Efficacy of Hexanal Application on the Post-harvest Shelf Life and Quality of Banana Fruits (Musa Acuminata) in Kenya
Date
2018Author
Yumbya, PM
Hutchinson, MJ
Ambuko, J
Owino, WO
Sullivan, A
Paliyath, G
Subramanian, J
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The study was conducted to determine the efficacy of hexanal applied either as
pre-harvest spray or post-harvest dip in enhancing the shelf life of banana var.
Grand Nain. The study was done in Meru County (high potential zone) and
Machakos County (low potential zone) of Kenya. Two hexanal concentrations (2 %
and 3 %) were sprayed either once (at 30 days) or twice (at 30 days and 15 days)
before harvest. Observations of how long the fruits stayed on the tree between the
treated and untreated ones, was based on the duration taken for 20% of the fruits
per bunch to ripen. Once ripe, the fruits were harvested and analysed. For the postharvest dip treatment, fruits harvested at the mature green stage were dipped in 2
% hexanal, 3 % hexanal, or water (control) for 2.5 minutes or 5 minutes. The fruits
were allowed to ripen at ambient room conditions (25 ± 1oC and RH 60 ± 5%).
Physiological and physico-chemical parameters associated with fruit ripening were
evaluated at 3-day intervals. An interaction between zone of production and mode
of application had a significant effect (p <0.05) on fruit retention. Hexanal applied
twice as a spray significantly (p < 0.05) improved fruit retention by 12 days and 18
days in Machakos and Meru Counties, respectively. Post-harvest dip treatments
enhanced fruit shelf life by 9 days (5-minute dip) and 6 days (2.5-minute dip)
compared to 6 days for bananas sprayed twice. Respiration rate, ethylene
production, and fruit softening were significantly (p < 0.05) delayed by hexanal
treatment. Progression of other ripening-related changes including increases in
total titratable acidity, 0Brix, and vitamin C were slower in fruits treated with
hexanal. Overall, these findings indicate that hexanal applied either as a preharvest spray (30 days and 15 days before harvest) or a post-harvest dip (5 minutes)
has the potential to enhance banana shelf life besides improving fruit retention on
the tree by 12-18 days when applied as pre-harves
URI
https://profiles.uonbi.ac.ke/jane_ambuko/publications/efficacy-hexanal-application-post-harvest-shelf-life-and-quality-banana-fruhttp://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/153429
Citation
Yumbya PM, Hutchinson MJ, Ambuko J, Owino WO, Sullivan A, Paliyath G, Subramanian J. "Efficacy of hexanal application on the post-harvest shelf life and quality of banana fruits (Musa acuminata) in Kenya." Tropical Agriculture. 2018;95(1):14-35.Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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