Influence of harvesting maturity and low temperature storage on shelf-life and physico-chemical quality of banana cv. Grand Naine

A study was undertaken to assess the effect of maturity and storage temperature on shelf-life and quality of banana cv. Grand Naine. Treatments comprised of three different maturity stages, viz., 75, 90, 100% and four storage temperatures, viz., 12, 14, 16°C and ambient temperature. Results revealed that fruits harvested at 75% maturity and stored at 12°C had a shelf-life of 45 days. Whereas, 100% mature fruits kept at ambient temperature could be retained for only 10 days. Banana fruits harvested at 75% maturity and stored at 12°C showed more firmness and minimum physiological loss in weight and titrable acidity compared to other treatments during the storage. However, fruits harvested at 100% maturity and kept at ambient temperature recorded the highest values for total soluble solids (22.30°Brix) and total sugars (22.05%) on 13^th day of storage.