Climatic conditions affect the texture and colour of Cavendish bananas (Grande Naine cultivar)

Relationships between natural production conditions (soil and climate) and physical fruit traits (texture and colour) were studied in Martinique to fuel discussions on creating a label for bananas from the French West Indies. Bananas produced at six sites, under very different conditions, during three different periods of the year, were harvested at the same temperature sum and ripened under identical conditions. The peel of green bananas harvested during the hot humid season was not as hard as that of bananas harvested during the cool dry season. In ripe bananas, an increasing correlation was noted between the rainfall level and fruit firmness (R = 0.88) and peel hardness (R = 0.80). This correlation could explain why bananas produced during the dry season were less firm and, conversely, those produced in highland areas, where rainfall is highest, were firmer. In ripe bananas, a decreasing correlation was also noted between the mean daily temperature and the fruit yellowness (R = 0:184). This interaction could be responsible for the yellower colour of mountain banana pulp and of bananas harvested during the coolest seasons. The green life of bananas harvested during the hot humid season was shorter than that of bananas harvested during the dry and intermediate seasons. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.