EFFECTS OF LIGHT ON BANANA RIPENING
Temperatures or light generally initiate ripening of the fruits such as bananas. This is visibly verified as warm temperatures outcomes into faster production of the ethylene gas, which hurries the process of ripening. This denotes that an upsurge of the temperatures results in an incredible rise in the rate of respiration and ethylene production. Moreover, low temperatures precisely below 14 degrees Celsius may be upshot to the mutilation of the ripening banana expressly due to chilling injury (Du et al, 2016). Consequently, this depicts that temperatures generally affect frequent fluctuations which occur throughout maturing, the quality of the ripe fruit plus the marketable life of the banana fruit. Also, the incidence of the warm temperatures in the growth of the fruits instigates the prospect of manifestation of the fungus and mildew, which causes rotting—shining of the light on the consequences of the fruit into the upsurge in the temperature within the path of the fruit which in turn fallouts into the auspicious temperatures for the fruit to ripen.
High temperatures raise the speed of the ripening of the banana fruits. Banana fruits stored in high temperatures generally ripen faster, likened to the ones in low temperatures. The production of the ethylene gas commonly instigates the faster ripening of the fruits stored in high temperatures.
Most of the fruits usually give or produce ethylene gas precisely during ripening. The existence of high temperatures primarily begins the production of this gas. This entails that the speed of the ripening of the banana fruits is expedited by the ethylene, which its output depends on the available temperature.
A low temperature in banana fruits fallouts into a reduction of the starch and this is contrary to the higher temperatures, which results in the rise in starch during the ripening of the fruits. The enzyme action generally instigates the reduction in the amount of the carbohydrate. Enzyme amylase regularly breakdowns starch in the banana fruit into the tiny sugar droplets referred to as glucose, which in turn makes the banana to be sweet (Thakur et al, 2019). For the enzyme amylase to act on the starch inside the banana, there is a need of favorable temperatures to support the metabolic reactions of the enzyme. This depicts that at low temperatures, enzyme amylase will be active and will, therefore, breakdown starch leading to its reduction. This is contrary in the case of the high temperatures as the enzyme will be demolished by the upsurge of the temperatures above optimum.
Destroying enzyme amylase suggests that starch, which is present in the banana fruit, will not be broken down into glucose. Therefore making banana fruits in high temperatures to have high contents of starch.
Additionally, high temperatures result in the weight loss in the stored banana fruits during ripening. The amplified loss of the weight of the bananas is chiefly instigated by the production of the ethylene gas and absence of the enzymes, which breaks down starch to glucose increasing weight of the banana.
During the banana fruit ripening, high amounts of ethylene gas are usually produced in the fruits stored in the environments facing high temperatures. Despite the benefits which are associated with ethylene gas in that it results in the faster ripening of the banana fruits, it also fallouts into the loss of the weight of the fruits as it is produced and expelled. Also, high temperatures are unable to support various enzymes reactions. Hence the starch in the banana fruit will not be broken into glucose.
Breaking starch into glucose would lead to an increase in the weight of the banana. Thus the banana fruits which are stored in environs with high temperatures will have a low weight. This is contrary to the banana fruits in low temperature surrounding as they will offer optimum temperatures essential for the activation of the enzyme amylase hence facilitating it to break down starch to glucose, increasing the weight of the banana.
The presence of light to the banana fruits results in weight loss. The manifestation of the increased weight loss is mandolin induced by the process of respiration. This process is usually higher in the banana fruits, which are stored in the surroundings with higher light than those with lower light.
Temperatures also influence the taste or flavor of the banana fruits. Banana fruits that ripen at high temperatures area usually sweet compared to the ones in low temperatures. The sweet taste, which is precisely evinced, is main initiated by the absence of the off-odor in which opts occurrence may be facilitated by the presence of the ethylene (Bantayehu, 2017). For ethylene to be produced and expelled from the banana fruits, there is a requisite of high temperatures. So fruits which are stored in low temperatures do not produce more ethylene. Thus the accumulation of ethylene gas in bananas will result in poor taste and flavor.
During the time of the ripening process, banana should be kept away from the direct light from the sun. The heat from the sunlight affects the ripening of the bananas. The can of exposing or leaving the bananas in the sunlight results in not the tremendous increase in the temperatures of the fruit.
Despite the act of exposing banana fruits into the direct sunlight to ripen faster, as it becomes warmer, soft, it also aids in the production of bland-flavored fruit. So there is a need for keeping the banana fruits in moderate temperatures will increase the spread of ripening as the enzymes will be active.
Conclusively light is a necessity in the banana fruit ripening? The view will the process of ripening of the banana fruits as it initiates the production of the ethylene initiate, which enables the fruits to ripen faster. This indicates that banana fruits in places with high light will ripen more quickly compared to the ones in environs with low temperatures.
It is also evidenced that banana fruits in the areas with high temperatures usually experience weight loss due to the absence of the enzymatic actions on the starch in the fruit. Enzyme amylase, which aids in breaking starch to glucose functions at a specified temperature. This infers that temperatures that will be below or higher; its optimum temperature will definitely lead to its inactivity (Fu et al,2019). The inactivity or destruction of the enzymes due to the temperatures will inhibit them from breaking down the starch hence leading to the less weight of bananas.
In this case, lower temperatures are suitable for the acquisition of higher weight of the banana fruits. Since enzyme amylase will be active hence breaking the starch present in the banana fruit into glucose resulting in the attainable of higher weight.
Consequently, the act of exposing banana fruits to the light can be used during the retail display purposely to offer consumers with fruits of the best quality. Exposing the fruits to light will lead to the production of ethylene, which speeds UN the rate of the ripening of the fruits.
References
Du, L., Song, J., Forney, C., Palmer, L. C., Fillmore, S., & Zhang, Z. (2016). Proteome changes in banana fruit peel tissue in response to ethylene and high-temperature treatments. Horticulture Research, 3(1), 1-12. A starch edible surface coating delays banana fruit ripening. LWT, 100, 341-347.
Bantayehu, M. (2017). Fruit ripening and postharvest life of banana varieties at different temperatures and packaging. Journal of Postharvest Technology, 5(1), 30-42.
Fu, X., Cheng, S., Feng, C., Kang, M., Huang, B., Jiang, Y., … & Yang, Z. (2019). Lycopene cyclases determine the high α-/β-carotene ratio and increased carotenoids in bananas ripening at high temperatures. Food Chemistry, 283, 131-140.