A comprehensive and mechanistic perspective on fruitripening, emphasizing commonalities and differences betweenfruit groups and ripening processes.Fruits are an essential part of the human diet and containimportant phytochemicals that provide protection against heartdisease and cancers. Fruit ripening is of importance for humanhealth and for industry-based strategies to harness naturalvariation, or genetic modification, for crop improvement.This book covers recent advances in the field of plant genomicsand how these discoveries can be exploited to understandevolutionary processes and the complex network of hormonal andgenetic control of ripening. The book explains the physiochemicaland molecular changes in fruit that impact its quality, and recentdevelopments in understanding of the genetic, molecular andbiochemical basis for colour, flavour and texture. It is a valuableresource for plant and crop researchers and professionals,agricultural engineers, horticulturists, and food scientists.Summary:* Reviews the physiochemical and molecular changes in fruitwhich impact flavour, texture, and colour* Covers recent advances in genomics on the genetic,molecular, and biochemical basis of fruit quality* Integrates information on both hormonal and geneticcontrol of ripening* Relevant for basic researchers and applied scientists