Evaluation of Microbial Potential and Ripening Behaviour of Banana : Gamma Irradiation of Banana

The current study was carried out to investigate the effects of gamma irradiation on the epiphytic microflora and ripening process of the green Dwarf Cavendish bananas harvested at three-quarter stage of the maturity. The mature green bananas were irradiated using Cobalt-60 as the source at different dosages of 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 kGy. The mean life of both the experimental and control group of fruits was analyzed under ambient conditions. For all the treatments the microbial potential, the decay percent and the ripening behavior of the fruits were recorded. Results revealed that the applied radiation doses reduced the decay, delayed ripening process and greatly inhibit the microbial growth (total bacterial and fungal count) thereby enhancing the shelf life of bananas. Irradiation dose of 1.0 kGy was found to be the most effective dose to positively maintain the stored bananas under ambient conditions. The shelf life was enhanced by 14 days.