190 



Journal of Agricultural Research 



Vol. HI, No. 3 



fruit consisted of 41.72 per cent of peel and 58.28 per cent of pulp when 

 green and of 37.85 per cent of peel and 62.15 per cent of pulp when ripe. 

 Calculated on the basis of the original bananas, the percentage of ripe 

 peel was 36.38, a loss of 5.34 per cent of its weight. On the same basis 

 the percentage of pulp was 59.73, a gain in weight of 1.45 per cent. 

 Expressed in terms of the original bananas, the solids in the peel decreased 

 from 5.21 to 4.88 per cent, the water from 36.51 to 31.50 per cent, about 

 two-thirds of the starch passed into sugars, and the pentosans decreased 

 slightly. The ash, the alkalinity of ash, the nitrogen, and the ether 

 extract did not change materially. There was an apparent net loss in 

 carbohydrates of 0.46 per cent. 



Expressed in the same way, the solids in the pulp decreased from 

 16.93 to 16.74 psi' cent. The water increased from 41.35 to 42.99 per 

 cent. The starch content changed from 13.15 to 2.40 percent, the reduc- 

 ing sugars from 0.37 to 10.34 P^r cent, and the sucrose from 0.48 to 1.52 

 per cent. There was a net loss in carbohydrates of 0.88 per cent, due 

 to respiration. The pentosans changed from 0.40 to 0.18 per cent. As 

 in the peel, the ash, the alkaUnity of ash, the nitrogen, and the ether 

 extract in the pulp did not undergo marked changes in the amounts 

 present. See Table I. 



Table I. — Composition of bananas before and after ripening in respiration calorimeter 



COMPOSITION EXPRESSED IX TERMS OF PERCENTAGE OF FEEI. OR POI,P WHEN" AKALYZBD 



COMPOSITION eXPRESSED IN' TERMS OP PERCENTAGE OP THE WHOLE GREEN BANANAS « 



Peel: 



Green bananas. 



Ripe bananas. . 

 Pulp: 



Green bananas. 



Ripe bananas. . 



0.38 

 -32 



.40 



.18 



,j Percentage of loss in weight on ripening. 3.J 



