Postharvest Physiological Disorders in Fruits and Vegetables

Sergio Tonetto de Freitas, Sunil Pareek

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351973168
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Culinary Arts

This book, chock full of color illustrations, addresses the main postharvest physiological disorders studied in fruits and vegetables. For a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, Postharvest Physiological Disorders in Fruits and Vegetables describes visual symptoms, triggering and inhibiting mechanisms, and approaches to predict and control these disorders after harvest. Color photographs illustrate the disorders, important factors, physiology, and management. The book includes a detailed description of the visual symptoms, triggering and inhibiting mechanisms, and possible approaches to predict and control physiological disorders. The mechanisms triggering and inhibiting the disorders are discussed in detail in each chapter, based on recent studies, which can help readers better understand the factors regulating each disorder. The description of possible approaches to predict and control each disorder can help growers, shippers, wholesalers, and retailers to determine the best management practices to reduce disorder incidence and crop losses.

Features:

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• Presents visual symptoms of postharvest physiological disorders that will help readers to precisely identify the disorders in fruits and vegetables

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• Details mechanisms triggering and inhibiting the postharvest disorders

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• Explains possible approaches to predict and control these disorders

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• Suggests the best postharvest management approaches for each crop

Although there are many scientific publications on postharvest physiological disorders, there are no recent reviews or books putting together the most recent information about the mechanisms regulating, as well as about the possible approaches to predict and control these disorders.

Section III

Tropical and Sub-Tropical Fruits

16

Banana

Scot C. Nelson and Sarah J. Pethybridge

Contents

List of Abbreviations

16.1 Introduction

16.1.1 Physiological (Non-Parasitic) Postharvest Disorders of Banana Fruit

16.1.2 Banana Field and Cultivation Practices

16.1.3 Harvest and Packinghouse Practices

16.1.4 Transport, Ripening, and Marketing Practices

16.2. Disorders Arising from Cultivation Practices in the Banana Field

16.2.1 Bumpy Finger

16.2.2 Formic Acid Injury

16.2.3 Fused Fingers

16.2.4 Leaf Rubbing Injury (‘Alligator Skin’)

16.2.5 Twisted Finger, Malformed Finger

16.2.6 Maturity Stain (Maturity Bronzing)

16.2.7 Point Scars

16.2.8 Sinkers

16.2.9 Somaclonal Variation, Fruit Chimera

16.2.10 Sooty Mold, Sooty Blotch

16.2.11 Sunburn/Sunscald

16.2.12 Yellow Pulp

16.2.13 Wing Fingers

16.3 Disorders Arising from Harvest and Packinghouse Practices

16.3.1 Best Management Practices for Harvesting and Packing

16.3.2 Best Management Practices for Ripening

16.3.3 Bruised Peel and Pulp

16.3.4 Cracked or Split Finger

16.3.5 Latex (Sap) Stain, Sap Scars

16.3.6 Precocious Ripening, Mixed Ripening

16.4 Disorders Arising from Transport, Ripening, and Marketing Practices

16.4.1 Chilling Injury

16.4.2 High-Temperature Under-Peel Discoloration, High-Temperature Injury

16.4.3 Senescent Spots

16.4.4 Segmented Banana

16.4.5 Peel Abrasions

16.4.6 Withered Pedicels

16.5 Disorders Related to Gases During Shipment or Storage

16.5.1 Oxygen (O₂) Deprivation

16.5.2 Ammonia (NH₃) Injury

16.5.3 Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) Injury

16.6 Physiological Mechanisms Associated with the Postharvest Disorders of Banana

16.7 Glossary of Banana-Production Jargon

16.8 Acknowledgments

References

List of Abbreviations

ASHRAE	American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
CO2	Carbon dioxide
HCOOH (HCO2H)	Formic acid
K^+	Potassium
NH3	Ammonia
O2	Oxygen
R717	A type of refrigeration equipment fueled by ammonia gas

16.1 Introduction

16.1.1 Physiological (Non-Parasitic) Postharvest Disorders of Banana Fruit

In this chapter, we define a ‘postharvest physiological disorder’ of banana fruits as any abnormal symptom observed after harvest and caused by non-parasitic or etiological factors. These factors range from genetic mutations to any growing, handling, or fruit-processing practices performed or conditions experienced before, during, or after harvest. Therefore, the physiological disorders discussed exclude injuries caused by parasitic insects and diseases caused by plant pathogens.

We discuss the disorders in relation to commercial banana production, marketing, and modern consumer preferences. The discussion may not be relevant to home or local farming where fruits affected by many of these disorders are not suitable for supermarkets, but nonetheless may be safely consumed. Consumer preferences and some disorders are specified in published banana grading standards, such as those used in Hawai‘i, USA (Anonymous, 1986).

