Studies on the effect of pre-harvest treatments on maturity, yield and quality of red banana

Abstract

Field experiment conducted during 1998-2000 in red banana revealed significant variations in maturity, yield and quality attributes due to pre-harvest sprays of GA2, MnSO4 and K2SO4 soil mulch by coir waste and covering the bunches with 0.5% and 1.0% ventilated 100 gauge blue polythene sleeves. Among the treatments, covering the bunches with 1% ventilated 100 gauge blue polythene sleeves after opening of the last hand significantly reduced the time taken for maturity from 138.5 days in control to 110 days. The bunch yield was found to be significantly higher in this treatment (13.5 kg) than in control (11.6). Quality attributes viz. TSS, sugars and peel colour of the fruit were also enhanced due to covering bunches with 1% ventilated blue polythene sleeves.