Influence of postharvest GA3 and 1-MCP treatments on quality of banana Musa acuminata 'Pisang Mas' (AA) harvested at different age of fruit

Banana 'Pisang Mas' grown in Costa Rica was harvested at 6 weeks (w) from emerged the floral shoot. GA₃ was applied by aspersion at the doses of 4000, 4500, and 5000 mg L^‑1, and 1-MCP was applied by immersion at the doses of 10, 25, 50, and 100 µg L^‑1. Treatments followed the commercial-normal process and packaging procedure, and were subsequently stored for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days (d) in a cool room at 14°C. At the end of each storage period, ‘green life’ was evaluated as external color (GC), skin (GSF) and pulp firmness (GPF). Fruit was exposed to ethylene at 18°C until it reached the grade 5 of maturity, where quality was evaluated as skin firmness (MSF), titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS) and days to reach grade 5. The obtained results indicate fruit treated with GA₃: 4500 mg L^‑1, and 1-MCP: 10 µg L^‑1 performed the best. A second experiment was carried out following the same methodology, but combining the best dose of GA₃ and 1-MCP with different fruit maturities: 5, 6, and 7 w, respectively. The results obtained in this study indicate that fruit harvested at 6 w and treated with 1-MCP has the highest quality based on GC, GSF and GPF measurements. Therefore harvesting at 6 w and treating with 1-MCP seems the best treatment to extend the postharvest life without compromising quality

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