Factors determining the mechanical properties of banana fruit skin during induced ripening.

Postharvest peel splitting in banana impairs visual quality and exacerbates mass loss, fruit fly infestation and microbial infection. The aim was to determine the mechanistic basis of peel splitting. We therefore monitored the change in physical and mechanical properties of the peel as affected by different storage conditions. Peel splitting occurred axially, in the fruit corners. It began 4 d after ripening induction. Splitting was preceded by radial cracks in the inner peel, that propagated towards the outside. In fruit stored at 98 % relative humidity (RH), splitting occurred in 38 % of fruit; there was no splitting in fruit stored at 14 or 60 % RH. The percentages of fruit with radial cracks in the inner peel were 63 %, 100 %, and 100 % at 14 %, 60 % and 98 % RH, respectively. The fracture force (F_max) of the peel decreased rapidly from 53.0 ±...