Background of the study

Nowadays, people use ripening agents to speed up the fruit ripening process. Bananas for instance, are
picked when green and artificially ripened after shipment by being gassed with ethylene. Calcium
carbide is also used in some countries for artificially ripening fruit. When calcium carbide comes in
contact with moisture, it produces acetylene gas, which is quite similar in its effects to the natural
ripening agent, ethylene. Acetylene acts like ethylene and accelerates the ripening process. Industrial-
grade calcium carbide may also contain traces of arsenic and phosphorus which makes it a human
health concern. The use of this chemical for this purpose is illegal in most countries.

So we come up with an alternative option for us to make our own ripener for saba banana in
pacticular,using Lakatan banana peelings. In Surigao City, Lakatan bananas is widely sold in the market.

Lakatan bananas (Musa acuminata), also spelled Lacatan, are diploid banana cultivars from the
Philippines. It is one of the most common banana cultivars in the Philippines, along with the Latundan
and Saba bananas. It is a kind of banana popular in the Philippines. Lakatan typically grow to a height of
five to nine feet. The fruits can be harvested 8 to 12 months after planting. Lakatan is the most popular
dessert banana in the Philippines. Lakatan fruits are longer and thicker-skinned than the Latundan
bananas and turn a characteristic yellow-orange when ripe.

Banana peels, also called banana husk or banana skin in British English, is the outer covering of the
banana fruit. Banana peels are used as food for animals, in water purification, for manufacturing of
several biochemical products.

Therefore, we, the researchers will find out the effect of Lakatan banana peelings as Saba banana
ripener.

Banana is the most economically important fruit crop in the Philippines and the only locally grown fruit
available year-round. Bananas are grown in diverse environments in the country, from the lowlands, flat
and sloping uplands to the marginal hillylands.

Bananas require gas that is ethylene, to trigger the ripening process.

Thus the researchers will conduct this study for it can help serve as an alternative saba banana ripener.

Scope and limitation

The focus of the study is only on testing the effects of lakatan banana peelings as saba banana ripener.
The study will not include on testing on other fruits, and will be limited on the facilities and
experimental processes provided by the researchers.