Banana is one of the major fruits produced all year round in Mauritius. It is very much appreciated for its taste and nutritive value. Its cultivation occupies some 500 hectares or land w ith an annual production of about 9,000 tonnes. All of the production is consumed locally, mainly as dessert banana. So far no loss assessment exercise has been carried out to quantify post-harvest losses in banana in Mauritius. It has however been observed that post-harvest losses in banana were quite high. In addition. the quality of banana fruits on the market is poor in terms or overall appearance and shell life of the fruit. Thus marketing such fruit becomes difficult. The major causes or post-harvest losses and poor fruit quality are namely:
⢠improper stage fruits at harvest (too early or too late)
⢠mechanicai damage to fruits as a result of poor harvesting and handling procedures
⢠physiological breakdown caused by poor ripening and storage conditions. particularly during fruit ripening
⢠pathological problems caused hy l.ucm lungul diseases developing during fruit ripening
In view of the increasing demand for high quality fruits, especially by hotels and supermarkets. It was felt imperative that research and development activities be undertaken lo improve the post harvest quality ot banana and thus its marketability.
The specific objectives of the project were : to determine the optimun harvest age of commercially important banana cultivars, to assess the disease state of banana on the market and to investigate the effects of different ripening regimes on the quality of fruits harvested at the physiological age