**1. What is post harvest?**

Post harvest physiology is the science which deals with quantitative and qualitative study of physiology of agricultural products (especially living plant tissues) after harvesting. The technologies used in postharvest physiology mainly consists of the techniques applied in agricultural produce after picking for the purpose of preservation, conservation, quality control/increment, processing, packaging, storage and many more. Postharvest technologies are concerned with enhancing nutritional value of food products as in order to meet consumer's needs. India is one of the largest producer of agricultural products and commodities in the world. According to FAO, the total foodgrain production in 2017-18 was estimated around 275 million tonnes and is the largest producer (25% global production), consumer (27% world's consumption) and importer (14%) of pulses in the world. Statistics presented by

National Horticultural Board also reveals that India stands second after China in the production of fruits and vegetables accounting average global production 13% and 21% respectively [1]. About one-third of agricultural produce available for human consumption in the world per year gets wasted. Food loss can be defined as condition where food is available for human consumption but not being consumed. The qualitative and quantitative losses of food commodities often occurs during postharvest operations commonly refers as postharvest losses. With the global increment in human population, the demand for food supply has been enhanced over few decades. Thus in order to increase food availability the losses of food commodities due to post harvest operations are needed to be minimize in order to provide substantial solution to food crisis, reduce pressure on natural resources, eradicate hunger and increase farmer's income [2]. The postharvest losses can be due to loss of weight, loss of quality and nutritional value, loss of viability and commercial loss. Postharvest losses of agricultural commodities may often contribute to the deterioration of quality and quantity as well. The deterioration of quality refers to various attributes including weight loss, change in color and visible quality, change in nutrient content and flavor whereas quantity refers to loss of amount of product respectively [3]. Therefore it can be concluded that postharvest losses are one of the major factor that not only affects agricultural production but also influences food supply chain and economic growth globally. Thus, postharvest loss can be summarized in **Figure 1**.

*Summary of postharvest losses.*
