Bananas
Banana ripening rooms are very important, not just any room will suffice. A proper ripening room must have the following:
- The room must be as air tight as possible to prevent too much of the ethylene from leaking out.
- The room must be properly insulated to be able to control the temperature within a few degrees.
- The room must have adequate refrigeration. Bananas produce large quantities of heat when they are ripening. The refrigeration equipment must have the capacity to accurately control the pulp temperature.
- The room may need heating equipment in order to maintain proper room temperature in cold weather. Electric heating elements have proven the most satisfactory and are often a part of the cooling system. Open flame type heating should never be used.
- The room must have adequate air circulation. Because uniform pulp temperatures throughout the load are essential for even ripening, the refrigerated air in the room must circulate at all times and uniformly throughout the load. The room should be constructed so that the air flow path from the refrigeration system, through the load and back to the refrigeration system is unobstructed. Proper air flow patterns are of the utmost importance.
Banana ripening rooms are very important, not just any room will suffice. A proper ripening room must have the following:
Note on Pressurized Ripening Rooms:
Perhaps the most important advancement in fruit ripening since the advent of the banana box is the development of Pressurized Ripening Rooms. The key feature of these rooms is that conditioned air is forced through the product rather than the product just being stored in a temperature controlled room. The system passes air though each pallet or series of pallets before returning to the evaporator. Therefore, any “air-stacking” or “cross-stacking” of boxes is not necessary, and the result is less handling of the fruit and improved product quality. For non-pressurized rooms, the boxes of bananas should be “air stacked”. That is, the boxes should be offset to allow the air to circulate among all the boxes since a non-pressurized room design will not pass air through boxes but around them.
Avoid “chilling” or “cooking” the fruit. Bananas are very sensitive to temperatures. Chilling will occur if the fruit is subject to temperatures below 56° F. for several hours. It causes the peel to have a smoky, dull gray appearance. This may not show up for 18 to 24 hours after chilling occurs. Cooked bananas result from excessively high temperatures. The peel will have a brown to orange appearance. The fruit may be soft and have a short shelf life.
Maintain proper humidity levels. For best ripening results, humidity should be 85 to 95%. If the humidity is too low, install a humidifier; wetting the floor of the room with water may increase the humidity but may cause sanitation issues.
Apply ethylene for a minimum of 24 hours during the initial phase of the ripening cycle. We recommend 100-150 PPM. To achieve this, the generator setting will depend on the size of the ripening room.
- Setting 1 for rooms 1600 – 2500 cubic feet.
- Setting 2 for rooms 2500 – 5000 cubic feet.
- Setting 3 for rooms 5000 – 7500 cubic feet.
- Setting 4 for rooms 7500 – 10000+ cubic feet.
Please note that all rooms vary in terms of how air-tight they are, so if more precise PPM determination is required, air testing for ethylene PPM levels is recommended.
Note: If using a Ripemaster Ethylene Concentrate, this unit will convert 1 US quart of Ripemaster Ethylene Concentrate to ethylene in approximately 16-20 hours. This will be enough ethylene for 1 ripening cycle depending on the size and condition of the room. DO NOT use any of our generators in rooms of less than 1600 cubic feet.