Banana with authors

Banana (Musa acuminata cv. Cavendish) is a commercially significant tropical fruit with
innumerable varieties (Prabha and Bhagyalakshmi, 1998). Ten of the major banana producing
countries accounted for about 75% of world production in 2003, whereas India, Ecuador, Brazil and
China provided almost 50% of the total production in that year (Zhang et al., 2005).

The natural process of fruit ripening can be viewed as a combination of physiological, biochemical and
molecular processes (Bouzayen, Latche et al. 2010). It involves co-ordination of different metabolism
with activation and deactivation of various genes leading to change in tissue (Singal, Kumud et al. 2012).
The metabolism of fatty acids and branched amino acids serves as precursor of aroma volatile during
fruit ripening process and induces olfactory stimulation (Bangerth, Song et al. 2012). The natural process
of fruit ripening is a combination of physiological, biochemical and molecular processes (Brady, 1987;
Prasanna et al., 2007; . Kendrick, 2009; Bouzayen et al., 2010). Fruit ripening involves coordination of
different metabolism with activation and deactivation of various genes leading to change in color,
increase in sugar content, decrease in acidity, softening of fruit and increase in flavor and aroma (Tucker
and Grierson 1987; Lizada, 1993; . Prasanna et al., 2007; Kendrick, 2009; Bouzayen et al., 2010; Singal et
al., 2011; El Hadi et al., 2013). This ripening process can be instigated artificially by using different
chemical agents (Goonatilake, 2008; Hakim et al., 2012; Rahman et al., 2008; Siddiqui & Dhua, 2010).
Different research groups have reported that ethanol, methanol, methyl jasmonate, ethylene glycol,
ethephon and calcium carbide are used to ripen fruits and vegetables artificially (Chace, 1934;
Goonatilake, 2008; Koros, 2014; Nagel, 1989; Rahman et al., 2008; Siddiqui & Dhua, 2010). In recent
days, fume from the kerosene stove or lantern has been used to initiate the ripening process of different
fruits which is the combustion product of kerosene that induces ripening (House et al., 1929). However,
the effects of these artificial ripening agents on the nutritional values of fruits and associated health
hazard caused by consuming artificially ripened fruits are yet to be fully understood (Mursalat et al.,
2013). Different research groups have reported that possible health hazards are caused by direct
exposure or direct consumption of artificial ripening agents (Goonatilake, 2008; Siddiqui & Dhua, 2010).
For example, calcium carbide is alkaline in nature and irritates the mucosal tissues of the abdominal
region. Several cases of stomach disorder after eating carbide-ripened mangoes have also been reported
(Siddiqui & Dhua, 2010). A generous consumption of ethylene glycol may cause kidney failure
(Goonatilake, 2008). Chemicals such as ethylene and methyl jasmonate are reported to be nontoxic for
human consumption. They are relatively expensive and therefore are not widely used (Rahman et al.,
2008). In many developing countries, chemicals such as calcium carbide (Rahman et al., 2008; Siddiqui &
Dhua, 2010), ethylene glycol (Goonatilake, 2008) and ethephon (Hakim et al., 2012) are preferred due to
their low cost (Islam, Mursalat, & Khan, 2016; Islam, Rahman, Mursalat, Rony, & Khan, 2016).

Therefore, it is important to conduct systematic scientific research to identify and quantify any change
in nutritional values of artificially ripened fruits and also investigate any possible health hazard
associated with the consumption of these fruits.
For more than 70 years, the presence or absence of a climacteric increase in respiration during
ripening has been used to classify the fruits. However, it has been known for some time that certain
features of the ripening process can be separated from the climacteric. Particularly, the timing of color
development in relation to the climacteric peak has been altered for several fruits (Laties, 1995;
Bower et al, 2002). In climacteric fruits, ethylene (C2H4) is produced at different rates based on the
stage of fruit development. The fruits are characterized by a low ethylene production during the pre-
climacteric period (unripe or green fruit), followed by a climacteric phase where a sudden increase in
the ethylene production takes place during ripening, a phenomenon called autocatalytic C2H4
production (Abeles, 1973). This rise in ethylene concentration is considered the main factor for the
ripening of fruits such as banana, avocado, tomato and melon (Bower et al., 2002). After this step, the
C2H4 production decreases considerably in the post-climacteric phase (Hoffman and Yang, 1980).
Thus, the post-harvest physiology is characterized by the pre-climacteric phase, followed by a sudden
increase in the ethylene production, signaling the beginning of ripening, and it is represented by a
strong rise in the respiration activity (Palomer et al., 2005). Some modifications during ripening
include changes in peel color and pulp texture, conversion of starch into sugar, reduction of
polyphenols and synthesis of aromatic compounds and others (Clendennen and May, 1997; Chen and
Ramaswamy, 2002).

Although banana fruit can be harvested at a wide range of physiological ages, it still achieves high
quality after ripening process with ethylene application. The C2H4 performs an important role during
the ripening by stimulating the development of color, texture, aroma and flavor and by reducing the
ripening variability (Moya-León and Herrera, 2004; Adkins et al., 2005; Palomer et al., 2005).
Treatments using as low as 0.1 mg l-1 of ethylene induces the climacteric stage in banana (Liu, 1976),
but in commercial treatments, the use of 100 to 1000 mg l-1 is common (Inaba and Nakamura, 1986;
Ke and Tsai, 1988; Stover and Simmonds, 1993).

