This book combines several ideas and philosophies and provides a detailed discussion on the
value addition of fruits vegetables spices plantation crops floricultural crops and in
forestry. Separate chapters address the packaging preservation drying dehydration total
quality management and supply chain management of horticultural crops. The book explains value
addition as a process of increasing the economic value and consumer appeal of a commodity with
special reference to horticultural crops. Each chapter focuses on a specific area exploring
value addition as a production marketing strategy driven by customer needs and preferences.
But as such it is also a more creative field calling for more imagination than calculated
routine work. Value is added to the particular produce item when the product is still available
when the season is out and the demand for the product exceeds the available supply. Value
addition is an important factor in the growth and development of the horticultural sector both
in India and around the world. But very little information is available on this particular
aspect of horticulture. Albert Einstein famously said ¿Try not to become a man of success but
rather try to become a man of value.¿ This message is not only true for those people who want
to make more of themselves but also for those who want their creation or product in any form
to excel. And it certainly applies to horticultural crops which are extremely perishable. It
is true that loss reduction is normally less costly than equivalent increases in production.
The loss of fresh produce can be minimized by adopting different processing and preservation
techniques to convert the fresh vegetables into suitable value-added and diversified products
which will help to reduce the market glut during harvest season. Value-added processed products
are products that can be obtained from main products and by-products after some sort of proces
