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Carriage of Bananas ( Musa spp.) in Refrigerated Ships and Containers:Preshipment and Shipboard Factors Influencing Cargo Out-TurnCondition

A.L. Snowdon

Wolfson CollegeUniversity of CambridgeBarton RoadCambridge, CB3 9BBUnited Kingdom

Keywords: chilling, diseases, ethylene, leaf-spot, losses, Musa, postharvest, ripening,‘yellow pulp’

AbstractInformation on the cargo condition of bananas ( Musa spp.) is obtained during

out-turn surveys at destination (on behalf of cargo receivers, underwriters, ship

owners or charterers) or during the study of claims documentation submitted bylawyers acting for one or other of the above parties. There may also be occasion tovisit the producer country. Preshipment factors influencing cargo quality and out-turn condition include the weather, crop husbandry in relation to leaf-spot diseases,harvesting and handling techniques, postharvest treatments, method of packaging,schedule of loading, and carriage instructions written by the shipper/exporter.Shipboard factors include design and function of the refrigeration and ventilationequipment, method of stowage, interpretation of carriage instructions, and durationof voyage. For container shipments it is the shipper’s responsibility to ‘stuff’ thecontainer in an appropriate manner; the container operator accepts the closed boxand undertakes to supply refrigeration/ventilation in accordance with the shipper’scarriage instructions. Deterioration (such as premature ripening) is often the resultof a combination of adverse factors. Particular problems include the difficulty of

achieving uniform air circulation through a palletised stow, and the challenge of shipping additional commodities (which may produce ethylene) in the same vessel.Accurate diagnosis of the causes of deterioration can assist in prompt settlement of claims and reduction of losses in the future.

INTRODUCTIONBanana ( Musa spp.) is the most important perishable commodity in international

trade. Cargoes of bananas are carried either in the holds of reefer (refrigerated) vessels or in refrigerated shipping containers, and a voyage may take a few days or several weeks.

The period between harvesting of bananas and initiation of normal ripening, i.e.,the duration of the pre-climacteric phase, is sometimes called ‘green-life’ (Ramírez et al.,2008). The international banana trade is based on the harvesting and transportation of

hard, green, unripe fruit, which is later ripened in the country of consumption. The aim of refrigerated carriage of bananas is to deliver fruit that is still in the preclimacteric state, sothat the climacteric may subsequently be artificially induced, in a uniform and controlledmanner, by injection of a measured quantity of manufactured ethylene into thecommercial ripening room. In this way it is feasible, within limits, to release ripened fruiton to the market according to demand (Stover and Simmonds, 1987).

Currently, the bananas most usually grown for export are those in the ‘Cavendish’(AAA genome) group of cultivars, although there is now much emphasis on the need for new disease-resistant bananas. The lowest temperature at which ‘Cavendish’ may safely

be shipped is in the region of 13.3°C, and this is optimal for extending postharvest life. Attemperatures below this critical value there is a risk of chilling injury. In contrast to mostother fruit commodities, bananas are usually presented to the carrier at ambienttemperature, and it is the task of the ship or container to cool them safely to carriage

Proc. IC on Banana & Plantain in AfricaEds.: T. Dubois et al.

Acta Hort. 879, ISHS 2010

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temperature. Most cargoes arrive in good condition, but occasionally some of the fruitripens prematurely aboard ship, or suffers chilling injury, resulting in substantial lossesand protracted litigation (Snowdon, 1988).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Information is obtained during out-turn surveys at destination (on behalf of cargoreceivers, underwriters, ship owners or charterers) or during the study of claimsdocuments submitted by lawyers acting for one or other of the above parties. There mayalso be occasion to visit the producer country and observe practices in the plantation,

packing house and load-port. The most important pieces of survey equipment include acamera, a sharp knife, an electronic spear thermometer that is regularly calibrated inmelting ice, calipers to measure ‘grade’, and an aide-mémoire in which to record essentialdetails.

Numerous factors determine the quality and condition of a banana cargo ondischarge. Pre-shipment factors are the responsibility of the grower and shipper, whileshipboard factors are the responsibility of the ship owner, charterer or container operator.

PRESHIPMENT FACTORS

Crop Husbandry in Relation to Weather and DiseasesFruit characteristics may be influenced by temperature, rainfall, cloud cover and

so forth. These factors also determine the likelihood of disease. There are several diseasesthat originate in the plantation and may have important effects after harvest.

