Performance of Different Bunch Cover Materials to Improve Quality of Cavendish Banana Cultivated during Winter and Summer in Thailand

Saowapa Chaiwong,Hiroaki Kitazawa,Johnson Makinwa Ogunsua,Chureerat Prahsarn,Rattapon Saengrayap

doi:10.3390/agronomy11030610

Abstract

Performance of different cover materials on improving Cavendish banana quality was examined during winter and summer. The banana bunch was covered with a thin nonwoven innermost layer, followed by cover materials arranged from inner to outer as follows. (1) Control (commercial cover), paper/polystyrene sheet (PS)/non-perforated blue polyethylene (NPPE), (2) nonwoven (NW)/NPPE, (3) waterproof nonwoven (WPNW), (4) aluminum foil (ALF), and (5) WPNW + ALF. For the summer trial, control without PS layer was applied. Material properties including thickness, light transmissivity and heat energy (Qx) were evaluated. Results showed that Qx values transferred through PS sheet, NW, WPNW and ALF were not significantly different. ALF exhibited the lowest light transmissivity, associated with the highest fruit lightness (L*) and lowest fruit weight. For the winter trial, all cover materials exhibited chilling injury on fruit caused by temperatures below 10 °C. For the summer trial, five treatments prevented sunburn defect. Under field air temperature of 47.5 °C, ALF exhibited the lowest temperature (31.6 °C). All cover materials reduced hand and fruit sizes, whereas WPNW resulted in an increase in total soluble solids and prevented fading of the green peel color. Results suggested that WPNW, with reduced layers as environmentally friendly and reusable materials, had potential as a cover material to improve the quality of Cavendish banana.

Highlights

Cavendish banana (Musa acuminata (AAA group) “Kluai Hom Khieo”) is grown commercially in subtropical areas of Thailand, especially in Chiang Rai
NW was coated with a slurry of 2.5% wt. zinc oxide and waterproof nonwoven (WPNW) was NW further coated with 0.5% wt. fluoroethylenebased water-repellent agent
Light transmission, and heat energy (Qx) transmission of cover materials were evaluated with five replicates

Summary

Introduction

Cavendish banana (Musa acuminata (AAA group) “Kluai Hom Khieo”) is grown commercially in subtropical areas of Thailand, especially in Chiang Rai. CI and SB symptoms tended to increase fruit maturity but to reduce total soluble solids or sugar content, which is an indicator of fruit flavor Both symptoms caused physiological disorder such as dull grey peel color, pulp browning and fingertip burning [3,4], which affect the visual appearance of fruits and fail to meet quality requirements for export. Application of banana cover materials during the preharvest stage has received increasing interest to investigate the ability to mitigate damage associated with physiological disorders arising from seasonal temperature changes, insect and pest infestation, as well as to create a microclimate for fruit development [1,5,6,7]. The use of nonwoven (NW: polypropylene (PP)-based spun-bond fabrics) and aluminum foil (ALF) as cover materials for longan and Cavendish banana was shown to reduce fruit cracking due to low temperature and drought stresses in cross-winter off-season and SB, respectively [13,14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion