Postharvest horticulture: a multidisciplinary science field that enables global fresh produce trade

Abstract

New Zealand is located in a unique position, while also being unique for developed countries in that a major part of the economic success relies on the production and sale of food to the world. The first shipment of frozen meat from New Zealand to the United Kingdom in 1881 by the ship Dunedin signalled the importance of being at the cutting edge of technology in order to develop and operate the supply chains of perishable products. As such, postharvest scientists within New Zealand have and continue to make important contributions to support horticultural industries, and the unique additional challenges in the supply chain that occurs when you have a live respiring product with inherent biological variability. With rapidly expanding horticultural production within New Zealand and societal drivers to reduce meat and animal product consumption, the need for postharvest horticulture skills and technologies to ensure that products meet consumer’s needs, remains as important as ever. Postharvest science in itself represents a wide scientific skill base allowing the solutions to problems and the generation of knowledge to occur from multiple disciplines. Work presented in postharvest problems ranges from physiology (e.g. gene signalling, metabolomics and cell wall degredation) to technology (e.g. appropriate maturity definition, atmospheric manipulation, heat treatments, etc.) to engineering (e.g. sorting and packaging technologies, cool chain design and mathematical prediction systems). Each component of the postharvest science field plays a role in identifying the causes of problems, narrowing in on the mechanisms and designing solutions to solve the problem as best as possible. The Covid19 pandemic has had many impacts on society. One very noticeable effect on scientists was the inability to travel and meet our colleagues with the same intellectual passions as our own. In particular 2020 was to be a flagship year for postharvest science in New Zealand, with the return of the ISHS Postharvest Symposium, the most important conference of the field, to be held in Rotorua, New Zealand in November 2020. Unfortunately, that was not to be, with the conference delayed until 2024 (https://www.scienceevents.co. nz/postharvest2024). The biannual Plant Science Central held at Massey University in Palmerston North in 2021 was a notable relief in the midst of the pandemic. New Zealand’s tight border controls and elimination policy had led to no cases in the community for a prolonged period and created a unique opportunity for New Zealand-based Plant Scientists to be able to come together, share their work and enjoy the science and social discussions. This special issue was spun out of this conference and the fact that opportunities had been lost over the pandemic, especially for our early career colleagues, where the formation of relationships with other experts of their chosen field is an important part of their career development. This special issue comprises of a group of works, some of which were presented at Plant Science Central 2021, while others were submitted independently of the conference. Twelve (12) high-quality papers are a result of the call for the formation of a postharvest special issue.