CE reduced crown rot, extended shelf-life and had no negative
effects on postharvest quality. Thangavelu et al. (2004)
reported that an extract from Solanum torvum effectively controlled
anthracnose disease and increased the shelf-life of
bananas. These results also support Ranasinghe et al. (2003)
who showed that cinnamon oil sprays in Embul bananas induced
disease resistance to crown rot without any detrimental effect of
the physico-chemical properties. Similarly, Sanguansin (2002)
found that there were no significant adverse effects of plant
extracts on quality of mango cv. Nam Dok Mai. Chitosan coating
(1%) delayed disease development and ripening of bananas.
HWT gave useful inhibition of banana crown rot in the present
study. Paull and Chen (2000) reported that hot water treatment
at 45 ◦C for 45 min delayed softening of green mature bananas
and 45 ◦C for 15–20 min after dehanding reduced crown rot from
100% to less than 3%. HWT has been shown to destroy fungal
propagules and modify the chemical environment of the fruit
peel by activating antimicrobial compounds present in it (De
Costa and Erabadupitiya, 2005).
In the present study, combined treatments were not effective
for controlling crown rot and quality of fruit. The CE plus
HWT could not be recommended because of phytotoxicity. CE
and chitosan were not compatible and reduced the effectiveness
of chitosan for delaying ripening. Application of CBZ did not