STORABILITY OF BANANA (Musa sapientum var.lacatan) AS INFLUENCED BY SOAKING TREATMENTS USING CHLORINE AND ALUM

The study was conducted at Barangay Fatima, General Santos City from February 15 to February 26, 2018. This study employed a Completely Block Design (CRD) with four treatments replicated three times. The treatments were as follows: T1-Control (Unwashed); T2- Soaking in Water; T3 Soaking in Sodium hypochlorite (Chlorine) solution; and T4-Soaking in Alum solution. The results indicated that fruit weight loss, sugar content, and shelf-life were not significantly affected by different treatments used. However, there was a slight extension of shelf-life due to the soaking of bananas in chlorine and alum solutions. The result confirms the observation of vendors and farmers that these chemicals can somehow help in improving the storability of bananas.