Characterization of 'prata' bananas, acclimatized at different time intervals after the harvest

Abstract

The ripening of bananas, as induced by acclimatization, it is a procedure that has been used widely. It provides an uniform maturation, so overcoming the irregular maturation due to the formation of the fruits in bunches with different ages. Nonetheless, there are no specific studies relating the quality of the fruits and the time between the harvest and the acclimatization. In this sense, the present work used the physico-chemical characteristics of the 'prata' bananas to evaluate their quality when submitted to acclimatization at 1, 2 and 3 days after harvest. By the end of the acclimatization, the fruits were stored for 5 days in environmental temperature. The accomplished analyses were: weight loss, coloration of the peel, respiration, texture, pH, soluble solids, titratable acidity and starch. After one day of storage, the fruits which were acclimatized for 1 day after harvest presented smaller weight loss, larger liberation of CO2, smaller contents of soluble solids, larger percentage of starch and were greener and firmer than those acclimatized 2 and 3 days after the harvest. The difference was reduced as the time of storage increased and no significant differences among the treatments were observed after 5 days of storage.