DURATION AND CONCENTRATION OF 1-METHYLCYCLOPROPENE TREATMENT: IMPACT ON RIPENING AND SHELF LIFE OF PARTIALLY RIPENED BANANAS

In order to improve the quality and extend the shelf life of bananas after gassing with ethylene at commercial treatment during transportation and storage the simultaneous application of ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene were examined. Fruit were treated with 100 µL L-1 of ethylene for two consecutive days as a control, followed by 20 min ventilation each day, or simultaneously exposed to 1-MCP at different concentrations (30, 100 or 300 nL L-1 on the first day or second day, or treated with 1-MCP alone on the third day at 22ºC. Fruit from each treatment were used to evaluate external and internal quality parameters and shelf life. The results showed that shelf life increased significantly, compared to the control when 1-MCP was applied coincidently with ethylene in the second day and reapplied alone in the third day. The highest increase in shelf life (125%) was obtained when 1-MCP was applied on the second day at 30 nL L-1 simultaneously with ethylene and at 300 nL L-1 alone on the third day, compared to the control in both harvest months. We conclude that simultaneous application of 1-MCP is more effective than the more common method of extending banana shelf life through application of 1-MCP after ethylene treatment.