In this issue:

Growing Season Winding Down

Timely Reminder: Postharvest Handling

New Immigrant Farming Project

Timely Reminder: Postharvest Handling for Vegetable Crops

provided by Dr. Cindy Tong, Dept. of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota

Proper preharvest pest management is the first step in prolonging the postharvest storage life of vegetables. This is because proper pest management helps to ensure that your crop will be of good quality when harvested. Quality at harvest is the highest postharvest quality that can be achieved. Proper postharvest handling will help prolong this high quality, but cannot increase the quality of a crop after harvest.

Besides the quality of the commodity, the factors most important in postharvest handling are temperature, humidity, physical handling, storage atmosphere, and sanitation. Precooling, to take the field heat out of your crop, and storage at recommended temperatures, will slow degenerative processes, retard water loss, and inhibit bacterial and mold growth. In addition to the guides mentioned below, a good guide to proper precooling and storage conditions for different commodities is Handbook 66, The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables, and Florist Nursery Stocks, published by the U.S. Dept. of Agric. Knott's Handbook for Vegetable Growers by Oscar Lorenz and Donald Maynard (available at most bookstores) also has a section on recommended storage temperatures for different commodities.

More information about vegetable crop storage will be provided in the next issue of the MN Vegetable IPM Newsletter.

For more information on postharvest handling of fresh-market vegetables, see:

"Harvesting and Storing Home Garden Vegetables," by Cindy Tong (#FS-1424-GO).

To view or order the fact sheet on the www: http://www.extension.umn.edu/Documents/D/G/DG1424.html (or, call to order at: 612-625-8173).

Midwest Vegetable Production Gude-1999, Univ. of Minn. Extension Service (#BU-7094-S).

To view on the www (requires Acrobat reader, pdf file).

http://www3.extension.umn.edu/vegipm/intro/pestfact.htm

Both publications can also be ordered by calling: 612-625-8173 (indicate pub.#).

Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, hutch002@tc.umn.edu
Jeanne Ciborowski, IPM Program, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, :jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us
Production Editor: Rebecca Hines, Research Associate, University of Minnesota

Disclaimer
Reference to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current directions of the manufacturer

Last Revised November 11, 1999.
The University, including the Minnesota Extension Service, is an equal opportunity educator and employer.©1999 Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Contact copyright@extension.umn.edu for information on reproduction or use of this material.