Control of finger drop in Latundan banana fruits
Esguerra E.B. and Hilario D.C.R.
Philippine Journal of Crop Science, p. 127-128, 2008.
2008
บทคัดย่อ
Latundan is one of the varieties of banana that is highly susceptible to finger drop once the fruit is already ripe. Finger drop is associated with the weakening and softening of the pedicel during ripening causing individual fingers to dislodge very easily from the crown. This limits its shelf life and results in lower price hence the need to develop methods of controlling finger drop. One week before harvest maturity of 'Latundan' banana (reckoned from the date of shooting), hands of bananas, especially the pedicel portion, were sprayed with calcium chloride (4 and 8%), gibberellic acid (20ppm) and ethanol (60%). At harvest maturity, the hands were dipped in 125 ppm azoxystrobin for crown root control followed by 1 min dip in 1000ppm ethephon to induce uniform ripening of fingers within a hand. Ripening behavior and incidence of finger drip were monitored daily during storage at 25-27 deg C. Finger drop occurred once the fruits reach the full yellow peel color which was about 5 to 6 days after harvest. Among the treatment, 4 % calcium chloride delayed the onset of finger drop by 2 to 4 days after the attainment of full yellow color hence an extension of shelf-life of the fruit. This treatment resulted also in the lowest incidence of finger drop. Ripening of the fruit treated with calcium chloride proceeded normally and there was no effect on the physico-chemical and sensory attributes at the ripe stage. Gibberellic acid and ethanol slightly retarded ripening but did not control finger drop.