Post Harvest Application of Calcium and Sodium Chloride formulations on Ripening, Shelf Life and Quality of Banana (Musa spp Cv. Grand naine) Under Jimma Condition

Abstract

Investigation was conducted on post harvest treatment formulations (CaCl2 and NaCl), rate and duration of applications, in a 3X3 factorial experiment, on the Days to Ripeness (D-to-R) and Total Soluble Solid (TSS), Titratable Acid (TA), Weight loss (WL), Firmness, Pulp to Peel Ratio (P/P ratio) of banana fruit stored at ambient condition in Jimma, JUCAVM. ANOVA assumptions were checked, cubic transformation was carried on firmness and TA, while others conformed to assumptions. ANOVA showed that, interaction of formulation types with duration was significantly different with respect to the days to ripening, with a p value of 0.0327 at α = 0.05, longer shelf life (23days) was recorded with CaCl2 treated banana at 20min soaking duration. With increasing soaking duration, the shelf life of CaCl2 treated banana increases from 20 days to maximum of 24 days, while NaCl treated experienced a decline in shelf life from 19days to 18 days. Observed was a significant weight loss in CaCl2 treated banana fruit compared to NaCl treated ones, at a p value of 0.0045 and α = 0.05. Equally, CaCl2 treated banana fruit experienced a higher P/P ratio, that was significantly different from that of NaCl treated banana fruit, with a p value of 0.0271, at α = 0.05. Our investigation didn't reveal any significant difference between the different formulations and their respective interactions on TSS, TA and firmness. CaCl2 treated banana fruit had a prolonged shelf life compared with NaCl treated, which was not reflected on the fruit firmness. Significantly increased WL and P/ P ratio in calcium treated fruit didn't negatively affect fruit firmness. We inferred that prolonged shelf life in CaCl2 treated fruit would have been facilitated by other intrinsic proprieties that was beyond the scope of this study.

Key words: Post harvest loss, firmness, quality parameters, shelf life.