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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp5 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Post-harvest strategies to enhance storage life and quality of banana leaves (Musa spp.) intended for eco-friendly food packaging applications

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.16276
Submitted
22 June 2026
Published
25-09-2026

Abstract

Banana leaves (Musa spp.) are widely used as eco-friendly disposable plates and biodegradable packaging material for wrapping food items, jasmine flowers and religious offerings (prasad) in Hindu temples of South India. However, their commercial utilisation for these purposes is limited by rapid post-harvest deterioration. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of different post-harvest treatments on the shelf life and quality attributes of banana leaves cv. Chakkai Peyan. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomised design (CRD) comprising 14 treatments under two storage environments: ambient and cold storage (5 ± 2 °C). The results revealed that physiological loss in weight (PLW %), chlorophyll degradation, tensile strength reduction, freshness decline and yellowness increased progressively during storage across all treatments. Among the treatments, ascorbic acid + 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) each at 1 % under cold storage at 5 ± 2 °C (T8) was the most effective, recording the lowest PLW (17.30 %), highest chlorophyll retention (22.60 SPAD), maximum tensile strength (1.35 N mm-2), superior freshness score (3.00), leaf yellowing and the longest shelf life (16.5 days). Treatments involving individual application of ascorbic acid or BAP under cold storage were statistically comparable to the optimised treatment (T8). In contrast, the untreated control under ambient conditions showed the poorest performance, with a shelf life of only 4.3 days. The study concludes that integrating suitable post-harvest treatments with cold storage significantly improves banana leaf storage life and quality, enhancing its sustainable packaging potential.

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