Soft central core of banana stem

Banana is one of the most well-known and useful plants in the world. Almost all the parts of this plant, that are, fruit, leaves, flower bud, trunk, and stem, can be utilized.

The banana stem, grain stalk that supports the banana fruits, is normally discarded after the fruit harvesting, either in the “packing houses” or in the delivering centers, where it is considered a residue due to the great volume generated. The stem is a part of the banana plant that looks like a trunk, which consists of a soft central core and tightly wrapped up to 25 leaf sheaths. These leaf sheaths unwrap from the stem and transform to recognizable banana leaves when they have matured.

The banana stem has also been considered for use as pulp and paper raw material, fiber for textiles, and filler or structural reinforcement in composites materials.

Banana stem is easily collected from banana trees after collection of banana fruits. The stem is used as a waste product and used in domestic cooking purpose. Mainly chemical process is used to collect the cellulose from the lignin.

Lignin is separated from the lignocelluloses. It is removed after cutting of banana stem in small pieces and then stem is blowing inside the digester at a high pressure and successive use of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulphide and sodium hypochlorite.

Soft central core of banana stem

Bananas after Harvesting

Bananas after Harvesting
The banana stem or bunch contain 56-14 hands (clusters of single bananas on the stem) and weighs 30-130 lb (13.6 – 59 kg). The stem is harvested when the single bananas are mature but green. The tree is the cut down. Bananas handled mainly as a fresh fruit and shipped from the growing area while still green. At one time, bananas were shipped as bunches, on the stem but today, they are handled mostly as hands or groups of single bananas, cuts from the stem and packed in plastic-lined boxes.

They may be treated with fumigants prior to boxing and should be precooled to 57 – 62 F. Bananas are subject to a chilling injury if held below 55 F: low temperatures kill certain surface cells and prevent normal ripening. Nor should bananas be held for extended periods at temperatures above 70 F; they must therefore be shipped under controlled temperatures. Bananas are ripened at 58 – 64 F, but the process can be accelerated by subjecting the fruit to ethylene gas.
Bananas after Harvesting