabia declined from Rs. 221.56 to 132.18, respectively, showing a decline of 40.34 per cent. Other countries were way behind.
• Modified exponential trend function provided the best fit to the quantity and value of mango pulp exports, as it explained 86.8 and 86.0 per cent variation in the dependent variable.
• The exports of guava from India have shown a spectacular recovery during 2011-12 at 1.38 thousand MT worth RS. 3.18 crores, after a dismal performance during 2009-10 and 2011-12. There was a decline (14.6 %) in the quantity of guava exports to 1.18 thousand MT during 2012-13 vis-à-vis the previous year. However, the value of exports went up to Rs. 3.51 crores, depicting an increase of 10.5 per cent. Saudi Arabia emerged as the most important destination by accounting for 39.2 and 36.4 per cent of quantity and value of the exports.