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Department of Post Harvest Technology was created under the Faculty of Horticulture in the year 1996. Established in 1996, the department started offering various courses on post harvest technology for the degree of B. Sc. (Hort.) Hons., M. Sc. (Hort.) in PHT, and Ph. D. in Post Harvest Technology. This Department is strengthening the academic transactions including research works and extension activities in Horticulture as a whole and Post-Harvest Management of Horticultural crops in particular. Besides catering to the Master’s and PhD degree programme, the department also implemented three research projects funded by BARC, Agriculture Marketing, Govt. of West Bengal, RKVY, Govt of India and International Institute like, ICARDA. The department is well connected with the rural women in particular for extension activities pertaining to low cost processing technology and value addition for fruits, vegetables and flowers

Post harvest losses of horticultural crops are estimated at 30 to 40 per cent of the total production varying widely depending upon the type of crop. Losses of some highly perishable fruits and vegetables can be even higher than the estimated value during the postharvest period, depending on the weather, access to storage and processing or distance from markets. In most cases, losses occur during harvesting on the farm itself, and during postharvest handling, processing, storage, distribution and consumption.

Vision of the department is to eradicate hunger by reducing food losses, improving overall quality and food safety, and providing higher profits for growers and marketers.

Mission of the department is to develop improved postharvest techniques, and provide innovative programmes that motivate and empower students, researchers, growers and processors to reduce food losses and enhance food security.

• i) PG Laboratory, ii) PG class rooms, iii) ELP Unit, iv) Walk-in-cooler
• Equipments like Spectrophotometer, BOD Incubator, Digital colony counter, Micro Weighting Balance, PH Meter, Refrigerator, Refractometer, Penetrometer, Distillation set, Cabinet dryer, Gauge meter etc. are available for quality analysis, storage study and processing of horticultural crops.

Profile moisture meter2008In operation