| Popis: |
Mineral levels and moisture contents of Musa paradisiaca fruits (pulp and peel) have been monitored with time of development as fruits remained on the plant and as fruits ripened off the plant. Fruit bunches sampled from day 90 of bunch emergence had higher mineral levels than those sampled from day 60. The exceptions were P, Zn, and Cu whose levels were lower. Mg, Fe, K, Zn, and Cu increased in the peel to a maximum at day 96 before decreasing while in the pulp they kept increasing throughout. Al, Na, N and Mn increased in the pulp, reached a maximum at day 96, and decreased rapidly thereafter, whereas in the peel they increased steadily throughout. This is attributed to translocation of some of these minerals from the peel to the pulp and vice versa in addition to movements of such minerals from other parts of the plant to the fruits during growth. Moisture levels decreased for bunches that remained on the plants but the peel consistently had more moisture than the pulp. The point of minimum moisture content is concluded to correspond to the point of maximum maturation for these fruits (90 days after bunch emergence) and is here recommended as harvesting time. Maturation ripening was faster for bunches harvested from the plants than those on the plants, the rate increasing in the order of increasing injuries on the bunch. |
