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.

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.

2.1    Origin      2.2    Production      2.3    Distribution 2.4    World Scenario

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). 

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

13.1    Biochemical Changes During Banana Ripening      13.2    Commercial Ripening

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).

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

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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