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum spp., is one of the commonest diseases of bananas and is known in all banana-producing countries. Two types of symptom resultfrom different modes of infection (De Lapeyre De Bellaire et al., 2008). Anthracnoselesions on green fruit are generally dark brown to black with a pale margin, have a lens-or diamond-shape, are slightly sunken and have dimensions of several centimeters. Onripening fruits the typical symptoms are small, dark, circular spots, which enlarge,coalesce and become sunken. The lenticular lesions may also be present in ripening fruit.

On both types of lesion, salmon-pink spore masses are eventually produced. The circular spots are the result of infections initiated in uninjured, immature fruit whilst it is still onthe plant, but which remain quiescent until the onset of ripening. The large lesions are theresult of infection following physical injury, the fungus gaining entry via woundssustained during harvest and handling; besides causing an unsightly blemish, both theinjured tissue and the fungus itself emit ethylene, which can induce premature ripening(Snowdon, 1990).

Sigatoka disease has resulted in epidemics in Australia, Asia, Africa, Central andSouth America and the Caribbean. The potential impact of this disease is substantial.

Mycosphaerella musicola causes ordinary sigatoka, while a more virulent species, M. fijiensis, has gradually spread and become the dominant species; it causes black leaf-streak or black sigatoka, which is even more costly to control. The disease is differentfrom others in that the causal organism is not itself present in the fruit but yet has

profound effects on fruit development. This can have repercussions on the selection of bananas for distant markets. It is essentially a leaf-spotting disease, which at its worst, cancause premature death of large areas of the plant’s leaf surface. Photosynthesis is therebydrastically reduced, sometimes to the extent that fruit does not mature at all. In less severeoutbreaks the effects are insidious, especially if younger leaves are involved. Suchinfection causes advancement in physiological age of the fruit. The size of bunches andindividual fingers is reduced, with the result that fruit may be significantly more advancedthan is indicated by its size and appearance. Bananas from infected plants therefore tendto ripen prematurely. Furthermore, ripening is often uneven, in that single fingers of ahand or cluster are markedly in advance of, or behind, their neighbors in ‘turning’. In

badly affected fruit (from plants with few healthy leaves), the pulp is buff-salmon incolor, has an astringent taste, and emits an abnormally strong aroma. In less seriously

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affected fruit (from plants retaining most of their leaves) the pulp may be only slightlydiscolored, chiefly along the central line. This disorder, called ‘yellow pulp’, can also becaused by factors other than black sigatoka. Depending on the severity of attack andcontrol measures taken, the effects of sigatoka may be manifest as premature ripening onthe plant, in the packing station, on the wharf, or during the voyage, this last showing up

as an increase in the percentage of cartons with ‘ripe and turning’ fruit noted on dischargeof the cargo. If this percentage becomes excessive, it is appropriate to reduce the risk byharvesting the fruit earlier, i.e., at a younger age or a lower grade (see below). Black sigatoka management mostly involves spraying the plantation at appropriate intervalswith protective oil and/or fungicide, together with regular removal of diseased leaves. Inmost localities such measures are a major component of successful export banana

production (Gowen, 1995).

Maturity of Fruit at HarvestDeveloping banana fruits have an angular cross-section, which gradually becomes

more rounded as the fruit fills out and increases in girth. The diameter of the middleoutside finger of a particular hand defines the ‘grade’, which is expressed in millimetersor, as is common in Central and South America, in thirty-seconds of an inch. Sometimes

it is expressed as the number of thirty-seconds of an inch beyond one inch, so that a gradeof 12 means a diameter of 44 thirty-seconds of an inch, or l 12/32 inches.

Bananas must be cut at a maturity that will allow them, under normal transportconditions, to arrive at their destination (i.e., in the ripening room) before ripening hascommenced. The appropriate maturity stage for cutting depends partly on the cultivar of

banana and partly on the duration of the proposed journey. Fruit intended for distantdestinations must be cut while relatively thin, whereas fruit destined for a short voyagecan develop to a slightly fuller grade before being harvested.

