Harvesting bananas at night is not a new practice in the agricultural arena. Though perceived to be a traditional and cultural practice among banana-growing communities, scientific reasons have been attached to it.
Harvesting bananas at night is attributed to the effects of sunlight that hasten the ripening of bananas.
In the onset of ripening, fruits ripen faster during hot times than cold times and bananas are not an exception.
Night time is the most appropriate time for banana harvesting if the duration at which is required to stay fresh before reaching the marketplace is to be considered. If mature bananas were to be harvested during the day, they would ripen quickly due to exposure to sunlight and this may result in a loss. For optimization of profit, banana farmers prefer harvesting at night as it significantly reduces loss.
The availability of labor has nothing to deal with the harvesting of bananas at night. Laborers on the farm are actively productive during the day. Most of the workers prefer to rest at night. Anyway, it depends on individual work time preference.
Bananas should also not be harvested early in the morning and on a misty day as water drops will be present in the fruit. These water droplets if not removed may cause foul smell a in wet bananas. Wet bananas rot easily.
Benefits withstanding, harvesting bananas at night has a myriad of challenges.
Challenges of Harvesting Bananas At Night
Attack by wild animals
Large-scale banana plantations serve as a breeding ground for wild animals. Wild animals are active at night when they search for food and their mates. These animals can attack workers who harvest at night.
Possible harvesting of immature bananas
Harvesting bananas at night may lead to the harvesting of bananas that are not ready for harvesting. This is due to darkness that obscures sight. You require a lighting system, to be able to see the crop you are harvesting.
High cost
Additional expenses are incurred to ensure the safety of workers. You need security personnel to guard produce from being vandalized. Workers need to be protected against attack by robbers. The lighting system may also prove expensive to install.
Possible loss of harvested products
If a proper system to monitor the movement and storage of harvested bananas is not put in place, the likelihood of bananas getting lost is high. Workers may collude to hide some bananas as darkness cushions them from being seen.
Conclusion
It is important to note that harvesting bananas at night may be due to fear of losing bananas due to over-ripeness. You should be aware of when your bananas are ready for harvest. You should not necessarily wait until they start to turn yellow on the farm before you harvest. You can harvest them when they are green.
Even if bananas are harvested at night to avoid loss arising from hastened ripening occasioned by sunlight, if the road network and storage facility is absent, the bananas will still overripe since they will take a long time to reach the market.
It is thus imperative to provide a well-connected transport system; road, railway, or air to facilitate the efficient movement of bananas once they are harvested at night.