IMPROVEMENT OF BANANA GROWING CONDITIONS WITH THE KATRYX® BAG

Banana growers commonly use blue sleeves to protect the bunches during fruit growth.
The Katryx® bag is a transparent sleeve with specific UVb and IR permeability properties, particularly a 30% IR permeability reduction.
This three-layer product was developed and patented by the Plastibana company, to allow better light and temperature conditions for banana growth.

The effects of Katryx® and blue sleeves on the inside microclimate and on fruit quality were investigated.

When using a frame to simulate the bunch, it was found that the Katryx® sleeve had a buffer effect with high temperatures.
Thermal variations between night and day were thus limited; the inside temperature was kept around the theoretical optimum growth value in the West Indies, which varies between 29 and 30°C. When using the Katryx® sleeve, an increase in light quantity and a modification in light quality were also observed and, therefore, an increase in the photothermal coefficient.

Banana plants (Cavendish cv Grande Naine) were used to investigate the effect of Katryx® and blue sleeves on fruit growth.
Katryx® covering increased fruit firmness and peel hardness, as well as fruit length and average grade (+2 to 8%), depending on the environmental conditions and on the position of the hand.

II International Symposium on Banana: I International Symposium on Banana in the Subtropics

M. Jannoyer, M. Chillet

Musa acuminata (Cavendish cv. Grande Naine), bunch covering, fruit growth, inside microclimate, sleeve permeability properties, Katryx® sleeve

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.490.11