Disease incidence
A significant variation was found on disease
incidence in banana fruits during storage period
(Table 4). Among the postharvest treatments only
control sample of banana showed the 100% disease
incidence at 13th days of storage where the lowest
disease incidence (20%) was found with the treated
fruits with 1% chitosan coating application.
The disease level was maintained lower in
those fruits that are coated with chitosan (Table
4). Chitosan coating successfully reduced disease
incidence of banana fruits during storage. Meng et
al. (2010) stated that treatments with chitosan and
oligochitosan reduced the disease incidence caused
by Alternaria kikuchiana and Physalospora pyricola
inhibited the lesion expansion of the two fungi in
pear fruit stored at 25°C.
Shelf life
Shelf life of banana fruits was significantly
affected by the different postharvest treatments of
chitosan concentration (Table 5). The maximum
shelf life (16.6 days) of banana was recorded in T3
treated fruits followed by (14.6 days) T2 treated fruits.
The shortest shelf life (12.4 days) of Banana was
observed from the untreated fruits. The above results
led to the conclusion that chitosan coating influenced
on the shelf life of banana. Among the treatment 1%
chitosan coating is more suitable for extending the
shelf life of banana fruits.