Banana 'Prata' ripened under high relative humidity. I. Loss of weight, pulp/peel ratio, fruit colour and respiration

Abstract

A study was carried out to verify the influence of a relative humidity (RH) rise on the loss of weight, pulp/peel ratio, colour uniformity and respiration of banana 'Prata' stored during 30 days in 110 micra thick polyethylene bags and ripened in a room with 83% to 94% of relative humidity. The control fruits were ripened in a room with 59% to 88% relative humidity. Fruits of the second hand in the 3/4 full stage of development (34 mm - 36 mm of diameter) were used. The fruits which ripened in high RH presented a decrease in the losses of weight and in the pulp/peel ratio when compared with those which ripenend in room RH. The fruits previously packed at polyethylene bags delayed four to six days to ripen completely when compared with the control fruits. This period had the addition of two more days when the fruits were ripened at high RH. The fruits previously packed in polyethylene bags exhibited a lower O₂ evolution to the climacterical peak, independently of the RH conditions used for ripening.