Bananas and plantains (Musa spp.) are staple crops in West and Central Africa. Some physicochemical changes during early fruit development and ripening of a plantain ('French Sombre', AAB genome), a cooking banana ('Pelipita', ABB genome) and a dessert banana ('Grande Naine', AAA genome) were determined. At shooting, 42 and 84 days after shooting, and at harvest, samples were taken from the 2nd and 3rd hand of at least three 'on-plant' bunches. From early development to harvest some physicochemical parameters varied significantly. The highest physical variation was recorded for fruit length, which increased from 13 to 21 cm, 10 to 17 cm and 9 to 16 cm in 'French Sombre', 'Pelipita' and 'Grande Naine', respectively. Postharvest maturation of the fruits followed different trends. Pulp to peel ratio, total soluble extract, and total acid and peel dry matter content increased considerably, while pulp firmness, pH and pulp dry matter content decreased. These changes differed significantly between genotypes or Musa subgroups.