Postharvest physiological disorders do not necessarily begin after harvest, although that is primarily when they are expressed, noticed, or acted upon. The disorders derive from three distinct phases in banana production systems: (1) field and cultivation practices; (2) harvest and packinghouse practices; and (3) transport, ripening, storage, and marketing practices.

Many published sources describe the best practices for banana farming, harvesting, handling, ripening, and storage. It is not our purpose to fully replicate these materials, but to reference key points related to the cause and management of each disorder. We therefore provide relevant aspects of banana production and marketing that pertain to the postharvest physiological disorders of banana presented in this chapter.

16.1.2 Banana Field and Cultivation Practices

Some physiological disorders of banana fruits occur during cultivation but are not expressed, or noticed, until after harvest (Table 16.1). Proper management practices in the field can reduce the incidence and severity of blemishes on the fruit or disorders that result in culled or off-grade fruits (Table 16.2).

Table 16.1
Commercial Banana Bunch Management Practices

Bunch Management Practice	Effect on Physiological Disorders
Proper fertilization practices (e.g., K ^+ )	Reduced incidence of sinkers and yellow pulp
Leaf removal. Remove leaves that rub against bunches.	Reduced incidence of alligator skin and leaf rubbing injury
Detrashing. Remove leaves having greater than 50% of leaf area covered by black or yellow Sigatoka.	Reduced incidence of precocious ripening
Bunch covers. Use perforated polyethylene sleeves to cover bunches. Tie the open ends closed at the top and bottom of the bunch.	Reduced incidence of sooty mold, sunscald leaf rubbing injury, and insect damage
Deflowering. Pluck female flowers from fingers twice per week before bagging with polyethylene sleeves, while the flowers are fresh (not dried).	Reduced incidence of sap stains (if not plucked when fresh, the dry flowers must be removed at the packinghouse, which starts sap flow and causes sap stain of fingers
Bunch sprays. Spray bunches with a fungicide before bagging.	Reduced incidence and severity of sooty mold, sooty blotch, and other fungal diseases
Avoid jarring pseudostems. Do not bump into pseudostems during field operations or at harvest.	Reduced incidence of formic acid injury to bunches and fruits caused by certain species of ants
Bag and tag the bunches. After plucking the female flowers, spray the bunch, cut off the male flower (the “bell”), bag the bunch, and tag with colored ribbons. This ensures that bunches of identical ages are harvested on the same date.	Reduced incidence of sooty mold, fruit abrasion injury and bunches of mixed ripeness
Gentle handling. Handle bunches with care during harvest and transport to the packing facility.	Reduced incidence of bruising
Rogue mutant plants. Remove plants with somaclonal variations produced during tissue culture.	Reduced incidence of somaclonal variation, mutant phenotypes and fruit abnormalities
Crop logging. Use an accepted crop logging and leaf sampling protocol for banana leaf tissue in your area^1. Tissue analysis can help offset nutrient deficiencies (Table 16.2).	Reduced incidence of sinkers and yellow pulp

¹Laha, E., and Turner, D.W. 1989. Banana Nutrition. International Potash Institute Worblaufen-Bern, Switzerland.

Table 16.2
Recommended Levels of Elements in Banana Leaf Tissue in Hawaii (Silva & Uchida, 2000)

Element	Symbol	Range (suggested)
Nitrogen	N	2.8 – 3.1%
Phosphorous	P	0.18 – 0.20%
Potassium	K	3.2 – 3.5%
Calcium	Ca	0.6 – 1.0%
Magnesium	Mg	0.3 – 0.6%
Sulfur	S	0.22 – 0.25%
Iron	Fe	50 – 100 ppm
Manganese	Mn	30 – 100 ppm
Copper	Cu	10 – 15 ppm
Zinc	Zn	25 – 40 ppm
Boron	B	15 – 25 ppm

16.1.3 Harvest and Packinghouse Practices

Proper harvest and packinghouse practices can reduce the incidence and severity of fruit blemishes and other physiological disorders (Table 16.3). More specific information on these practices appears later in the chapter.

TABLE 16.3
Best practices for banana harvesting and at packinghouses and their effects on various physiological disorders

Harvest or packinghouse practice	Effect on physiological disorders
Gentle handling of bunc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Editors
• Contributors
• Section I General Issues, Physiological and Technological Effects
• Section II Temperate Fruits
• Section III Tropical and Sub-Tropical Fruits
• Section IV Vegetables and Tubers
• Section V Processed Fruits and Vegetables
• Section VI Final Considerations
• Index