Assessment of Postharvest Handling Practices, Losses, and Their Determinants for Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Fruits in the Harari Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Assessment of Postharvest Handling Practices, Losses, and Their Determinants for Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Fruits in the Harari Region, Ethiopia

Mekonnen Tensaw^1* and^, Chala Lemma¹

^{1 .} Oda Bultum University, College of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture

Corresponding Author: chalalemma1@gmail.com

                              ABSTRACT

 Postharvest loss of mango is high in Ethiopia; particularly, in Harari regional state, eastern Ethiopia. Additionally, there were lack of sufficient information on postharvest handling practices, causes and extent of postharvest losses of the fruit in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was initiated to assess the postharvest handling practices, losses, and determinants of mango fruits in the Harari region, eastern Ethiopia. Postharvest handling practices, the extent and major causes of losses of mango fruits along value chain were investigated. Data were gathered through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and observations. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics SPSS version 20 Statistical Software. The result of the findings revealed that majority of farmers used harvesting methods such as using picking poles and shaking and they store their mango fruits in residential house. Transportation is carried out using equine, human labor, and vehicles. They lack proper marketing sites and instead use roadways in various parts of Harari city. The results of the assessment illustrated that the total percentage of mango postharvest losses in Harari region, was approximately 46.77%.; which were 19.72% due to harvesting, 14.01% due to storage, 9.76% due to transportation, and the least, 3.28%, due to marketing. Contributing factors to the total postharvest losses included mechanical damage (39.6%), market issues (27.2%), pests (18.7%), physiological disorders (12.3%), and others like facility shortages and the perishable nature of the fruit (2.1%). These findings highlight critical areas where improvements in handling practices could reduce postharvest losses and enhance mango quality in the region.

Key words: Postharvest losses, Handling practices, Loss determinants and Mango.