Effect of different coloured bagging on postharvest quality of Saba Banana fruits

• Main Author: Liew, Phui Rong
• Format: Academic Exercise
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sabah 2017
• Subjects: SB Plant culture
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24052/1/Effect%20of%20different%20coloured%20bagging%20on%20postharvest%20quality%20of%20Saba%20Banana%20fruits.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24052/

The study was carried out in the banana plot of Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, to evaluate the effect of different coloured bunch bagging on the physico-chemical quality of 'Saba' banana fruits. The bunch covers used were blue, white, black in colours, and no cover as a control arranged in randomised complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Bunch covers were applied when the banana fingers had started to turn upwards. Fruits were harvested at "full three-quarters" maturity. Parameters measured were colour, finger length and girth, weight loss, pulp to peel ratio, pulp firmness, moisture content, total soluble solids (TSS), pH and titratable acidity (TA). Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS statistical programme. The means were compared using least significant difference (LSD) at significance level of 5%. Results showed that bunch covers did significantly affect finger length, colour, weight loss, pulp moisture content, TSS and pH. However, it did not significantly influence finger girth, pulp to peel ratio, pulp firmness, peel moisture content and TA significantly. Between, 'Saba' banana bagged with black perforated bunch cover showed larger fruit size, brighter peel colour, low weight loss, low TSS content and high acidity level. Moreover, in course of banana fruit ripening, the weight loss, pulp to peel ratio, pulp moisture content, TSS and TA were increased as ripening progressed. In contrast, the pulp firmness, peel moisture content and pH were decreased over the ripening period. Based on the results of the study, it can, thus, be concluded that 'Saba' banana production was not suitable to be bagged with bunch cover due to the local hot and humid climatic condition in a tropical country.