Banana Bunch Wrapper (Banwrap)

Cooperating agency for this topic :
Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development Institute (MARDI), 2001-12-01

To improve the quality of banana, wrapping of fruit bunches while they are ripening on the plant is highly recommended. MARDI's research findings suggest that skin injuries to Cavendish banana could be greatly reduced by as much as 90% by wrapping the fruit bunch. Wrapping produces banana high in quality and free from insect bites, fungi and bacteria, as well as physical injuries such as abrasions, blemishes and cuts.

Banwrap: Its Concept and Structure

The development of Banwrap was based on the concept of a simple design, easy to make, light-weight, easy to transport, simple to use, and suitable for a range of purposes. Banwrap consists of three components, namely a steel frame, an aluminum pole and a steel rack.

1) Steel Frame

Made from stainless steel 4 mm in diameter, the steel frame is U - shaped, measures 40 x 40 cm and is light-weight _ about 500 g. The steel frame is screwed to the aluminum pole. Basically, this structure serves as an arm to hold a plastic bag attached to the frame.

A suitable size of plastic bag for this frame is 82 x 122 cm. The plastic should be 0.02 mm thick, so the bag weighs 40 g. It is blue or green in color and perforated with holes (to allow for ventilation).

2) Aluminum Pole

This pole is telescopic, and can be extended to a length of 4 meters. It serves to hold the steel structure (with the plastic bag attached), held upright for wrapping purposes and is light-weight, about 700g.

3) the Steel Rack

The steel rack, a U-shaped structure, points upward and is attached to the steel rod. The sharp pointed end is pressed into the ground and holds the steel frame upright while the plastic bag is put over it.

How to Wrap the Fruit Bunch

1) Put the twine or raffia string through the holes around the upper part of the plastic bag until both ends meet (Fig.1).
2) Fit the plastic bag (with string on the upper part) over the steel frame, starting from the open end of the frame (Fig 2).
3) Make sure the whole bag is fitting over the frame (Fig.3).
4) With the aluminum pole, raise the steel frame (plastic bag attached) and scoop the fruit bunch into the open end (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5).
5) Pull the twine or raffia string so the upper part of the bag grips the stalk of the bunch, thus wrapping the whole bunch (Fig. 6).
6) Pull away the steel frame from the plastic bag. Tie the string to the banana stem, so the bag does not become loose and fall off, and the wrapping is done (Fig. 7 and Fig. 8).

Benefits from Banwrap

The cost of the equipment to wrap banana has been reduced by US$ 18.41 or 39% by the invention of Banwrap. This reduction in cost is based on the difference between the cost of a unit of Banwrap and the cost of purchasing an aluminum ladder.

The use of Banwrap reduces the cost of wrapping from RM 0.32 per bunch (RM 352/ha) to RM 0.12 (RM 132.00/ha), a 63% saving in terms of wrapping cost.

In terms of time taken to wrap the fruit bunches, Banwrap saves 62.5% of the labor cost, or 10 mandays/ha. Thus, with Banwrap, a worker can wrap 160 bunches/day compared with 68 bunches manually, an increase in productivity of 92%.

Adoption of Banwrap in production of banana might increase the production cost by RM 517.00 (cost of plastic bag _ RM 385.00, worker pay _ RM 132.00). However, the gross profit increases by an average of 67%, due to the higher price for good-quality fruit bunches.

Other Uses

Apart from being used to wrap banana, the aluminum pole of the Banwrap can also be used for other activities such as pruning, harvesting fruits etc., by attaching appropriate tools to the end.