Storing Plantain Using A Traditional Cold Jar

. Optimizing the use of plantains depends not only on increasing its production but also on improving post-harvest operations before it reaches the final consumer. Proper management during the post-harvest period is better than using advanced technology. The main objective of this study is to preserve plantains in a traditional cold pot in the locality of Man. To carry out this experiment, we used a device consisting of a large pot containing a small pot and clay filling the space between the pot and the large pot. This device, commonly known as the “desert fridge”, has enabled us to obtain green lifespans for the Corne 1 and Agnrin cultivars of between 15 and 22 days. During our conservation, the physical and biochemical characteristics of plantains were determined. The analyzes revealed a slight lower mass loss: Horn 1 (6.85 ±0.2%) and Agnrin (7.4 ±0.5%), loss of firmness and dry matter, reduction in starches and dietary fiber. But on the other hand, an increase in the content of reducing sugars, the transfer of the color of the skin from green to yellow of the stored plantains.


II. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant material
The study was carried out on two varieties of plantain (Musa × AAB) consumed in the locality of Man. Namely, the Horn 1 cultivar and the French (Agnrin) cultivar. These fruits were harvested at 70 days for the Horn 1 cultivar and 75 days of physiological maturity for the French (Agnrin) cultivar, and were obtained from village plantations located around the town of Man.

Materials for conservation
For conservation, we needed two pots (a large pot and a small clay pot), river sand, plastic bags, a jute bag.
Sampling A quantity of three (3) bunches of plantain of the variety Horn 1 and three other bunches of plantain of the variety Agnrin were used. Our study was carried out on a total of six (6) bunches of plantain. For each cultivar, thirty plantain fingers were taken. Three plantains from the same cultivar were packed in plastic bags. In total, twenty packages of three plantains were obtained and used for the experiment. The pots used were six (6) small pots and six (6) large pots. The experiment was carried out with a total of six (6) cooling pots, three (3) per cultivar.

Manufacturing of a traditional cooler
The fabrication of a traditional cooler was done according to the method described by Marson in (2014). The traditional cooler is shown in Figure 1

Fig 1. Presentation of a traditional cooler Preservation method
Plantains were preserved according to the method described by Marson in (2014). This method was done in six (6) steps numbered from 1 to 6 see figure 2.A quantity of ten (10) plantains of each cultivar are selected and weighed. After weighing, the plantains are washed and put in the small pot already contained in the large pot. The space between the small and large pots is filled with clay. The clay is regularly watered during the storage of the plantains and the device is covered with a breathable cloth to allow gas exchange. Every two days, three plantains are taken and analysed to determine the physical and biochemical parameters during storage.

Determination of physical characteristics
The mass of the fruit (of each cultivar) was determined by weighing on a scale (Berkel: minimum capacity 100 g and maximum capacity 100 kg). The loss of mass (%M) of the bananas was evaluated according to the Lépengué et al. method (2010). The colour of the peel was assessed using the dessert banana colour scale defined by Wainwright and Hughes (1989;1990). The firmness of the pulp was determined using a penetrometer according to the method described by Dadzié and Orchard (1997). Moisture content was determined by drying an aliquot of the pulp and peel at 130 °C for 2 h. The loss of integrity of the bananas was measured from the conductivity of their skin tissues according to the method of Lépengué et al.

