Quality analysis of organic ripe Rasakadali

The study was carried out with the objective to study and compare the quality characteristics of “rasakadali” variety of banana, cultivated by conventional and organic farming techniques. Physical characteristics, sensory qualities of fruit, shelf life, nutrient/chemical composition, anti nutrient and pesticide residue were the parameters investigated in the present study. Among the physical qualities, mean fruit weight revealed significantly higher values for organically cultivated “rasakadali”. Sensory qualities were evaluated to be better for organic products, with significantly higher values for appearance and taste. Sensory qualities and chemical properties showed uniform trends in storage among both treatments. Moisture content, total minerals and vitamin C content were seen to be higher in organically cultivated “rasakadali”. Potassium, ,calcium and iron were significantly higher in organic “rasakadali”. With respect to anti nutrients, tannins were significantly higher in organic “rasakadali”. Pesticide residue was not detected in any of the samples.