C.K. Narayana
C.K. Narayana: Head, Division of Postharvest Technology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessarghatta Lake (P.O.), Bengaluru-560 089, Karnataka

The first few s introduces the reader to the crop, its origin and distribution, varieties cultivated throughout the country and their characteristics. Later the trade of banana, both international and domestic, is explained along with the ways the fruit is consumed in different parts of the world. A exclusively deals with the nutritive and therapeutic values of banana followed by the post harvest aspects at length in seven s with all the latest scientific developments. The last three s explain about the processing and value addition including the waste/by-products utilization. The readers will find it comprehensive with all the information relevant to post harvest aspects of bananas and plantains.

1. 0 

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   Preface
   Fruits and vegetables differ from other food commodities, by its living nature. Though detached from the parent plant, they continue to carry on most of the metabolic processes, notably the catabolic reactions, till it is consumed or processed. The methods of post harvest management determines the quality and shelf life of fresh fruits while the methods of processing employed for conversion determines the retention or enhancement of its nutritive value  and the storage life.  Banana is the most important fruit for India, due to its year round production and dependence of many farmers and traders on it for their livelihood. India is the largest producer of banana in the world with highest productivity and diversity of clones/varieties/land races. From the point of trade, though India does not have significant place in exports, it has been the largest consumer of bananas consuming almost all that it produced.
    
   After attaining the first place in production, India started valuing the quality (physical and sensory) in all commodities. Though the original quality cannot be improved after the harvest, it can be maintained by adopting suitable handling practices and loss can be reduced through appropriate handling and storage techniques. The authoritative books on bananas mostly covered production and protection aspects while post harvest management and processing was limited to a couple of chapters. Ever since the publication of those, lot of development took place in various areas of post harvest technology of banana including crop residue/waste utilization. The year 2012 witnessed the end of ‘Banana Wars’, and the international trade in banana found new players and rules. At this juncture when Indian traders are contemplating exports in a big way, the farmers, traders and fruit handlers need to be educated on proper methods of harvest, handling, packaging, transportation, storage and ripening of banana.

2. 1 

   Introduction

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   Bananas and plantains constitute the fourth most important global food commodity (after rice, wheat and maize). They are cultivated in over 120 countries in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world in an area of  approximately 100 million hectares, where they constitute a major staple food crop for millions of people, as well as providing a valued source of income through local and international trade.
    
   Banana is one of the oldest fruit crops of India, finding its reference even in epics like Ramayana. India is  believed to be one of centres of  origin, besides southeast Asian countries like Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is a crop having multifarious uses as every part of the plant is utilized and hence aptly  called as ‘Kalpatharu’ the plant of virtues. It is important internationally from the point of view of  trade as well as livelihood security.

3. 2 

   Origin, Production and Distribution

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   2.1    Origin
       
   2.2    Production
       
   2.3    Distribution

   2.4    World Scenario

4. 3 

   Varieties and Their Characteristics

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   Edible bananas are classified into several main groups and subgroups. In the first place is the diploid M. acuminata group which originated in Malaya, Indonesia, the Philippines, Southern India, East Africa, Burma, Thailand, the West Indies, Colombia and Brazil. This group is characterized by dark-brown sheaths of pseudostem,  and the leaves are nearly free from wax. The bunches are small and the fruits small, thin-skinned and sweet. Cultivars of this group are more important in New Guinea than any where else. Lady Finger which was popular in Queensland and New South Wales belonged to this group.
   
   In second place, there was a group represented by the prominent and widely cultivated ‘Gros Michel’ originally from Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Indonesia and Ceylon. It was introduced into Martinique early in the 19th Century by a French naval officer and, a few years later, was taken to Jamaica; from there it was carried to Fiji, Nicaragua, Hawaii and Australia, in that sequence. It is a large, tall plant bearing long bunches of large, yellow fruits, and it was formerly the leading commercial cultivar in Central Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, but has been phased out because of its great susceptibility to Panama disease. It has given rise to several named sports or mutants (Mortan, 1987). 

5. 4 

   Trade –International and Domestic

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   4.1    Importance of Banana in International Trade
       
   4.2    Major Exporting Countries
       
   4.3    Major Importing Countries
       
   4.4    World Market Structure for Fresh Bananas
       
   4.5    Domestic Trade
       
   4.6    Banana Trade Wars : A Glimpse
       
   4.7    Fair Trade Bananas

6. 5 

   Consumption Pattern of Bananas and Plantains

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   Most banana producers in Africa, Latin America and Asia are small-scale farmers who grow bananas either for home consumption or local markets. Because bananas and plantains produce fruit year-round, they provide an extremely valuable food source during the hunger season (when the food from one annual/semi-annual harvest has been consumed, and the next is still to come). Bananas and plantains are therefore critical to global food security. However, the export trade of banana depends mainly on commercial plantations in Latin America, East Asia and Africa. These plantations are owned by multinational corporations.

