Journal of Applied Biosciences (J. Appl. Biosci.) [ISSN 1997 - 5902]
Volume 49: 3388 - 3393. Published January 29, 2012.
Altered fruit eating quality in tissue culture derived off-type banana (Musa spp.)
Msogoya Theodosy J. 1* and Grout Brian W.W. 2
1 Sokoine University of Agriculture P.O. Box 3005 Morogoro, Tanzania
2Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2630-Taastrup, Denmark
ABSTRACT
Objective: Somaclonal variation with desirable agronomic performance has extensively been reported but studies on eating qualities of such off-type banana are limited. This study was conducted to determine eating qualities of an in vitro derived off-type banana (Musa AAA East Africa) cv. ‘Uganda’ with tolerance to black sigatoka disease and a high yielder.
Methodology and Results: Uncooked and cooked mature green fruits of the off-type banana were compared with those of the popular cooking banana cv. ‘Mshale’ (AA Pisane Lilin) and cv. ‘Uganda’ based on laboratory analysis and taste interviews. Similarly, ripe fruits of the off-type banana were compared with those of the popular dessert banana cv. ‘Mtwike’ (AAA Cavendish cv. Grande naine) and cv. ‘Kisukari’ (AAB/AB Silk) based on laboratory analysis and taste interviews. Results showed that the uncooked green mature fruits of the off-type banana had higher (P < 0.05) calorific value but its cooked meal was the least (P < 0.05) accepted by the taste panelists on grounds that it was hard, less sweet and less aromatic. On the other hand, ripe fruits of the off-type banana were the sweetest with the most attractive peel colour but yet the least accepted by the taste panelists for their sweetness had a fast satiating effect. The poor acceptability of the off-type banana for both cooked and ripe fruit consumption was due to differential proportions of soluble solids caused by altered fruit ripening.
Conclusion and application: The undesirable quality of the off-type banana limits not only its adoption by farmers but also the use of somaclonal variation as a source of genetic improvement of banana cv. ‘Uganda’. However, as a consequence of increased sweetness, the off-type banana fruits have the potential for use as sweetener in diet drinks, ice creams, chewing gums and cough syrups.
Key words: Eating quality, physicochemical properties, In vitro induced off-type banana
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