Post Harvest Quality of Tropical Organic Fruit in Ogun State Nigeria

P.J.C. Harris, O. Oke and T.I. Olabiyi I.O.O. Aiyelaagbe

Faculty of Business, Environment and Society Department of Horticulture
Coventry University University of Agriculture
Priory Street, Coventry PMB 2240 Abeokuta
CV1 5FB 11000
UK Nigeria

Keywords: Nigeria, organic fruit, post harvest quality

Abstract
Between January and September 2006, a study was conducted in Ogun State
south-western Nigeria to document the post harvest handling of non-certified
organic fruit. A second phase of the study documented the quality and
characteristics of organic tropical fruit after arrival in the UK by interviewing
importers, retailers and consumers. Although the fruit monitored in the UK was not
from Nigeria, the two phases together gave a good indication of the post harvest
qualities of tropical organic fruit from farmer to UK consumer. The major fruits
traded in Nigeria were orange, banana, mango, pineapple, papaya, guava and
avocado. Major operational constraints listed by farmers and fruit vendors included
pest and disease infection from the field and in transit, poor market access and
mechanical damage during harvesting and bulking. In contrast, the international
transport of organic fruits, transport within the UK, storage and display by retailers
and shelf life in consumers’ homes were all satisfactory with no major differences
found between organic and conventional fruit. Thus, the weak link in the post
harvest chain from farmer to consumer occurs in the producing country. This
suggests that a required critical intervention to allow Nigerian farmers access to the
UK organic fruit market is investment in post harvest handling.

INTRODUCTION
Fruit crops grown in Nigeria include adapted exotics such as citrus (Citrus spp.),
mango (Mangifera indica), avocado (Persea americana), papaya (Carica papaya),
pineapple (Ananas comosus) and cashew (Anacardium occidentale), as well as
indigenous fruit such as bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis), African star apple
(Chysophyllum albidum), African walnut (Tetracarpidium conophorum) and plantain
(Musa AAB). Fruit crops are grown as intercrops in food crop plots, tree crop plantations
and home gardens and in small scale monocropped plantations. In the traditional cropping
systems, fruit crops rarely receive synthetic agrochemicals (growth regulators, fertilizers
and pesticides). However, at present, organic fruit production is at an early stage of
development in Nigeria and none is certified to international organic standards. Tropical
fruits are widely sought in the international market (McEvoy, 2003) and Nigerian fruit
farmers may increase incomes if they could access the organic fruit market. The post
harvest handling of fruit is a critical stage in ensuring the quality of the product to the
consumer (Kader and Rolle, 2004), but to date, there has been no documentation on the
post harvest handling systems of non-certified organic fruits in Nigeria. This work was
undertaken as part of a larger study investigating the potential for organic exports from
Nigeria, and considered whether current post harvest practices employed in traditional
farming systems in Nigeria are suitable for the production and transport of organic fruit
for export. Ogun State was selected owing to its fairly well developed fruit growing
industry and proximity to Lagos and the major air and sea ports.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between January and September 2006, structured questionnaires were
administered to 10 fruit growers in each of the four geopolitical zones of Ogun State,

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Eds.: R.K. Prange and S.D. Bishop
Acta Hort. 873, ISHS 2010
south west Nigeria. The interviews were carried out with 32 fruit growers on their farms
and eight in an open market square. Interviews were also held with 40 fruit vendors in
Ogun State, including five women from each of two markets in each of the four
geopolitical zones of Ogun State.
Interviews were held with customer service supervisors in charge of the fruit
sections of three major retail outlets in Coventry, UK, which import organic and
conventional bananas and pineapples. The perceptions of consumers regarding the
differences between organic and conventional tropical fruit were recorded by
interviewing 40 customers of major retail stores selling organic fruit in Coventry, UK.
A storage life test was carried out in a laboratory at Coventry University, UK, at
room temperature (15−22ºC) and under refrigerated conditions (4ºC) for 56 days to
compare organic and conventional orange (organic from Puerto Rico, conventional from
Costa Rica), mango (organic and conventional from South Africa) and banana (organic
from Dominican Republic, conventional from Puerto Rico), as purchased in major retail
stores in Coventry in a shopping basket survey.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fruit Production and Marketing

The most common fruit grown by farmers and sold by vendors in Ogun State,
Nigeria were sweet orange (100 and 85%, respectively), banana (48 and 55%,
respectively) and mango (40 and 40%, respectively). None of the respondents used
fertilizer, growth regulators or herbicides for fruit production.

