Assessment of Ripening Behaviour of Banana (Musa acuminata) under Ambient Condition

Abstract

India is the leading producer of bananas, with an annual production of 37.47 million metric tonnes. As a climacteric fruit, bananas undergo natural ripening characterized by a respiratory peak post-harvest; however, this process typically requires a long duration. The present study aimed to evaluate the ripening behavior of bananas under ambient conditions. For this purpose, fresh matured banana fruits were harvested, washed and then used for experiment. As a natural ripening process, fruits were covered with paddy straw and stored in plastic containers at ambient condition. At two-day intervals, key physico-chemical properties—including pH, total soluble solids (TSS in °Brix), firmness (N), weight loss (%), and color values (L*, a*, and b*) were measured over a 12 days period. Results showed that pH (5.57 to 5.26) and firmness (28.00 to 7.96 N) decreased steadily with storage time, while TSS (4.65 to 18.07 °Brix) and weight loss (0.16% to 28.10%) increased consistently. Among the color parameters, L* value (82.61 to 79.02) showed a gradual decline. Notably, after 12 days of storage, bananas failed to attain the desired color and TSS levels suitable for commercial marketing.