BANANA RIPENING PRACTICES IN KENYA
Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more ready for consumption. Commercially the bananas are either ripened by use of controlled temperatures or naturally by use of ethylene as a catalyst.
Ethylene is a hormone naturally produced by all vegetative plants (Iqbal et al., 2017). Naturally, all fruits ripen once exposed to ethylene. Under normal temperatures and pressures, ethylene is gaseous. According to ( Botton et al., 2019), Once bananas are packed where ethylene sources are present, the ethylene emitted is absorbed by the bananas that also produce their ethylene, causing the bananas to ripen within a short period of between five to six days. The sweet smell produced by the first banana fruit to ripen as a result of being exposed to ethylene tells all the other fruit around it’s time to ripen. This occurs in an atmosphere where the temperatures are controlled to avoid damage to the end product. Similarly, at home, the bananas can be ripened by putting them together with avocados in a covered place. The avocado will ripen fast and cause the bananas ripening process to be hastened.
Bananas are also ripened by the use of controlled temperatures ranging between 15-16 degrees. After sorting and grading, the bananas are first held at a temperature of 14 degrees in the same room to achieve a uniform temperature. Once it’s reached, the ripening process is initiated. The pulping temperatures, that is, the internal temperatures of a fruit too, must be maintained at the right levels to facilitate correct ripening procedure (Benichou et al., 2018). Humidifier and heaters are essential in the control of humidity and temperature, respectively, for uniform ripening.
References
Iqbal, N., Khan, N. A., Ferrante, A., Trivellini, A., Francini, A., & Khan, M. I. R. (2017). Ethylene role in plant growth, development and senescence: interaction with other phytohormones. Frontiers in plant science, 8, 475.
Botton, A., Tonutti, P., & Ruperti, B. (2019). Biology and Biochemistry of Ethylene. In Postharvest Physiology and Biochemistry of Fruits and Vegetables (pp. 93-112). Woodhead Publishing.
Benichou, M., Ayour, J., Sagar, M., Alahyane, A., Elateri, I., & Aitoubahou, A. (2018). Postharvest technologies for shelf life enhancement of temperate fruits. In Postharvest Biology and Technology of Temperate Fruits (pp. 77-100). Springer, Cham.