| Summary: | A CO2 laser photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy
method has been applied for the detection of ethylene gas
emissions in banana (Musa paradisiaca) fruit coated with aloe
vera gel with concentrations of 0% (control), 20%, 40% and
60%. Ethylene gas absorbs most strongly in the 10P14 line of
CO2 lasers having a power of (2.4±0.1) W resulting in the lowest
detection limit (2.6±0.3) ppb. Ethylene gas emission detection
has been carried out to determine the effect of aloe vera gel
coating on the ethylene emission in banana fruit. Besides that,
the effect of different coating concentrations on fruit weight loss
has also been investigated. The results showed that the optimum
ripening phase of banana coated with aloe vera gel with
concentrations of 0% (control), 20%, 40% and 60% occurred at
10 days after harvest (yield after harvest). Physically, the fastest
decay occurred in banana coated with 60% aloe vera gel and the
slowest occurred in banana coated with 20% aloe gel. Aloe vera
gel coating affects the weight loss of plantains. The smallest
shrinkage was shown by banana coated with 20% aloe vera gel
while the largest shrinkage was in banana coated with aloe vera
gel 60%. These findings can be recommended to the field of fruit
handling technology
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