Research on the Physical Characteristic Parameters of Banana Bunches for the Design and Development of Postharvesting Machinery and Equipment

In the operations of the banana postharvesting process, the design and development related to the dehanding machine, the cutting and crushing machine of bunch stalks, and the fiber extraction machine of bunch stalks are in the initial stages. In addition, with the development of society and urbanization, the aging populations in hilly and mountainous areas, where bananas are planted, are becoming a more and more serious problem. The basic physical characteristic parameters of banana bunches, banana hands, and bunch stalks are the basis for studying their biomechanical properties and designing and developing the corresponding mechanical equipment. We measured the diameter, thickness of rind, curvature, density, moisture content, diameter of vascular bundle, weight of bunch stalk, and axial distance and circumferential angle of Brazilian and plantain banana hands using experiments and statistical analysis. Through the combination of physical experiments and numerical statistics, we obtained the value range and changing law of the physical characteristic parameters of banana bunches.