Banana ‘BRS Princesa’: ponto de colheita e pós-colheita para comercialização de frutos com qualidade

Abstract

Many banana cultivars are susceptible to diseases that can make production unviable, especially Fusarium wilt. To mitigate part of this problem, the 'BRS Princesa' cultivar was launched, which is resistant to this disease, has tasty fruit with a high market value, and is a viable alternative for resuming the cultivation of Silk type bananas. However, as it is a relatively new cultivar, there is little information in the literature about post-harvest practices. Therefore, the general objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of harvest point, refrigerated storage and air conditioning on the physiology and biochemistry of 'BRS Princesa' bananas and their contribution to the useful life and quality of the fruit. To achieve the objectives, three experiments were carried out. In experiment 1 - Harvest point for 'BRS Princesa' bananas for the region of the lower south of Bahia, 'BRS Princesa' bananas were harvested on five dates, 80, 87, 94, 101 and 115 days after the bunch was issued and stored at room temperature (25±1°C) until fully ripe. The results showed that fruit harvested at 87 days after the bunch was issued had the best balance, with lower ethylene production, lower respiration rates and good resistance to transportation, presenting the best balance of shelf life and fruit quality. In experiment 2 - Acclimatization of 'BRS Princesa' apple bananas during ripening, freshly picked fruit were exposed to a fixed concentration of 100 μL L-1 of ethylene at a temperature of 16 °C or 18 °C for 0, 12, 24, 36 or 48 hours and then transferred to 25±1 °C until they reached stage 6 of ripeness. The highest fruit quality was obtained with 24-hour acclimatization, ensuring better characteristics in terms of soluble solids content and flesh firmness. In experiment 3 - Extending the supply of 'BRS Princesa' bananas stored under refrigeration, bouquets at stage 1 of ripeness - completely green peel were stored in a cold room at 14±1 ºC and 75±1% RH, for up to 7; 14; 21; 28 days, followed by storage at a temperature of 25±1 °C until the fruit reached full ripeness. The 'BRS Princesa' bananas can be stored at 14 °C for up to 14 days without damaging the good appearance and quality of the fruit, with an increase of 8 days in the possibility of consuming the fruit when compared to the control.