Ripening of bananas using Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth leaves

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1 Departamento de Agroecologia e Agropecuária, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Lagoa Seca, Paraíba, Brazil
2 Departamento de Fitotecnia e Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brazil
3 Departamento de Entomologia/BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.26609v1
Published
Accepted
Subject Areas
Agricultural Science, Plant Science
Keywords
agroecological production of banana, agroecology, natural ripening inducer, post-harvest of banana., fruticulture
Copyright
© 2018 Nascimento et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Nascimento RC, Freire OO, Domingos ARS, Falcão MS, Ribeiro LS, Zanuncio JC, Ribeiro WS. 2018. Ripening of bananas using Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth leaves. PeerJ Preprints 6:e26609v1

Abstract

Introduction: Bananas are usually matured with carbide, a dangerous substance that can cause food poisoning. The objective was to test the empirical ripening banana method using Bowdichia virgilioides leaves compared to carbide. Material and Methods: Ripening tests were carried out using 'Pacovan' banana fruits with Bowdichia virgilioides leaves and carbide following the empirical method used by Borborema farmers, Paraíba, Brazil. Results: Bowdichia virgilioides leaves induced increased respiration and vitamin C production and reduced acidity, chlorophyll and pH in banana fruits. Leaves of B. virgilioides induce maturation of 'Pacovan' banana. Discussion: Exposure of the fruits to the ethylene produced by B. virgilioides leaves induced increased respiration and climacteric, resulting in banana ripening with better results than with carbide.

Author Comment

This is a submission to PeerJ for review.

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