Review of Literature
Molly Warshaw
Bananas need a lot of rain and rich soil to survive while they are still on the tree and
growing. Bananas also need warmth to grow up healthy. If overwatered then the plant
will rot but a thick layer of mulch on the soil can help prevent mold from growing on the
plant (BANANA Fruit Facts Date).
Ethylene is a hormone produced by most fruits and when most fruits are exposed to
ethylene and oxygen they ripen quicker. Ethylene and oxygen also have an affect on
bananas as well as most other fruit. When bananas are exposed to ethylene and oxygen
they tend to ripen and brown quicker. (Biology Experiment – Ethylene Gas Vs. Ripeness
of Bananas 2008).
While the banana is ripening and browning it’s cell makeup is changing and that is what
causes it to loose weight. There are many different chemicals in the air that allow this
change to take place and that can either has a positive or negative (effect)on the fruit.
This means that bananas, if exposed to air and the chemicals in the air, will naturally
loose weight naturally during the ripening process (Wade N. and Bishop D., 2002; Wade
et al N., Kavanagh E., Hockley D., and Brady C, 2006).
Banana ripening can be affected by light exposure and temperature. If the banana is
exposed to colder temperatures then it will ripen slower. At some points in time the
banana may look brown and rotten, but the fruit inside the peel is still ripe and edible
(Murpy B, 2003).
Works cited page?
Work Cited
BANANA Fruit Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2009, from
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/banana
Biology Experiment- Ethylene Gas Vs. Ripeness of Bananas | Scienceray. (2008,
February 24). Retrieved October 24, 2009, from
http://scienceray.com/chemistry/biology-experiment-ethylene-gas-vs-ripeness-ofbananas/
Murphy, B. (2003, April 2). Ripening Bananas with Ethylene Gas. Retrieved October 22,
2009, from www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2003
Wade, N., & Bishop, D. (2002, December 17). ScienceDirect - Biochimica et Biophysica
Acta (BBA) - Lipids and Lipid Metabolism : Changes in the lipid composition of
ripening banana fruits and evidence for an associated increase in cell membrane
permeability . Retrieved October 24, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T1X47G41NT-8Y&_user= 10&_coverDate=06%2F23%2F1978&_alid=106
2166685&_rdoc
Wade, N., Kavanagh, E., Hockley, D., & Brady, C. (2006, September 19). Relationship
between softening and the polyuronides in ripening banana fruit. Retrieved
October 22, 2009, from www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal