Postharvest Technology MCQs (Set 20) Posted on August 27, 2026Author agropublishers 0 1. Why is controlled-atmosphere storage useful for citrus during postharvest handling? It helps regulate atmospheric conditions to slow respiration and ripening It regulates mechanical injury It eliminates all physiological disorders It increases respiration and accelerates ripening 2. A storage manager wants to delay mango ripening by modifying the storage atmosphere. Which combination of changes is most appropriate? Increase O₂ to stimulate respiration Maintain atmospheric gas concentrations unchanged Increase O₂ and eliminate CO₂ Reduce O₂ and increase CO₂ within commodity-specific safe limits 3. Maintaining appropriate relative humidity during storage of horticultural crops helps preserve the ____________ Soluble solids Microbial safety Turgor, texture, and appearance of fresh produce Fruit color 4. Why are innovative postharvest technologies increasingly important for maintaining fruit and vegetable quality? They accelerate ripening to facilitate marketing They extend shelf life while maintaining quality, safety, and nutritional value They eliminate the need for harvesting They primarily increase crop yield in the field 5. A fruit that looks healthy at harvest but shows disease later during ripening suffers from a ___________________ Systemic infection Secondary infection Mechanical infection Latent infection 6. Edible coatings help delay ripening in climacteric fruits such as mango and banana, primarily through _______________ Modified gas exchange, reducing respiration and ethylene production Increased transpiration and surface drying Increased ethylene production Completely stopping respiration 7. Respiration in harvested horticultural produce continues because the tissues __________________________ Become metabolically inactive Stop consuming stored substrates Begin photosynthesizing normally Remain living and metabolically active 8. ______________ helps preserve mango firmness after harvesting by slowing the degradation of cell-wall pectin Ethylene treatment High-temperature storage Increased oxygen exposure Calcium salt treatment 9. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is particularly valuable for diagnosing postharvest diseases because it ___________________ Measures fruit weight Measures relative humidity Can identify specific pathogens at very early stages Directly prevents fungal infection 10. Which event is most directly associated with the loss of cellular compartmentation during litchi browning? Contact between enzymes and phenolic substrates that are normally compartmentalized Separation of seeds from the aril Increased sugar unloading Increased chlorophyll synthesis Loading … Question 1 of 10