Fruits of the same grade are not necessarily of the same chronological age (the age being the number of days from the time when the fruit stem emerges). If fruit is cut bygrade alone, it will be of mixed maturity, such that two hands in the same carton maydiffer substantially in age. This increases the risk of premature ripening (Stover and

Simmonds, 1987). For greater uniformity, therefore, maturity is assessed by using bothcriteria (age and grade), and in commercial plantations a system of color-coded ribbons isused to mark the plants at the time of shoot emergence or, rather, at the time when thedeveloping bunch is ready to be enclosed in a protective polyethylene sleeve or bag. The

principle behind an age-grade control system is that rapidly developing bunches areharvested when the bananas reach a certain caliper grade (i.e., before they get too big),and bunches that develop slowly are harvested when they reach a certain chronologicalage (i.e., before they get too old). Given the variability in a population of bananas, thissystem is an attempt to harvest fruit of similar maturity, and has the important advantageof permitting the maximization of yield, while at the same time minimizing the risk of losses caused by premature ripening of ‘forward’ fruit.

In plantations, all newly-emerging bunches are bagged and tagged, the color of theribbon denoting the specific week in which this is done. The majority of the harvesting of fruit with a particular ribbon color will take place over a three week period. This can beillustrated by an example of a three-ribbon sequence, which might be appropriate for a

particular cultivar of banana grown in a particular area at a particular time of year, and cutfor a particular length of voyage. Suppose fruit bagged in week 30 receives a blue ribbon,fruit bagged in week 31 receives a pink ribbon, and fruit bagged in week 32 receives asilver ribbon. In week 43 silver-ribbon fruit will be only 11 weeks old (77 day fruit), so isharvested only if it has reached a certain desirable grade. In week 43 pink-ribbon fruitwill be 12 weeks old (84 day fruit) and is likewise harvested (as it was the previous week)

by reference to its grade. In week 43 blue-ribbon fruit will be 13 weeks old (91 day fruit)and, because of this, all remaining blue-ribbon fruit is ‘swept’, i.e., harvested even if ithas not yet reached the most desirable grade. For each ribbon color, therefore, the systemuses grade as the harvest criterion in the first two weeks of the sequence, and age as the

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criterion in the third or ‘sweep’ week. Beyond this, it is also necessary to monitor thedevelopment of fruit of the subsequent ribbon color(s), since a small proportion of thiswill also reach desirable grade and require early harvesting.

The success of an age-grade control system is founded upon trial and experience,and depends on the prior accumulation of year-round data relating age and grade at

harvest with quality and condition on out-turn. The factors to be determined are thecritical age and the maximum grade, beyond which there would be an unacceptable percentage of ‘ripe and turning’ bananas on discharge. The critical age and the maximumsafe grade vary with the season of the year (according to normal or indeed abnormalweather patterns) and with the incidence of leaf-spot, and it is therefore a matter of expertise to adjust the harvest criteria according to circumstances (Stover and Simmonds,1987). The absolute minimum grade, below which bananas are discarded, is determinedsolely by the requirements of the market.

Postharvest Handling, Treatment and PackingIt is essential to handle fruit carefully in order to minimize damage (cuts and

bruises), the effects of which will be manifest when the fruit ripens. Injury results inincreased rates of respiration, and also predisposes the fruit to fungal attack, such as

anthracnose. Cutting the ‘crown’ of the hand is of course unavoidable, and special precautions are taken to disinfect this vulnerable fresh wound, by dipping or sprayingwith a fungicide such as thiabendazole (TBZ). This is to avoid crown rot, a diseasecomplex caused by several fungi, sometimes in association with bacteria; differentorganisms predominate according to locality, time of year and other factors (Snowdon,1990). Crown rot tends to be most severe in consignments that are in transit for longer than fourteen days. White, grey or pink mould may form on the surface of the cut crown.Infected tissue turns black and the rot may advance into the finger stalks, causing thefingers to drop off when handled. Finger-stalk rot may occur directly, in the absence of crown rot, if the stalks are injured through flexing of the fingers. Severe infection induces

premature ripening.The current method of packaging for bananas consists of a polyethylene bag

within a sturdy, ventilated, cardboard carton. The clusters (part hands) of bananas arecarefully placed in four rows, the two upper and the two lower rows separated by aflexible cardboard pad designed to prevent fruit-on-fruit injury. The pad is outside the

bag, but projects between the rows via a fold in the bag. Thin polyfilm (0.013 mm or 0.0005 inches or 0.5 mils or 50 gauge) is used in the standard ‘Polypack’ and, besidesreducing abrasion, minimizes fruit moisture loss. Moisture loss is undesirable because of the concomitant weight loss, and also because water-stressed fruit tends to ripen

