Abstract
Ripening characteristics and texture changes were investigated in green banana (Musa AAA group, Cavendish subgroup cv. Giant Cavendish) fruit held in low (65%) and high (95%) relative humidity at 20 °C. Low RH hastened the yellowing of the peel in terms of the Hunter a* and b* values and advanced the onset of the respiratory climacteric rise and ethylene emanation by about 6 and 12 days than high RH, respectively. Loss in flesh firmness, which was rapid in fruit held in low RH, was positively correlated to increased polygalacturonase (PG) activity, increased water-soluble pectin (WSP), and decreased hydrochloric acid-soluble pectin (HP). The appearance of PG activity was 6 and 9 days earlier than ethylene production at high and low RH, respectively, suggesting that induction of cell wall degrading enzyme activity might occur without ethylene emanation.There was no relationship between cellulase activity and softening. These results suggest that RH in the storage atmosphere affects weight loss of banana fruit and ultimately influences the ripening characteristics of the fruit.
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