Overview of the problems: Tropical fruits: the social, political, and economic Issues; Quality assurance: a total approach; An economic evaluation of postharvest tropical fruit research: some preliminary results; Regulations and quarantine in international trade; Session summary; Marketing of tropical fruits: Prospects for marketing tropical fruits in Asia; Trends and changes in the european market for tropical fruits and their impact on technological requirements; Postharvest handling of avocado, mango, and lychee for export from south Africa; The market for tropical fruits in Japan; Diagnosing the causes of outturn problems in imported tropical fruits; Harvesting, processing, and transportation: When to harvest-maturity standards versus harvesting indices (abstract only); Fruit packing house operations to improve returns; Fruit handling systems in developing countries; Impact and vibration damage to fruit during handling and transportation; Minimal processing of tropical fruits; Session summary; Postharvest diseases and disorders: Control of postharvest diseases of tropical fruits: challenges for the 21 st. century: Infection processes of colletotrichum species in subtropical and tropical fruits; Preharvest fungicidal sprays for postharvest disease control in fruits; A review of biological control of postharvest diseases of subtropical fruits; Sulfur dioxide fumigation in postharvest handling of fresh longan and lychee for export; Session summary; Storage and ripening: Tropical fruit physiology and storage potential; Biochemical and molecular approaches to fruit ripening and senescence; Calcium an fruit storage potential; Postharvest water relations in horticultural crops: principles and problems; Modified and controlled atmosphere storage of tropical fruits; New developments in modified atmosphere packaging and surface coatings for fruits; Preharvest effects on postharvest quality of subtropical and tropical fruits; Session summary; Disinfestation of tropical fruits: Quarantine disinfestation of tropical fruits: non-chemical options; Heat disisfestation of mangoes: effect on fruit quality and disease control; Preharvest fruit fly control: strategies for the tropics; Disinfestation: effect of non-chemical treatments on market quality of fruit; Proposed standardisation of protocols for quarantine treatment of fruit; Session summary; Contributed poster papers: Overview issues: Postharvest studies on some tropical and subtropical fruits in Pakistan; Potential of value-added fruit products in Papua New Guinea; The economic potential of interventions to reduce postharvest losses of tropical fruits and nuts in Papua New Guinea; Aspects of marketing tropical fruits in temperate climates; A multivariate factor analysis of consumer preference on banana attributes; Maturity assessment: Determination of maturity indices for Sri Lankan embul bananas; Development of maturity indices for longan; Maturation and harvesting criteria for avocado (abstract only); Disinfestation and primary processing: Postharvest handling and quarantine of tropical fruit in the Jiangmen region of Guangdon, China; Effects of gamma irradiation and hot-water treatment on the shelf life and quality of Thai Mango cv. rad; Effect of irradiation and storage tempeature on the shelf life and quality of Thai licheee; Insect qurantine treatments and fruit ripening; Microwaves as a quarantine treatment to disinfest commodities of pests; Effect of pH and sugar concentration on apple cider quality; Osmotic dehydration of membrane-coated pineapple; Anti-fruit-fly activity of extracts of black pepper and other edible plants; The potential use of insecticidal atmospheres for mango, avocado, and papaya fruits; Preliminary investigation of microrganisms antagonistic to colletotrichum gloeosporioides obtained from rambutan; Electron beam irradiation combined with hot-water immersion treatment for banana preservation (abstract only); Fruit fly problem and disinfestation research in Malaysia (abstract only); Storage and ripening: Internal quality analysis of watermelons by and acoustic technique and its application in Japan; Feasibility studies into NIR technique for meassurement of internal quality of some tropical fruits; Distribution of mineral in Alphonso mango during ripening; Effect of calcium on physicochemical changes in Alphonso mango during ripening and storage; A low-cost cool chamber: an innovative technology for developing countries; Effect of low temperatures on storage life and quality of carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.)cv. B17; Incidence of chilling injury in Salacca zalacca; Internal carbon dioxide and ethylene of avocado fruit (Persea americana Mill.) measured by equilibrium technique; Effects of plantation and postharvest management factors on shelf life of ' Williams' banana; Optimisation of indigenous ripening systems for bananas in the Philippines; Fundamental studies on respiration rates and storage properties of some tropical fruits grown on Okinawa; Reducing decay and extending shelf life of bell-peppers and mangoes by modified atmosphere packaging; Modified atmosphere storage of bananas at chilling temperatures; Storage of fresh pineapples; The effect of sucrose ester coating on ambient temperature storage of several fruits; Effects of different precooling methods and times on the storage quality of carambola variety B10; Effect of maturity, damage, and humidity on the ripening of plantain and cooking banana; Modified atmosphere packaging by perforated polymeric film and its effect on physical properties of mango fruit; Productivity and postharvest behaviour of black sapote in the Israeli Negev desert (abstract only); Storage and ripening of Kenyan mangoes (Abstracts only); The storage of sapodilla (Manilkara achras L.) at 10, 15, and 20 o. C (abstract only); Factors influencing the ripening of 'chanee' and 'monthong' durians (abstract only); Effects of ethylene application on fruit postharvest characteristics of cucumis metuliferus Mey. (abstract only); Postharvest diseases and disorders: Mango postharvest disease control: effect of rain at harvest, fungicide treatments, and fruit brushing on fruit appearance; Sour rot diesease on citrus fruits: importance and control; Hot-water control of anthracnose on mango varietis arumanis, golek and manalagi; Efficacy of propiconazole against fungi causing postharvest disease on eksotika papaya; Freckle disease of banana; Phytophthora fruit rot of durian (Durio zibethinus L.); Postharvest fruit rot o banana caused by colletotrichum musae (Berg. & Curt.)Arx. and its control; Application of candida guilliermondii in commercial citrus waxes for biocontrol of penicillium on grapefruit; Phomopsis fruit rot of mango and its control; Management of 'jelly-seed' in mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv.Tommy Atkins (abstract only); Session summaries-contributed poster papers: Workshop reports: Controlled atmospheres/modified atmospheres; Postharvest physiology; Disinfestation; Diseases; Biocontrol of diseases; Molecular biology; Trade and marketing; Education and training; Research network on tropical fruit trees in Asia.