The effect of different ethylene concentrations on different maturity stages on the postharvest quality of Cavendish banana (Musa acuminate) cultivar, ‘Grande Naine’

Abstract

Banana is one of the most cultivated fruit crops in Sri Lanka and 5% of total production is exported. Due to a lack of knowledge on harvesting maturity, artificial ripening and other postharvest technologies, 20% of the yield is lost during the post-harvest handling of banana. This study was conducted to examine the effect of application of different ethylene concentrations at different maturity stages on postharvest quality of Cavendish banana (Musa acuminate) cultivar ‘Grande Naine’ under tropical climate conditions. Mature bananas combs (hands) at twelve weeks, thirteen weeks and fourteen weeks after flowering were exposed to 0, 85 and 170 ppb of ethylene gas for 24 hours at 24 ˚C and under 75% RH. Different physicochemical properties were obtained and analyzed statistically. There was a significant interaction effect between the maturity stage and ethylene concentration on weight loss, TSS and pH at the table-ripe stage. The fruits lost weight steadily down to 8.5%, possibly because of the rapid rates of metabolism as well as water loss. Meanwhile, TSS increased from 4% to 20% and pH decreased gradually with the ripening of banana. The results revealed that the best stage of maturity for harvesting Cavendish bananas is at 11-12 weeks after flowering for improved physicochemical and sensory properties at the table ripe stage. Further, it can be concluded that the use of ethylene concentration of 85 ppb for ripening Cavendish banana instead of the higher concentrations that are commercially applied, would be cost-effective without decreasing the fruit quality.