Statistical analysis
The results were analysed using XLSTAT 7.5.3 software. The comparison of the means was done according to the Duncan test at the 5% threshold.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Physical and biochemical characteristics of preserved plantains
The knowledge of physical and biochemical changes related to ripening would be an important contribution to the implementation of an appropriate preservation technology that would delay ripening and (3) https://ijsenet.com 117 maintain the quality of the fruit (Kouamé et al., 2010), hence the need to determine the physical and biochemical characteristics of plantain fruits before and after storage. The physical characteristics of the bunches and fingers of plantain fruits before and after storage are reported in Table I.Our preservation method allowed us to obtain green lives of preserved plantains between 15 and 22 days. The green life of plantains from the Horn 1 cultivar is 22 days, while that of plantains from the Agnrin cultivar is 15 days. These results attest to the effectiveness of this traditional preservation method, which is accessible to all and less expensive ; Indeed, using this method, we were able to obtain longer green lives than those of Horn 1 and Orishélé plantains stored at room temperature using polyethylene bags of different thicknesses between 14 and 18 days obtained by Yao et al. in 2014.And also these obtained green lives are higher than those obtained by Loa et al. in 2017 on Horn 1 and Agnrin plantains preserved with polypropylene bags between 14 and 20 days.This difference in green life could be linked to the storage method and conditions. According to Bugaud and Lassoudière (2005), the green life of bananas varies according to the storage conditions of the fruit. In particular, it is linked to the storage temperature. Our plantains were stored in a traditional refrigerated pot whereas the other authors mentioned kept their plantains at room temperature between 26°C and 30°C.On the other hand, the difference could be related to the degree of maturity (Loa et al., 2017). Indeed, these authors noted that the degree of maturity has a significant influence on the green life of plantains stored in 0.235 mm thick polypropylene bags.During storage we noticed a change in colour. The green skin of the plantains before storage turned yellow at the end of storage. This colour shift during storage of plantains was also observed by Assemand et al. in 2012 during ripening of the cultivars Orishélé and Horn 1.Plantain fingers of the Horn 1 cultivar are heavier than those of the Agnrin cultivar. The average weight of the Corne 1 plantains is 210 ± 1.5 g, whereas the average weight of the Agnrin plantains is 150 ± 1.6 g before storage. At the end of our storage, the plantain fingers of the Horn 1 cultivar weighed 195.6 ± 1.6 g, while those of the Agnrin cultivar weighed 138.9 ± 1.2 g. We note a slight loss of mass in the preserved plantains.
This loss of mass is less than 10% with 6.85±0.2% loss of mass for the cultivar Horn 1 and 7.4±0.5% loss of mass for the cultivar Agnrin.The mass losses of plantains observed during our conservation was also observed by Lépengué  This difference in firmness between these two cultivars is thought to be related to their dry matter content (Bugaud et al., 2011). According to these authors, any fruit that is less acidic and has a high dry matter content is less firm than one with a low dry matter content. Also, the dry matter content of bananas is an interesting indicator of sensory quality because of its major role on the firmness of the fruit and the Brix (Géraldine, 2012

II-2-Biochemical characteristics of preserved plantains
The biochemical parameters of the plantains studied before and after storage are given in Table II. The fruits of the Agnrin plantain have the highest dry matter content. Their dry matter content is 41.6±1.6 %, whereas that of the Horn 1 banana fruits is 40.8±1.3 % at the beginning of storage. At the end of the storage period, the dry matter content of the different plantain fruits decreased. The dry matter content of the fruits of the Agnrin cultivar, which was 41.6±1.6% at the beginning, became 38.3±1.4%. The same applies to fruits of the cultivar Corne 1, which dropped from 40.8±1.3% to 37.3±1.8%. This drop in dry matter content during storage of plantain fruits was also observed by Assemand  . Indeed, fruit ripening corresponds to a set of biochemical and physiological changes leading to the state of ripeness and giving the fruit its organoleptic characteristics (Brady, 1987). Table 2. Biochemical parameters of preserved plantains DC: Start of Conservation; FC: End of Conservation Values in the same column followed by different letters show significant differences (p< 0.05). Each value is the average of the results obtained over 5 determinations ± standard deviation of this average.

IV. CONCLUSION
The different results obtained during our experiment allow us to affirm the effectiveness of this technique, which is simple to carry out, less expensive and accessible to all. With this technique, our lowincome farmers will be able to preserve their plantains for about twenty days without altering the quality of the fruit. We strongly recommend this method of preservation to wholesalers and plantain growers in rural areas.