Abstract:Effects of temperature on peel color and physiological changes of banana fruits during ripening were investigated. Fruits were dipped in 0.1% ethephon for 1 min, and then ripened at 20℃ and 30℃, respectively. The changes in peel colour, contents of starch and soluble and activities of cell wall degradation-related enzymes, such as polygalaturonase (PG), pectinmethylesterase (PME) and cellulase, were measured. The results showed that banana fruits degreened and softened normally during ripening at 20℃, while ripening at 30℃, the fruits hastened the softening and inhibited the degreening of the peel, resulting in the development of a pale greenish yellow colour. Furthermore, compared with the fruits ripened at 20℃, the starch in fruits ripened at 30℃ enhanced the conversion to soluble sugar, and the activities of PG, PME and cellulase were increased. It was suggested that there were relationship between green-ripe banana fruit at high temperature and soluble sugar in peel, but irrelevant to softening-related physiological changes.