1) Process of Banana ripening?
Banana ripening chambers are engineered to stimulate natures ripening process by temperature control, exposure to uniform & controlled ppm of Ethylene gas, venting of CO2 gas and reducing total ripening process to 4-6 days for best quality.
2) What are the major component of ripening chambers
The major components of ripening chambers are:
(a) Puff insulated chambers
(b) Insulated doors
(c) Refrigeration system with higher airflow evaporator
(d) Control panel
(e) Humidifier
(f) Ethylene generators & CO2 and Ethylene analyzers to monitor levels of gas in the room
(g) Crate for stacking
3) What are the things to be kept in mind for designing Banana ripening chambers?
Following things to be ensured while designing the commercial ripening room:
(a) The room must be as air tight as possible to prevent ethylene loss
(b) The room must be properly insulated to be able to control the temperature within a degree or so
(c) The room must have adequate refrigeration capacity to accurately control pulp temperature
(d) The room must have adequate air circulation
(e) The room may need heating equipment in order to maintain proper room temperature in cold weather.
4) What is the room temperature required for banana ripening?
Bananas are very sensitive to temperatures. Chilling will occur if the fruit is subject to temperatures below 56 °F (13 °C) for several hours & avoid temperatures above 65 °F (18 °C). The fruit may be soft and have a short shelf life.
5) What is the humidity level required for Banana ripening?
For best ripening results, humidity should be 90% to 95% to prevent moisture loss. If the humidity is too low, install a humidifier; wetting the floor of the room with water may increase the humidity but may cause sanitation issues.
6) How to decide dimensions of ripening chamber
Ripening chamber dimensions will depend on number of tiers and number of pallets to be stored. On an average 11M 3 per MT of banana fruits in ripening units for 10 MT or larger capacity and 12M 3/MT for ripening units of less than 10 MT capacity. For this purpose, volume of one chamber is taken into account. Number of chambers may vary from four to eight depending on ripening cycle in terms of number of days.
7) What is the specification for air circulation inside the chambers?
Recommended air flow for exporting of bananas should be 2000 Mtr cube per hour, per MT of product ripened at 95% Relative Humidity. However, local manufacturers may ripen bananas with air flow between 1000-2500 cmh per ton of product
8) What is the materials which is used for ripening ?
Ethylene gas with suitable detection and dosing equipment to maintain ethylene concentration within required levels depending on product (Range 10 to 200 ppm)
9) What is the conditions for storing of banana in cold storage?
Storage temperature : 13 to 14 °C
Relative Humidity : 90-95%
Storage life : up to 6 weeks at 14 °C
10) What are the practices for ripening of banana in ripening chamber?
a) Ripening temperature should be maintained between 14-20 °C
b) Relative humidity should be maintained at 85-90%
c) For quick ripening, happened at higher temperature within 4 days
d) For slow ripening, happened at lower temperature within 8- 10 days
e) Forced air ripening system is recommended for new facilities
11) How much gap provided between stacking during ripening of banana?
Boxes of banana should be stored in stacked rows and provide 100 mm gap between the rows for air ventilation.
12) How much ethylene gas needed for banana ripening?
For banana Ripening, required ethylene gas value is 100 ppm is needed which is 0.1 cu.ft. of ethylene per 1000 cu.ft. of room. So,the recommended hours for ethylene gas addition in Ripening room is 24-48 hours.
13) What is the condition for storing of banana in Controlled Atmosphere (CA)?
a) Concentration of o2 lies between 2-5%
b) Concentration of Co2 lies between 2-5%
c) Maintain the humidity of room between 90-95%
14) What are the diseases and injuries for banana storage?
a) Anthracnose
b) Blackrot
c) Chilling injury
d) Fruit spot
e) Rhizopusrot
