Abstract
There are several banana cultivars resistant to Black Sigatoka disease and to Panama disease, but due to the lack of information regarding post-harvest characteristics, many are rejected in the market. Nitrogen and potassium fertilization may help to improve the sensory characteristics of ripe banana, but there is lack of studies on its effects on banana cultivation, especially those resistant to diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the post-harvest characteristics of ‘Prata-Anã’, ‘BRS Platina’ and ‘PA94-01’ banana cultivars at four N and K2O fertilization levels (NK0: no fertilization, NK1: 175 and 285 kg ha-1 year-1, NK2: 350 and 570 kg ha-1 year-1, NK3: 525 and 855 kg ha-1 year-1, respectively) in three production cycles. It could be concluded that N and K doses adopted in this work did not influence the post-harvest physicochemical characteristics of ‘Prata-Anã’, ‘BRS Platina’ and ‘PA94-01’ banana cultivars. Regardless of N and K doses, ‘Prata-Anã’, ‘BRS Platina’ and PA94-01’ banana cultivars presented differences regarding post-harvest physicochemical characteristics. Production cycles did not influence the physical characteristics but differed in post-harvest chemical characteristics in ‘Prata-Anã’, ‘BRS Platina’ and ‘PA94-01’ banana cultivars.
Index terms
Musa spp.; banana; nutrition; acidity; ratio