Effect of Ethrel (2-Chloroethyl Phosphonic Acid) on Ripening of Bananas

Abstract

The ability of ethylene to stimulate fruits to ripen has been reported in fruits and vegetables (Burg. 1962 and 1965: Hansen, 1966; Burg and Burg, 1968: Dilley, 1969 and Pratt and Goeschl, 1969). Recently, the newly developed compound Ethrel (2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid) which degrades itself to yield ethylene, has been found to be effective in causing ripening of fruits (Russo et al. 1968: Iwahoris et al. 1969; Robinowitch et al. 1970 and Srinivasan et al. 1971). The banana variety Robusta, a clone of Dwarf Cavendish group is characterised by the production of heavy bunches with large sized fingers. Despite these attractive features its commercial preference is greatly influenced due to poor development of peel colour, besides prolonged period of ripening. Therefore it was of interest to study the effect of Ethrel on the development of peel colour and ripening in the case of Robusta banana.