Bruise susceptibility of banana peel in relation to genotype andpost-climacteric storage conditions
The aim of this study was to understand the genotypic factors and post-climacteric storage conditionsthat affect bruise susceptibility of banana peel. Putative physicochemical indicators of bruise suscepti-bility, including peel electrolyte leakage (PEL), total polyphenolic content, hardness, water content, andpeel thickness, were investigated. Bruise susceptibility is the lowest impact energy needed to producevisible bruising by an object dropped on post-climacteric banana fruit from a pre-determined height, con-verted into impact energy (20-200 mJ with a 20 mJ increment). The bananas were stored either at 18?Cthroughout ripening or at 13?C between the 2nd and 6th day after ethylene induction. Five cultivars withcontrasting susceptibility to impact bruises were used. Neither Grande Naine nor hybrid Flhorban925bruised at the maximum impact energy (200 mJ) during ripening whatever the storage conditions. A gra-dient in bruise susceptibility was observed among the other cultivars: French Corne > Fougamou > hybridFlhorban916. Bruise susceptibility increased during ripening and was higher in bananas stored at 18?C.The lower ripening temperature resulted in a two-day delay to fruit maturity as well as in bruise suscep-tibility. Bruise susceptibility was positively correlated with PEL (R = 0.78) and to a lesser extent negativelycorrelated with hardness (R = ?0.45), and was not correlated with polyphenolic content. In conclusion,membrane permeability provides the first clue to understanding bruise susceptibility.