Abstract

Author:
Pradip Regmi, Pratima Bagale, Sarad Pokhrel, Dikshya Subediq

Doi: 10.26480/trab.01.2024.26.29

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Banana is a climacteric fruit, which has a higher respiration rate and rapid ripening as well as senescence process. There is about 40% of fruit loss during post-harvest handling. Because of its tropical origin, more sensitive to chilling injury at sufficiently lower storage temperature (<13oC). Banana fruits stored at the optimum temperature of 13-14oC and higher relative humidity of 90-95% is suitable for better extension of the shelf-life of banana by 7 to 12 days. In addition to maintenance of post-harvest storage temperature and relative humidity, some techniques are intervened to slow down the respiration rate, ethylene evolving rate, delay ripening and postpone the senescence process. These techniques may be pre-harvest spray, post-harvest packaging, edible coating, post-harvest dipping treatments, hot water treatment, irradiation technique, controlled atmosphere storage, and use of ethylene absorbent and ethylene inhibitors treatments. Some practices impose more than one above mentioned techniques like modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) + green keeper treated banana fruits kept at 12 ± 1°C and 85–90% RH have long shelf-life i.e. 49 days. Some techniques like banana fruits treated with 0.5 μl/l 1-MCP and packed in sealed polyethylene bags could achieve successful lengthening of post-harvest shelf-life of banana for about 58 days at good marketable condition. Based on availability, profitability and our objective selection of appropriate combinations of these techniques can achieve a longer shelf-life of banana with better quality.