Comparative Study of Different Banana Ripening Methods

Abstract

Ripening is one of the most important aspects in banana postharvest handling system. A study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of ripening methods and evaluate their influence on postharvest quality of banana (Musa were treated with ethephon and smoke as source of ethylene for ripening, and other groups of fruits were kept in low density polyethylene plastic, in (control) for ripening without external ethylene source. Changes in physico qualities, days to ripe, shelf life and fruits marketability were observed. Faster changes in physico-chemical qualities were observed from smoke ethephon treated ones with no significant difference in quality bananas of the two treatments. The major observed differences were that smoking induced rapid ripening, fruits attaining fully ripe stage