The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, is working to develop transgenic varieties of mangoes and bananas that will take longer than usual to ripen. The aim is to increase the shelf life of these fruits and, thus, cut down on their wastage during transportation.

“India produces 45 million tonnes of fruits every year but 30 to 50 per cent is lost to post-harvest deterioration. NBRI is researching how to delay fruit ripening and, in the process, produce transgenic varieties of mangoes and bananas with a longer shelf life,” said Dr Aniruddha Sane, one of the four scientists engaged in the research work.

“Though such genetic modification has been tried in other parts of the world, this is the first such experiment in India,” he added.

Every one per cent reduction of loss will save the country around Rs 250 crore annually. The delay in fruit ripening will also boost exports, making Indian mangoes and bananas reach other parts of the world.

Explaining the process of fruit ripening in climacteric fruits, Sane said the triggering factor for ripening is a plant hormone called ethylene. After the fruit grows fully, there is a sudden burst of respiration and the release of ethylene, which causes quick ripening and abscission (shedding) of the fruit.

Due to auto-catalytic production, when the hormone is produced in any one fruit, it also triggers the production of the hormone in all other fruits. Thus, during transportation, when a banana begins to ripen due to ethylene, it also instigates ripening of other bananas in that truck, which leads to excessive softening and rupturing of many fruits and invites fungus and bacteria.

... contd.