prematurely. Thicker polyfilm (0.04 mm or 0.0015 inches or 1.5 mils or 150 gauge) can be used to create a modified atmosphere (MA) around the fruit. Respiratory gases takelonger to permeate through the thick film, and the resultant low oxygen/high carbondioxide atmosphere reduces the fruit’s sensitivity to its own ethylene, thereby prolonging

postharvest life. In the ‘Banavac’ system, the polyethylene bag is partially evacuated before being tightly sealed at the neck. This procedure permits rapid establishment of anappropriate atmosphere and reduces the risk of over-modification and resultantsuffocation. ‘Polypack’ packaging cannot be relied on for a period greater than about 28days, while ‘Banavac’ has been known to maintain green-life for as long as 40 or even 50days, so is advantageous in the event of delay. If, however, premature ripening does take

place, the enhanced carbon dioxide concentration tends to inhibit color change in the peel,leading to ‘green-ripes’, in which the pulp is soft and ripe but the peel remains green.While useful as a means of extending storage life, MA packaging carries onedisadvantage: the polyethylene bag must be punctured before arrival in the ripening room(to facilitate ingress of ethylene gas), and this involves costly labor.

Superior to MA is controlled atmosphere (CA), in which appropriateconcentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide are accurately maintained within the holdspace (by special apparatus), rather than approximately maintained within each package

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(by means of the fruit’s own respiration). For CA carriage, bananas must be packed in‘Polypack’. The optimal atmosphere is generally given as about 3.5% oxygen and 5%carbon dioxide, with a carriage temperature of 14.4°C.

Time between Cutting and Cooling

Bananas should be stowed in refrigerated space preferably within 24 hours,certainly within 48 hours, of harvest; a common stipulation is that a period of 36 hoursshould not be exceeded. If bananas remain at high ambient temperature for longer thanthis, their green-life will be curtailed. Factors influencing the initiation of ripening includecultivar, growing conditions, age and grade at harvest, storage temperature and humidityafter harvest, and the presence or absence of ethylene in the atmosphere. The followingexamples illustrate the time scales involved.

Bananas intended for local consumption can be left on the plant until the fingersare fully rounded (full grade). If the harvested bunch is hung in a shaded place at ambienttemperature (25 to 30°C), it will ripen within a few days. At lower temperatures, or withyounger or thinner fruit, initiation of ripening will occur later. For example, it was foundthat for 120-day cultivar ‘Valery’ (AAA genome, Cavendish subgroup), the time to ripenat 18.5°C was 14 days, whereas 90-day fruit took 21 days. Applying the rule of thumb

governing speed of biochemical reactions, it can be estimated that at about 28°C (a typicalambient temperature in the tropics), the ripening times may be 7 and 10 days,respectively. Adverse growing conditions or significant sigatoka infection may reducethis period, and in the presence of ethylene (whether endogenous or from an externalsource) initiation of ripening could occur much sooner (Marriott, 1980).

Since the onset of ripening is characterized by an increase in respiration (theclimacteric rise), and since respiration involves the evolution of heat, the first obviousindication that ripening has begun may well be the increase in pulp temperature of thefruit. This is the reason for temperature checks at the time of loading; pulp temperaturesabove 32°C give cause for concern, and ‘hot fruit’, if detected, will be refused for loading.If ripening fruit is inadvertently loaded it will complete the ripening process during thefirst few days of the voyage, and by the time of discharge, is likely to have become over-

ripe, brown or black, even moldy and collapsed, depending on its initial state coupledwith the environment and duration of the journey.

