Extension of the shelf-life of 'BRS-Princesa' bananas through refrigerated storage

Abstract

Banana is a climacteric fruit with short post-harvest shelf-life, undergoing significant changes during ripening. Refrigerated storage is considered the most efficient method to preserve the quality of fruit by slowing down their metabolism. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate physical and chemical characteristics of 'BRS-Princesa' bananas stored under refrigeration, focusing on determining their post-harvest shelf-life. The fruit were stored in a cold chamber at temperature of 14±1 °C and relative air humidity of 75±1% for 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. They were removed from the cold chamber after each period and kept at 25±1 °C in a climate-controlled environment (CCE) until they presented a fully yellow peel (ripening stage 6). The fruit were evaluated immediately after removal from the cold chamber and when they reached the ripening stage 6. Refrigeration affected all physical and chemical characteristics of the fruit evaluated after removal from the cold chamber. However, when the fruit were fully ripe, pulp yield, soluble solids content, and total soluble sugars presented no significant difference, indicating a similar ripening to the control group. Fruit stored for 21 and 28 days showed chilling injury. 'BRS-Princesa' bananas can be stored at 14 °C for up to 14 days, without losses in fruit appearance and quality, thus extending the time for fruit consumption by 8 days when compared to fruit stored in the CCE (25±1 °C).