Biocide application for increasing storage periods and maintaining quality and chemical constituents of banana fruits

Abstract

Banana fruits were treated with biocides formulated from essential oils of anise, coriander or black cumin seeds. Treated and non-treated fruits were stored at temperatures of 5, 10, 15 and 20°C. Samples were stored for periods of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days. The collected samples in each interval were subjected to estimation of decay development and quality degree, in addition to the chemical constituents of starch, sugars, vitamin C of pulp and peel chlorophyll content. Results reveal that non-treated banana fruits decayed continuously by lapse of storage periods. However, this decay was significantly delayed by lowering the storage temperature. Soaking banana fruits in the tested biocides showed a positive potential for interrupting the decay in stored banana fruits and this promising impact was much more pronounced at lower storage temperature. Further, biocide treated banana fruits kept their good quality for longer storage periods compared to non-treated fruits, due to lower ripening rates which promisingly prolonged shelf-life. As the starch content gradually decreased during storage, the total sugar content increased. On the other hand, biocide application retarded the conversion of starch into simple sugars, especially at the low temperature rate. Additionally, the imposed treatments maintained vitamin C in banana pulp and lowered the decline in peel chlorophyll content.