Title: Comparative impact of hot water treatment and lab-scale ethylene generation on banana ripening vs. conventional smoking methods

Authors: Rashida Khatun; Jannatul Ferdushi Jany; Asmaul Husna Nupur; Md. Mobarak Hossain; Afzal Rahman; Poly Karmoker

Addresses: Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh ' Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh ' Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh ' Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh ' Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh ' Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh

Abstract: This research studies the comparative efficacy of traditional smoking, hot water, and ethylene treatments regarding ripening and physicochemical quality attributes of banana during 1 to 5 days of storage. Significant (*P ≤ 0.05) variations among the treatments regarding several physicochemical parameters are observed. However, after 5 days, smoking treatments had the highest peel colour, weight loss, total soluble solids, pH, pulp-to-peel ratio, and total sugar, with the lowest firmness and moisture, indicating over-ripening and post-harvest quality loss. However, ethylene treatments showed moderate results for all the parameters and ensured uniform ripening and consumer acceptability. On the contrary, hot water treatments developed a non-uniform peel colour, and a bit slower softness. The degradation of chlorophyll and firmness followed the first-order kinetic model, and the Weibull models are well-fitted. These results indicate that ethylene gas appeared to offer a promise for optimal ripening compared to the traditional smoking and hot water treatment.

Keywords: climacteric fruit; treatment; ethylene; hot water; smoking; ripening; shelf life; ethylene generator; conventional method.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPTI.2026.153997

International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation, 2026 Vol.10 No.2/3, pp.241 - 262

Received: 21 Nov 2024
Accepted: 19 Aug 2025
Published online: 09 Jun 2026 *

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