Produce harvested too early may not ripen properly, while produce harvested too late may be fibrous or have very limited market life. Similarly, vegetables are harvested over a wide range of physiological stages, depending upon which part of the plant is used as food. Therefore harvesting of fruits and vegetables at proper stage of maturity is of paramount importance for attaining desirable quality. Using maturity index, helps ensure sensory quality, adequate postharvest shelf life, facilitates scheduling of harvest and packing operations, facilitate marketing.

Easy to use laminated reference chart