Post-harvest application of gibberellic acid as a retarding agent of ripening banana from the Tropic of Cochabamba

The work evaluated the effect of gibberellic acid (AG3) on the shelf life of sweet banana Musa,Cavendish Robusta Valeryvarietyafter harvest. Three treatments were carried out with concentrationsof gibberellic acid plus the control; then controls were carried out on the maturation times. Clusterswere taken from a single plot with a concentrationfor each box of bananas, which contains approximately 120 units. The bananas, harvested with all the green skin, were sprayed with gibberellic acid minutes before packing, in the following treatments:0 (control); 900 mg/l; 1350 mg/l; 1889 mg/l de AG3. The bananas were stored in a controlled environment (20 ± 1ºC, with 40% humidity). Spray application of gibberellic acid to bananas provided 1,5 days of additional pot life. After 10 days of storage, the AG3concentrationsof1350 mg/l y 1889 mg/l were the most propitious for post-harvest storage of Musa,CavendishRobusta Valeryvarietysweet banana.