Because the storage atmosphere can affect the fruits durability (Palomer et al., 2005; Burdon et al.,
2005), the ideal conditions of controlled and modified atmosphere are related to the species, degree
of ripening, temperature and period of exposure (Kader et al., 1989; Cameron et al., 1995; Pesis,
2005). Generally, a combination of low O2, high CO2 concentration and low temperature is applied
(Henig, 1975; Kader et al., 1989; Riquelme et al., 1994). High levels of CO2 can inhibit ethylene-
dependent processes, such as autocatalytic ethylene production, and therefore, the ripening of
climacteric fruits. The CO2 levels necessary for this inhibition are much higher than the atmospheric
level (Mathooko, 1996; Wild et al., 2005), and several authors have shown that the exposure of
banana to an atmosphere with high CO2 concentration can suppress the climacteric respiration
(Young et al., 1962; Liu et al., 2004; Wild et al., 2005). Besides the control of CO2 concentration, the
maintenance of low O2 concentration delays the respiration increase, peel de-greening and starch
conversion into sugar (Marriot, 1980; Kanellis et al., 1989; Marchal, 1998).
Although the banana ripening process with ethylene is well known and established, this paper focuses
on the evaluation of banana ripening in order to contribute to development of new equipments able
to manage and improve fruit shelf-life at small scales. Therefore, the influence of parameters such as
CO2 and C2H4 concentration and temperature were evaluated during banana ripening. Furthermore,
a set of "start up assays" were performed to evaluate the effect of the ethylene as a trigger factor for
the ripening process of confined bananas. Therefore, this work evaluated the ripening control process
at domestic scale, where costs analysis would be a further investigation.

Apple

An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (Malus domestica). Apple trees are cultivated
worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus Malus. The tree originated in Central
Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. Apples have been grown for
thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to North America by European colonists.
Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek, and
European Christian tradition.

Botanists theorize that apples originated somewhere in central and southern China. This area is home
to around twenty Malus species, whose seeds were gradually spread by birds throughout the
Northern Hemisphere. Ornamental crab apples are also descendants of these smaller, bitter-fruited
species. It was thought that the edible apple (Malus domestica ) evolved as a complex hybrid from a
number of these wild apple species. However, Barrie Juniper, emeritus fellow in the Department of
Plant Sciences at Oxford University, has suggested that a small population of a single Malus species
from the wild forests of the Tian Shan (the Heavenly Mountains) along the border of western China
and Kazakhstan is the progenitor of all modern apple cultivars. These Tian Shan forests became
isolated by biological and climatic changes about 4.5 million years ago and evolved in isolation.
Juniper theorizes that as bears and wild pigs, horses, and donkeys gradually began to occupy the area
and to eat the largest and sweetest fruits, they aided in the process of natural selection for larger,
sweeter fruit. Because apples do not breed "true to type" from seed, these wild plantings from
dispersed seeds gradually contributed to a diversity of apple varieties from this one species. Later,
around ten thousand years ago, humans began to travel through the area and also began to eat these
fruits and to carry them westward. Juniper and other researchers are studying the remnants of these
forests of wild fruit trees and are collecting samples for DNA analysis. These wild fruit trees are a fruit
breeder's paradise for genetic material.

Apple trees are large if grown from seed. Generally, apple cultivars are propagated by grafting onto
rootstocks, which control the size of the resulting tree. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of
apples, resulting in a range of desired characteristics. Different cultivars are bred for various tastes
and use, including cooking, eating raw and cider production. Trees and fruit are prone to a number of
fungal, bacterial and pest problems, which can be controlled by a number of organic and non-organic
means. In 2010, the fruit's genome was sequenced as part of research on disease control and selective
breeding in apple production. Worldwide production of apples in 2018 was 86 million tonnes, with
China accounting for nearly half of the total.[3]

Matabang ni apple sa pagpahinog sa saging

According to Singal et al (2012), the commercial practice is to use these ripening agents to
artificially ripen the fruits at the destination market before retailing. Ethylene gas is expensive to
produce so low cost indigenous ripening technologies involving the use of hazardous materials are used
(Singal et al 2012;Ajayi and Mbah, 2007). The adverse potential of calcium carbide as a ripening agent
has been established (Singal et al, 2012) while other chemical ripening agents like ethepon, etherel and
ethylene glycol are also considered hazardous to health and they have to be used within recommended
safe limits (Hakim et al 2012;Food and Beverage Online, 2010). ...

Ripening agents are substances, which hasten the ripening process, and it comes in different forms.
These include ethylene gas, ethephon, ethylene glycol, Ethrel and calcium carbide (Singal et al., 2012). ...

... These toxic chemicals are indiscriminately used to achieve faster and more uniform ripening
characteristics with better consumer acceptance and facilitating better marketing (Siddiqui and Dhua,
2010). The adverse potential of calcium carbide as a ripening agent has been established (Singal et al.,
2012). Hakim et al. (2012) found that chemically ripened pineapples and bananas have higher sugar
content than non-treated samples; other fruit nutrition values like vitamin C and carotene are higher in
naturally ripened fruits.

Days of ripening sa banana applying apple

The number of days taken for ripening are presented in Figure 1. While it took 5 days and 4 for the
bananas in batch A and batch B to ripen, respectively (batch B having higher concentration of calcium
carbide). In contrast to this, fruits kept in batch C, which were ripened with apple as a ripening agent,
took merely 3 days to ripen. Fruits in batch D however took 10 days for ripening without any ripening
aid. The photo shoots of fruits in different batches are presented in Plate 1. The adverse potential of
calcium carbide as a ripening agent is well established. Waking up to the dangers associated with the
prevailing practice of artificial ripening of fruits, the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India
(FSSA) has recently circulated advisory to state authorities to raise their vigil against the use of carbide
gas for ripening fruit19.
Dhai, naa raba mi syay picture dri nga part