1. Importance of Humidity in Banana Cold Storage

Bananas exhibit a high respiration rate and rapid ripening; maintaining high humidity is critical to preserve turgor and appearance. Under recommended conditions, storage at 13 °C to 14 °C and 90–95 % RH minimizes water loss and keeps fruit firm.

Low humidity (< 90 % RH) leads to increased transpiration, causing peel shrinkage and “skin cracking,” which diminishes visual appeal and can accelerate decay bluecoldref.com.

Conversely, humidity above 95 % RH promotes surface condensation when cold fruit contacts moist air; these water films become breeding grounds for mold and spoilage organisms maine.gov.

2. Optimal Storage Parameters

2.1 Temperature Range

Bananas are chilling-sensitive; the optimum holding temperature for green fruit is 13 °C to 15 °C, which slows metabolic activity without inducing chill injuryRINACcargohandbook.com.

2.2 Relative Humidity Range

To prevent both desiccation and condensation, the ideal relative humidity is 90 %–95 % RH throughout storage and transport RINACpostharvest.ucdavis.edu.

3. Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Storage

Integrating CA extends shelf life by regulating gas composition. Typical CA conditions are 2 %–5 % O₂ and 2 %–5 % CO₂, whilecargohandbook.comnhb.gov.in.

3.1 Ethylene Management

Commercial ripening protocols expose bananas to 100–150 ppm ethylene atRINACpostharvest.ucdavis.edu.

4. Practical

4.1 Ventilation and Airflow

Ventilation rates of 25 m³/hr per metric ton 

4.2 Pre-Cooling and Packaging

Although pre-cooling to set pulp temperature below 15 °C is ideal, it’s often skipped in practice; nonetheless, using high-barrier packaging and maintaining 90–95 % RH minimizes moisture loss during transit