Abstract
Balangon bananas take about 23 to 28 days from harvest to reach Japan since the fruit have to be assembled from small and scattered farms, hence the problems of premature ripening and crown rot. The effectiveness of vacuum packaging in retarding ripening and in controlling crown rot has not been documented for organically-grown Balangon bananas. Balangon bananas harvested from farms in Don Severino Benedicto, Negros Occidental, Phillipines, were washed three times in tap water, then packed (wet packing) in a 13-kg capacity corrugated fibreboard carton lined with 0.05 mm thick low density polyethylene (LDPE) bag, and vacuum-packed using an ordinary vacuum cleaner. Bananas treated with 1% sodium bicarbonate were also subjected to vacuum packing. Packaged bananas were then loaded in refrigerated vans (13.0–13.5 °C), transported to Manila and then to the UPLB-PHTRC laboratory for simulated domestic and international shipments which took about 25 days from harvest until the bananas reached Japan. Bananas were then taken out of the sealed LDPE, allowed to equilibrate at 18 °C, treated with 2500 µL/L ethephon, and held at 23 °C for ripening. During the 25-day holding at 13.0–13.5 °C, bananas that were vacuum-packaged remained green. In the control (not vacuum-packaged), a few fingers in each hand started to ripen. The most significant effect of vacuum packaging in combination with 13 °C storage was the control of crown rot, particularly when bananas started to ripen. With vacuum packaging, the incidence of crown rot at the ripe stage was 2.8% compared with 55.7% in the control. Sodium bicarbonate did not control crown rot alone, nor contribute to the reduction caused by packaging and vacuum associated with the control of decay was the high visual quality rating of the fruit. Extended storage under vacuum-packed conditions did not significantly affect the physico-chemical and sensory attributes of bananas at the ripe stage.
Highlights
Banana is one of the major sources of income and foreign exchange earnings which accounts for about 9% of total agricultural exports of the Philippines
To determine the efficacy of sodium bicarbonate in controlling crown rot when used as a single treatment, clusters of bananas dipped in 1% Baking soda (BS) were packed wet in boxes without low density polyethylene (LDPE) liner
The low O2 and relatively high CO2 with Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) storage at 13.0–13.5 ◦ C did not result in anaerobiosis that would lead to development of off-odor and off-flavor at the ripe stage
Summary
Banana is one of the major sources of income and foreign exchange earnings which accounts for about 9% of total agricultural exports of the Philippines. Balangon bananas for export are grown by clusters of farmers who follow a protocol for product quality and safety Even with this quality system, problems still occur when. In Balangon banana, Alvindia et al [2] reported that the most active crown rot pathogens were Colletotrichum musae, Fusarium verticillioides, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and Thielaviopsis paradoxa. Alvindia [6] recommended supplementary treatments of generally regarded as safe (GRAS) compounds like sodium bicarbonate for the control of crown rot of bananas. His earlier studies showed a 92% reduction in decay using sodium bicarbonate in combination with a biological control agent [7]. This study was conducted with the following objectives: (a) to control the incidence and severity of crown rot of Balangon bananas during 25-day storage under MAP at 13.0–13.5 ◦ C and during poststorage at 23 ◦ C; (b) to determine the physico-chemical changes at the ripe stage of Balangon bananas subjected to MAP; and (c) to assess the sensory acceptability at the ripe stage of previously-stored bananas under MAP
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