Non‐woven bags: an eco‐friendly bunch cover over plastic bags for high‐quality banana production

ABSTRACT Bagging reduces the use of harmful agrochemicals and offers a promising solution to many biotic and abiotic issues, but is mostly dependent on plastic sources. The present study explored the role of on‐tree bunch covering of banana cv. Grand Naine (G9) with four types of bagging materials viz. Blue High‐density polyethylene (HDPE), Silver HDPE, Transparent Low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) and White non‐woven bags, along with an unbagged (control) treatment to assess fruit quality. After harvesting, banana fruits were analysed for various biochemical and sensory parameters on the 0, 3rd, 6 th and 9 th days of storage. Fruits covered with non‐woven bags when stored at ambient room temperature showed maximum total soluble solids (TSS), radical scavenging activity (RSA), ascorbic acid (AsA) and pulp: peel (20.28%; 50.29%; 2.52 mg 100g −1 ; 5.83) with minimum chlorophyll pigments and titratable acidity (TA) (1.12 mg 100g −1 ; 0.22%) on the 9 th day. However, bagging had no influence on fat, protein and ash content. Sensory evaluation revealed that non‐woven bags achieved the highest acceptability, with maximum scores for colour (8), texture (8) and flavour (7) on the 9 th day. Thus, non‐woven bags offer a sustainable alternative for high‐quality, marketable banana production.