7. 6 

   Nutritive, Medicinal and Therapeutic Values

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   6.1    Phytochemicals
       
   6.2    Health Benefits  and Therapeutic Properties of Banana
       
   6.3    Validation of Health and Therapeutic Claims

8. 7 

   Post Harvest Losses and its Causes

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   7.1    Pre-Harvest Factors Responsible for Post Harvest Losses
       
   7.2    Harvesting Method
       
   7.3    Post-Harvest Causes Responsible for Losses

9. 8 

   Pre-Harvest Factors Affecting the Shelf / Storage Life and Quality

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   8.1    Climatic Conditions
       
   8.2    Water
       
   8.3    Spacing
       
   8.4    Crop Nutrition
       
   8.5    Pests and Diseases
       
   8.6    Bunch Covering
       
   8.7    Maturity and Maturity Indices
       
   8.8    Maturity vs Shelf life and Quality
       
   8.9    Pre-Harvest Sprays
       
   8.10    Harvesting

10. 9 

    Post Harvest Factors Affecting The Shelf Life and Quality

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    9.1    Temperature
        
    9.2    Relative Humidity
        
    9.3    Physical Damage
        
    9.4    Microbial Load
        
    9.5    Packaging
        
    9.6    Transportation

11. 10 

    Post Harvest Physiology, Shelf Life and Quality Changes

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    10.1    Respiration
        
    10.2    Effect of Ethylene on Ripening
        
    10.3    Transpiration Loss
        
    10.4    Postharvest Biochemistry of Banana
        
    10.5    Postharvest Pathology of Banana

12. 11 

    Improved Harvest, Postharvest Handling, Packaging and Transportation

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    11.1    Maturity Indices
        
    11.2    Harvesting and Field Handling
        
    11.3    Packhouse Operations
        
    11.4    Packaging
        
    11.5    Precooling

13. 12 

    Storage of Banana

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    12.1    Shelf Life
        
    12.2    Pre-Treatments Vs. Shelf Life/Storage (Hot Water, Fungicides, Coatings and other Chemicals)
        
    12.3    Surface Coatings
        
    12.4    1-MCP Gas Exposure
        
    12.5    Use of Botanicals
        
    12.6    Other Chemicals/Methods
        
    12.7    Evaporative Cool Storage
        
    12.8    Modified Atmosphere Storage (MAS)
        
    12.9    Controlled Atmosphere Storage (CAS)
        
    12.10    Vacuum Packaging
        
    12.11    Hypobaric Storage
        
    12.12    Irradiation
        
    12.13    Chilling Injury (CI)

14. 13 

    Ripening and Retailing

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    13.1    Biochemical Changes During Banana Ripening
        
    13.2    Commercial Ripening

15. 14 

    Minimal Processing

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    By definition, minimal processing would encompass any procedure, short of traditional complete preservation procedures (heat sterilization etc.) that adds value to the fruit or vegetables (Floros, 1993). Other terms used to refer minimally processed products are lightly processed, partially processed, fresh processed, fresh cut and prepared. Minimally processed fruits and vegetables are products those have the attributes of ‘fresh-like’ quality. A number of minimally processed products of fruits and vegetables are now being produced like peeled and sliced potatoes, shredded lettuce and cabbage, washed and trimmed spinach, chilled peach, mango, banana, melon and other fruit slices, vegetable snacks such as carrot and celery stick  and cauliflower and broccoli florets, packaged mixed salads, cleaned and diced onion, peeled and cored pineapple, fresh sauces, peeled citrus fruits and microwaveable fresh vegetable trays. Minimal processing of fruits and vegetables has two purposes. First, it is important to keep the product fresh but convenient without losing its nutritional quality. Second, the product should have a shelf life sufficient enough to facilitate distribution within the region of consumption. The microbiological, sensory and nutritional shelf life of minimally processed fruits and vegetables should be at least 4-7 days but preferably even longer (Ahvenainen, 2000).

16. 15 

    Banana Processing and Processed Products

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    15.1    Banana Chips/Crisps
        
    15.2    Banana Puree/Pulp
        
    15.3    Banana Flour
        
    15.4    Banana Powder
        
    15.5    Banana Flakes
        
    15.6    Banana Figs or Dehydrated Banana
        
    15.7    Banana Jam
        
    15.8    Ready-To-Serve (Rts) Beverage
        
    15.9    Banana Beer and Wine
        
    15.10    Banana Vinegar
        
    15.11    Banana Catsup
        
    15.12    Banana Inflorescence Relish
        
    15.13    Candied Banana
        
    15.14    Other Banana Based Products

17. 16 

    Utilization of  Field Residues and Processing Waste

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    16.1    Banana Alcohol
        
    16.2    Banana Pseudostem Fibre and Fibre Reinforced Products
        
    16.3    Banana Pseudostem Juice
        
    16.4    Banana Starch
        
    16.5    Banana Waste for Mushroom Production
        
    16.6    Paper and Pulp from Banana Waste
        
    16.7    Vermicompost and Vermiwash from Banana Waste
        
    16.8    Animal Feed from Banana Waste
        
    16.9    Banana Leaf

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    Abbas, F.M.A., Saifullah, B.R., Yeoh, S.Y. and Azhar, M.E. 2012. Comparing physico- chemical properties of banana pulp and peel flours prepared from green and ripe fruits. Food Chemistry 129: 312–318.
    
    Abbas, F.M.A., Saifullah, R. and Azhar, M.E. 2009. Assessment of physical properties of ripe banana flour prepared from tow varieties of Cavendish and Dream banana. Int.Food Res. J., 16:183-189.

    
    Abdullah, H., Rohaya, M.A. and Zaipun, M.Z. 1985. Physio-chemical changes during maturation and after ripening of banana (Musa sapientum cv. Embun). MARDI Research Bulletin (MYS), 13(3):341-347.
    
    Abe, K. and Watada, A.E. 1991. Ethylene absorbent to maintain quality of lightly processed fruits and vegetables. Journal of Food Science, 56: 1589–1592.
    
    Abera, A.M.K., Gold, C.S. and Kyamanywa, S. 1999. Timing and distribution of attack by the banana weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in East Africa highland banana (Musa spp.). Fla. Entomol. 82:631-641.