Method of Production, Harvesting and Post Harvest Handling by Farmers

Orange and mango were harvested by: 1) climbing the tree to pluck and allowing
the fruits to fall (3%), 2) using a hook attached to a long pole and allowing the fruits to
fall (3%) or, 3) by climbing the tree, plucking the fruits with a short hook and putting
them in a jute sack around the harvester which is lowered as soon as it is full (94%).
Banana is harvested by cutting the fruit stalk (peduncle) and using banana leaves to break
the impact of the fall of the fruit bunch (34% of farmers), or catching the bunch (66% of
farmers) before it lands on the ground. No farmer cooled the fruits, sprayed with
pesticides or waxed the fruits after harvesting.

Bulking of Fruits and Transportation

Mangoes, papaya and oranges are collected in baskets usually lacking padded
linings. Pineapple fruit are piled without containers, while banana fruit are usually bulked
by the bunch. The fruits are usually transported to the wholesale market stacked one on
the other in open trucks where they are exposed to direct sunlight and heat or in poorly
ventilated vehicles. At the wholesale market, the fruits are discharged and sorted to
remove the spoiled ones. The fruits are usually piled on the ground with improvised shade
and may be covered with opaque white woven polyethylene sheets. It may require 4−5
days to dispose of the fruits to retailers. The fruits receive no treatment to prevent post
harvest losses at the wholesale stage.

Handling by Retailers
The retailers further sort the fruit, removing spoiled fruit, and grade for size. They
de-hand the banana at the retailer level; fruit spoilage is prevented by providing more
shade and a cooler environment for displaying the fruits. Shrinkage of oranges is
prevented by soaking in water for 2 hours or placing them on a moist jute sack. Bananas
are ripened using wood ash, carbide or botanical preparations.
Between the farm gate and wholesale markets, 10–35% of the fruits are damaged.
The damaged produce is sometimes auctioned or disposed of, depending on the severity
of damage, leading to loss of revenue by the wholesaler and the retailer. Sources of
damage to fruits include pest and diseases, especially anthracnose (mango), Botyris spp.

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and damage by the fruit codling moth (orange) and damage due to rodents. Also
important are delays in delivery due to poor road networks, breakdown of old vehicles
and poor market access, fruit bruising in transit due to poor packaging and poor fruit
storage facilities on arrival at the wholesale market. The shelf life of the fruit at the retail
stage as estimated by the vendors was estimated to be: orange 15 days, banana 4-8 days,
mango 4-8 days, pineapple 9-15 days, papaya 1-3 days, guava 1-3 days and avocado 4-8
days.

UK Importers and Retailers

The UK importer considered that the shelf life of bananas depended mainly on the
ripening programme they were subjected to and not on whether they were organic or
conventional. Organic bananas were more subject to rot and damage during transport and
storage/ripening, but when storage conditions were ideal, there was reported to be no
difference. All three of the major retailers considered there was little difference in the
shelf life of organic and conventional tropical fruit, but with one stating a longer life for
conventional and one for organic.

UK Consumers
Ninety-seven percent of the consumers interviewed had bought organic tropical
fruit at some time, though the majority (68%) bought it once a month or less. Among the
consumers, 88% said there was no difference in the storage life of organic and
conventional fruit, 5% had no view and 7% said conventional fruit had a longer storage
life.
Although the storage life test represented a small pilot trial without comparable
conventional and organic fruit (shopping basket survey), the organic oranges displayed
discolouration and sour rot (Geotrichum candidum) at an earlier stage than the
conventional fruit at both room and low temperatures. In contrast, there were no
consistent differences in the storage life of organic and conventional mangoes and
bananas.

CONCLUSIONS
The weak link in the post harvest chain from farmer to consumer occurs in the
producing country. This suggests that a critical intervention required to enable Nigerian
farmers to access the international organic fruit market is investment in post harvest
handling. Temperate organic fruit production and post harvest handling has been well
documented (Kuepper et al., 2004). Information is available internationally on handling
organic fruit in developing countries (FAO, 2002) and locally available technologies for
improved post harvest fruit handling are being developed in Nigeria. The National Stored
Products Research Institute is promoting evaporative cooling, plastic crates, wooden
boxes and jute covered cane boxes, while the National Horticultural Research Institute is
developing techniques for production of fruit juices and dried/powdered fruit products to
extend the life of locally produced fruit. It is recommended that training workshops be
organised to demonstrate the advantage of using the improved post harvest handling
technologies.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study formed part of the MSc studies of Olubukola Oke, funded by the Ogun
State Human Capital Development Programme, Nigeria.

Literature Cited
FAO. 2002. Handling and processing of organic fruits and vegetables in developing
countries. FAO, Rome.
Kader, A.A. and Rolle, R.S. 2004. The role of post harvest management in assuring the
quality and safety of horticultural produce. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 152.
FAO, Rome.

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Kuepper, G., Ames, G.K. and Baier, A. 2004. Tree fruits: Organic production overview,
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/fruitover.pdf (accessed 2007-10-18).
McEvoy, M. 2003. Organic certification in the United States and Europe,
http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/PC2003E.pdf (accessed 2007-10-18).

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