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Consumers' demand is increasing for safe foods without impairing the phytochemical and sensory quality. In turn, it has increased research interest in the exploration of innovative food processing technologies. Cold plasma technology is getting popularity now days owing to its high efficacy in decontamination of microbes in fruit and fruit-based products. As a onthermal approach, plasma processing maintains the quality of fruits and minimizes the thermal effects on nutritional properties. Cold plasma is also exploited for inactivating enzymes and degrading pesticides as both are directly related with quality loss and presently are most important concerns in fresh produce industry. The present review covers the influence of cold plasma technology on reducing microbial risks and enhancing the quality attributes in fruits.

26Mango (Mangifera indica.L.) is an economically important fruit crop grown in the tropics. One 27 of the important traits of mango for successful commercial production is the storage quality of 28 the fruit. This study was conducted to evaluate the postharvest qualities of three mango 29 (Mangifera indica) varieties namely 'Chokanan', 'Golden phoenix' and 'Water lily' grown in 30 Southeast Asia regions. The study found that variety and ripening stage had an impact on the 31 postharvest qualities. In general, an increase in weight loss, L* value and soluble solids 32 concentration (SSC) along with a reduction in titratable acidity (TA), firmness and hue value as 33 ripening progressed were observed irrespective of the variety. Analysis of variance and 34 multivariate analysis were used to characterize the ripening process. This study provides useful 35 information for devising strategies in postharvest handling and implementation of breeding 36 programs for mango crop improvement. 37 Abbreviations: N, Newtons; SSC, soluble solid content; TA, titratable acidity; PCA, principal 38 component analysis 39

An indirect in vitro plant regeneration protocol for Vanilla planifolia has been established. Juvenile leaf and nodal segments from V. planifolia were used as explants to initiate callus. Nodal explants showed better callus initiation than juvenile leaf explants, with 35.0% of explants forming callus when cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) and 1.0 mg/l 6-benzyladenine (BA). Almost 10.0% of juvenile leaf explants were induced to form callus on the MS basal medium containing 2.0 mg/l NAA and 2.0 mg/l BA, whereas no callus formed in the presence of any concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and BA. After 8 weeks, callus generated was transferred to MS basal medium containing 1.0 mg/l BA and 0.5 mg/l NAA. A mean number of 4.2 shoots per callus was produced on this medium, with a mean length of 3.8 cm after 8 weeks of culture. Roots formed on 88.3% of plantlets when they were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l NAA, with a mean length of 4.4 cm after 4 weeks of culture. Of the rooted plantlets, 90.0% survived acclimatisation and were making new growth after 4 weeks.

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