Carriage InstructionsShippers’ carriage instructions must take into account the cultivar, the weather

during the growing season, the maturity of the fruit at harvest, and the expected durationof the voyage. Most usually, the recommended delivery air temperature (DAT) for

bananas is in the region of 13.3°C. Shippers’ instructions often stipulate a requiredrelative humidity, which is largely irrelevant as the bananas are packed in sealed

polyethylene bags and it is not feasible to control relative humidity in most ships.It is customary to request that the holds be pre-cooled approximately 48 hours

prior to loading. The major purpose is to check that the refrigeration equipment isworking properly. There is some benefit in chilling the hold structure but, once thehatches are opened for loading, the tropical heat can soon negate the effect. Whilstloading is in progress, the refrigeration may be left running (with cargo fans at lowspeed), although port practices vary and not all stevedores permit cold air to be blownwhilst they are working. During breaks in loading, the hatches can be closed, for greater refrigeration efficiency. However, the sooner a compartment can be fully loaded andclosed the better. In order to facilitate cargo cooling in the vital early stages, there is a

particular technique (besides closure of the ship’s fresh air vents - see below), which may be used to advantage, this technique being a two-stage temperature reduction, looselytermed ‘shock treatment’. The term is unfortunate; the aim is emphatically not to give the

bananas a shock, but merely to use the refrigeration machinery to best advantage withoutinjuring the cargo. The procedure is as follows, based on a requested carriage temperature(i.e., eventual delivery air temperature) of 13.3°C. At the outset, when the bananas

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themselves are still warm, it is safe to aim for a delivery air temperature of, say, 12°C,which permits a faster extraction of heat. As soon as the return air temperature is down toabout 15°C, or after about 12 hours (whichever is the sooner), the delivery air temperatureis raised to 13.3°C and held there for the remainder of the voyage. There is an important

precaution against chilling injury, which could occur if the temperature of the bananas

were to fall below 13.3°

C. If a deck is loaded in two stages (e.g., on two successive daysor at two different ports), the partially loaded deck can be given ‘shock treatment’ but itwould not be appropriate to repeat this regime on completion, lest the first loaded cargo(now cool) suffer chilling injury. On completion of loading the deck, therefore, thedelivery air temperature is simply reduced to 13.3°C. Similarly, it would be inappropriateto request shock treatment for pre-cooled fruit (in one or two exporting countries, bananasare pre-cooled in refrigerated containers before being delivered to the vessel’s holds).

With the important proviso that the delivery air temperature must not be so low asto risk chilling injury, the essence of successful banana carriage is rapidly cooling. Thereduction period (a measure of the speed of cooling) may be defined as the time taken,after final closure of a compartment, for the return air temperature (RAT) to fall to within2.2°C (4 Fahrenheit degrees) of the requested delivery air temperature (DAT). Thus, if therequested carriage temperature is 13.3°C, the reduction period would relate to a RAT of

15.5°C. This is one convention; some companies work on a temperature differential of exactly 2°C, making the appropriate RAT 15.3°C. Typical reduction periods might be 24to 36 h, and it is important to appreciate that, based as it is on return air temperature, theduration of the reduction period cannot be controlled but only measured.

It should be noted that a ‘refrigerated compartment’ might be a single independentdeck, or may comprise a pair of interconnected decks in which air is delivered beneathdeck gratings in the lower deck, rises up through the slatted wood floor of the upper deck (then known as a spar deck) and is withdrawn from the deckhead of the upper deck, to bere-circulated once more.

SHIPBOARD FACTORS

Refrigerating PowerThe refrigerating plant must cool the warm fruit and also dissipate the heat produced by continuous respiration of the bananas. The heat output of pre-climacteric bananas at different temperatures is given in round figures in Table 1. Once bananas haveentered the climacteric phase their respiratory heat output may be three, four or even fivetimes the quoted figures. The data demonstrate that the greatest need for refrigerating

power is at the beginning, since bananas are normally loaded at ambient temperature(typically 25 to 30°C), in contrast to other fruit commodities, which are usually fully pre-cooled before loading. It was because of the magnitude of this task that banana vesselswere specifically designed with high capacity cooling systems.

Air Circulation SystemThe first reefer vessels built specifically to carry bananas were generally designed

with a horizontal airflow because at that time bananas were transported ‘on the stem’, andsuch an airflow permitted effective air circulation through the bunches. With the adventof carton-packing in the 1960s, it became more appropriate to have a vertical system, theusual method being powerful underdeck air delivery and deckhead exhaust to force air upwards through the cargo.

The re-circulation rate in a typical banana vessel is about 90 volumes per hour.This means that every hour the volume of air passing over the fans is equal to 90 timesthe cubic capacity of the empty chamber; it is a way of expressing the power of the fansin relation to the size of the spaces they serve. Each insulated deck (or pair of decks) isnominally independent of adjacent chambers, though there is likely to be a mingling of atmospheres during regular inspection of cargo and machinery. This means that a highconcentration of ethylene in one deck, irrespective of source, can cause premature

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ripening of bananas in a neighboring deck (Snowdon, 1994).

