Influence of Storage methods on ripening and microbial load of `some Musa species

Abstract

The effect of two storage methods (jute bag and open shelve) on ripening and microbial load of fruits of three cultivars of Musa (PITA 26, cooking banana and ‘agbagba’ plantain) at different stages of ripening were investigated. There was a significant difference in the fruit ripening rate of the three Musa cultivars kept under the two storage methods. The fruits stored in jute bags ripened within a shorter period of time (8 days for PITA 26 and ‘agbagba’ plantain; 11 days for cooking banana) compared with those put on open shelf in the laboratory (10 days for PITA 26 and ‘agbagba’ plantain; 14 days for cooking banana). There was a continuous increase in microbial (bacterial and fungal) count of fruits as ripening process progressed. The identified isolates were Bacillus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus species, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium, Saccharomyces and Penicillium species