Physiological and Biochemical Studies of Chilling Injury in Bananas

The physiological changes in green bananas (cv. Sin-zun), which are very sensitive to chilling injury, were studied during and after exposure to low temperatures (4±1°C, 6±0.5°C) for various periods. While the fruits injured by chilling did not fail to produce CO2 and ethylene, the pattern of both CO2- and ethylene production in these chilled fruits (9 and 15 days at 6°C) after transfer to 20°C was not normal. The contents of acetaldehyde and ethanol in chilled fruits, both in peels and pulps, increased with the advance of chilling, injury. There was an accumulation of α-keto acids in the peels of chilled fruits. Only half the conversion of 14C (fed as succinic acid-1, 4-14C) to citric acid and isocitric acid was observed in chilled tissues as compared with healthy ones; the activity of citrate synthase in banana peels appears therefore to be inhibited by chilling injury. A histological study of the tissues showed that the browning substances (polyphenols) present in chilled fruits accumulate around the vascular tissues.

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