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

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.

Bunch bagging with triple protection reduce chilling injury of banana fruit ‘Nanica’ (Cavendish AAA sub-group) / Ensacamento do cacho com proteção tripla reduz a injúria pelo frio em frutos de banana ‘Nanica’ (Cavendish subgrupo AAA)

“…This conclusion was made possible by the fact that the same number of hands was kept in the bunches of the two treatments, as well as the same harvesting point was adopted. Chaiwong et al (2021) observed a reduction in the size of the fruit with bagging, a fact that does not seem to have occurred here. Compare to harvest day, brightness of peel of both treatments increase to 35% at the end of storage.…”

Active carboxymethyl cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol biodegradable packaging film for shelf‐life enhancement: Effects of makrut lime essential oil on Cavendish bananas ripening and fungal spoilage

“…The importing demand of Cavendish bananas from Thailand is also increasing. 20 Therefore, in order to be exported to more distant areas, the shelf life of the fruits needs to be extended. The occurring of postharvest diseases such as anthracnose and crown rot during shipping negatively impacts the market value of bananas.…”

“…Thailand exports bananas to many countries including China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Cambodia. The importing demand of Cavendish bananas from Thailand is also increasing 20 . Therefore, in order to be exported to more distant areas, the shelf life of the fruits needs to be extended.…”