Effect of γ-irradiation on post-harvest ripening of plantain fruit (Musa paradisiaca) cultivars

✍ Scribed by Aina, Johnson O; Adesiji, Oluwatoyin F; Ferris, Shaun RB

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 165 KB
• Volume: 79
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5142
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0010(199904)79:5<653::aid-jsfa227>3.0.co;2-a

✦ Synopsis

Three plantain cultivars, Agbagba, Obino L'ewai and Cardaba, harvested at two stages of maturity, were irradiated at 0.1-1.0 kGy prior to storage under tropical ambient conditions. Postirradiation storage behaviour showed that plantain fruits at full three-quarter grade were more responsive to irradiation treatment than at full grade maturity, while Cardaba, a type of cooking banana, showed the least response. Irrespective of varietal diþ erences, irradiation to 0.5 kGy or higher caused severe tissue damage, softening and skin discolouration ; however, c-irradiation at optimum dose range of 0.15-0.30 kGy eþ ectively delayed ripening for 10-12 days in Agbagba and Obino L'ewai, respectively, without aþ ecting respiratory pattern or fruit quality.