StowageIn vessels with a powerful vertical airflow, a ‘solid stow’, without specific air

channels, is essential. Because the resistance of a tightly packed stack of cartons is much

greater than that of the loosely stowed bunches of earlier times, it is important to take carewhen constructing a stow of cartons. They should be stowed in register, so that air canflow through the interstices between the cartons. Cartons should also be stowed as levelas possible, so that airflow will be uniform. Furthermore, it is necessary to leave sufficientheadspace (≥10 cm) above the stow for the passage of the return air. Special care should

be taken in the hatch coaming, where it is recommended that the height of the stow belimited and that cartons be stowed diagonally at the perimeter, to permit some passage of air. Finally, there should be no possibility of short-circuiting of air, since this could leadto the development of ‘warm spots’ and premature ripening.

If cartons are palletized, it is even more important to take care with stowage, sinceair tends to take the line of least resistance through the spaces between the pallet loads(Amos and Tanner, 2003). Furthermore, the pallet bases form a second plenum above thedeck gratings, and air can escape with ease, unless baffled by the use of ‘pallet-skirts’,

pieces of card inserted at the time of stowing. In vessels that are not specifically designedto be pallet-friendly, the curved shape of, especially, the for’d hold means that manyspaces may remain at the edges of the stow. If more than 5% of the deck area remainsuncovered, airflow efficiency (and cooling) can be seriously jeopardized (Mohlin andOleszko, 1994).

Cooling PolicyRapid cooling of bananas is the essence of successful carriage and the prevention

of premature ripening. The aim is to reduce banana cargo temperature as rapidly as possible; the sole proviso being that the delivery air temperature should never fall belowthe minimum value stipulated by the exporter because of the risk of chilling injury. Anymention of ‘temperature’ when discussing banana carriage should always be qualified,

according to whether it denotes DAT, RAT, hatch temperature or cargo pulp temperature.The two components of the cargo heat load are the ‘sensible heat’ or ‘field heat’extracted during temperature pull-down, and the respiratory heat, which is substantialwhilst the bananas are still warm, and remains significant even after they are cooled tocarriage temperature. It should be noted that, for the carriage of fruit, a refrigerated vesselcontrols delivery air temperature, but return air temperature can only be measured, beinga response to delivery air temperature coupled with the state of the cargo in the hold, thestowage, the air circulation system and so forth. As explained above, the reduction periodcan give an indication of the progress of cooling and is calculated and recorded for eachrefrigerated compartment.

Fresh Air Ventilation PolicyThe aim of ventilation is to prevent accumulation of ethylene, which is produced

by bananas and which may precipitate premature ripening. Whilst bananas are stillattached to the plant, and for some hours after harvest, they are relatively insensitive.Subsequently, however, they may respond to very small amounts of ethylene, whether

produced by the fruit itself and allowed to accumulate, or whether emanating from anexternal source. Traces (0.1 ppm or less) in the surrounding atmosphere can shorten the

pre-climacteric period, and higher concentrations can induce a rapid initiation of theclimacteric. A concentration of 1 ppm or above can induce the climacteric within 12 to 24h; lower concentrations must be applied for longer periods.

It is not easy to measure low concentrations of ethylene, but measurement of carbon dioxide (produced in substantial quantities during respiration) gives an indicationof the sufficiency or otherwise of fresh air ventilation. In their instructions for the carriageof bananas, most companies allow a maximum carbon dioxide level of 0.2 or 0.3%. In the

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absence of a carbon dioxide meter, the aim should be to achieve a continuous intake andexhaust of fresh air in order to provide no more than about one air change per hour. Theimportant exception to this is the crucial cooling period at the outset when, for optimalcooling, the fresh air vents should be completely closed, in order to prevent ingress of warm moist air from outside. Different companies have different policies, perhaps based

on the differing characteristics of bananas from different origins with regard to thetendency to premature ripening. One might stipulate a maximum period of 24 hourswithout ventilation, while another might permit 48 hours. Yet another used to requestfresh air ventilation from the outset, though perhaps without appreciating theimplications. For the rest of the voyage, the most desirable and cost-effective procedure isto monitor carbon dioxide and ventilate accordingly. It should be understood that carbondioxide itself is not necessarily inimical to bananas, indeed in MA packaging or CAcarriage a raised concentration of carbon dioxide serves to extend storage life. In ordinary

banana carriage, carbon dioxide monitoring (a measurement of fruit respiration rate) issimply used as a rough indicator of the sufficiency of fresh air ventilation, since inordinary (non-CA) carriage ethylene must be flushed out.

