Farmers perception about yield losses of kinnow (Citrus reticulate) during its harvesting and post harvesting operations: A case study of tehsil Sargodha, Pakistan

Kinnow is one of the major fruit crops of Pakistan and it is produced at a large scale in Punjab province of Pakistan. In Punjab province, the district Sargodha is famous for high production of kinnow. Unfortunately, during harvesting and post harvesting operations, the losses of kinnow yields in Pakistan are higher than that of other kinnow producing countries of the world. Therefore, this research study was conducted to observe various factors leading to yield losses of kinnow during harvesting and post harvesting. For it, 20 union councils of tehsil Sargodha were selected and from each union council, 10 kinnow growers were selected randomly. A total of 200 farmers were selected for the sample. The results revealed that 91% farmers reported fruit injuries during picking. A majority of farmers (67%) reported that 20% losses of the total yield occurred during picking. (51%) and 70% farmers did not have transport capabilities and storage facilities, respectively so losses occurred during these stages. Rough handling should be avoided during harvesting operation. Due to the defective marketing system, the farmers get low income which discourages the farmers from adopting recommended orchard management practices. Therefore, government should pay due attention to the establishment of an effective citrus marketing system.