The effect of ethylene on bananas is markedly influenced by temperature. For example, bananas exposed to 100 ppm of ethylene at 18.5–23°C, started to ripen within

16 to 20 h, whereas at 13.5–15.5°C, ripening was not initiated even after 24 h of exposure. Despite the relative insensitivity of cooled bananas, shippers’ carriageinstructions may stipulate continuous maximal fresh air ventilation after the cooling-down

period, and for the rest of the voyage. The disadvantage of air freshening is the substantialheat load imposed on the refrigeration unit. The fresh air system in modern reefer ships iscapable of two, three or even four air changes per hour. The implications of such amassive intake are often not appreciated, but the energy costs (especially in the humidtropics) must be considerable. Not only is there the sensible heat to be extracted but alsothe latent heat as atmospheric moisture condenses on the cooling coils (energy is evolvedduring the phase change from water vapor to liquid). In view of this, it can beadvantageous to design the fresh air system to include a heat exchanger between air exhaust and air intake, so as to save energy.

CONCLUSIONSThe out-turn condition of any banana cargo is determined by a multitude of

factors, some of which are the responsibility of the growers and shippers, and some of thecarrier. In each case the forensic approach must be to identify patterns of damage, in order to determine the cause or causes of deterioration. Preshipment unfitness of some of thecargo may perhaps be demonstrated by detailed recording of box-codes, since each carton

box carries a packing station code permitting complete traceability. On the other hand,examination of the vessel’s equipment and log-books may indicate a shipboard problemin a particular deck. If a single factor is acting adversely, the cargo may arrive with littleor no damage, while if several factors are acting adversely the outcome can becatastrophic. Identification of causal factors can help to reduce losses in the future.

Literature CitedAmos, N. and Tanner, D. 2003. Temperature variability during refrigerated vessel

shipment of fresh produce. Proc. 21st International Congress of Refrigeration.Washington DC, USA 17-22, August. p.23–31.

De Lapeyre De Bellaire, L., Chillet, M. and Chilin-Charles, Y. 2008. Measurement of fungicide efficacy on post-harvest diseases: wound anthracnose, quiescentanthracnose, crown rot. Fruits 63:303–306.

Gowen, S. 1995. Bananas and Plantains. Chapman and Hall, London.Marriott, J. 1980. Bananas – physiology and biochemistry of storage and ripening for

optimum quality. CRC Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 13:41–88.Mohlin, R. and Oleszko, J. 1994. Studies of air distribution in the holds of a refrigerated

ship to design the gratingless air circulation concept for pallet reefers. Proc.

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Commission D2/3, International Institute of Refrigeration. Gdansk, Poland 29September-1 October. p.106–116.

Ramírez, M., Sáenz, M.V., Vargas, A. and Araya, M. 2008. Leaf pruning intensities atflowering of banana ( Musa AAA, cv. Grande Naine) did not influence fruit green andyellow life and quality. Sci. Hort. 115:319–322.

Snowdon, A.L. 1988. A review of the nature and causes of postharvest deterioration infruits and vegetables, with especial reference to those in international trade.Biodeterioration 7:585–602.

Snowdon, A.L. 1990. A Colour Atlas of Post-Harvest Diseases and Disorders, Vol. 1,General Introduction and Fruits. Wolfe Scientific, London.

Snowdon, A.L. 1994. Diagnosing the causes of out-turn problems in imported tropicalfruits. p.94–101. In: B.R. Champ, E. Highley and G.I. Johnson (eds.), PostharvestHandling of Tropical Fruits. ACIAR Proceedings No. 50. ACIAR, Canberra.

Stover, R.H. and Simmonds, N.W. 1987. Bananas. 3rd edition. Longman Scientific andTechnical, Harlow.

Tables

Table 1. Heat production of pre-climacteric bananas at different temperatures.

Temperature (oC) Heat production (W kg-1)12 0.0415 0.0520 0.0925 0.1330 0.20

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