Bananas, according to some horticulturists, may have been the world’s first fruit. Southeast Asia, in the jungles of Malaysia, is where they came from. Wild bananas can still be found in Indonesia or the Philippines, where they are still grown in abundance. Since the Arabic word for “finger” is derived from the word “banana,” it is generally accepted that Africans gave the current name to the fruit.
By the end of the fourteenth century, international trading in bananas had begun. Bananas became the most traded fruit in the world as a result of the construction of railroads and advancements in refrigerated sea transport.
Bananas (Musa spp.) are one of the world’s most popular fruits, with an annual production of about 105 tons, according to BananaLink. Herbaceous perennials, banana plants are the world’s largest grasses despite their common name of “banana trees”. Plant hardiness zones range from 5 to 11, according to Missouri Botanical Garden, so gardeners in temperate zones can enjoy the tropical beauty of banana plants.
WHERE TO FIND BANANA GROWTH AND PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE
Each year, 105 million tonnes of bananas are harvested in more than 150 nations. For the most part, bananas grown in traditional, large-scale systems are destined for the local market.
A whopping 43 million metric tons of Dessert and Cavendish bananas are produced each year, making them a vital export for many nations in the Global South. About 45 million metric tons of Plantain are consumed each year. A staple fruit in many tropical nations, bananas serve a significant role in ensuring food security for local populations.
INTRODUCTION TO BANANAS
The banana is not a tree, but rather a towering herb that can reach a height of up to 15 meters. It’s estimated that there are more than 1,000 types of bananas in the globe, broken down into 50 groups. The Cavendish variety, which is the most popular and widely exported, is one of the sweeter varieties.
It was first cultivated at Chatsworth House in the UK in 1830 and was given its name after Musa Cavendishii, a member of the mint family. Sigatoka, a disease that has cut banana harvests by 40% per year, is currently threatening this type of banana.
Herbs known as banana plants are frequently mistaken for trees or palms. Bananas are self-replicating perennials. From seed to fruit is 9 to 12 months for the growth of bananas from a rhizome, which is a bulb or rhizome. In the sixth or seventh month, the banana bloom appears. Bananas are a year-round fruit, unlike apples, which have a specific growing season.
Temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and annual rainfall of 78 to 98 inches are ideal for banana plants. Bananas are primarily farmed within 30 degrees of the equator, on either side. To thrive, plants require soils that are black, rich, and fertile, as well as one that is consistently moist both above and below ground, as well as one that has excellent drainage.
Latin America is home to the majority of the world’s banana plantations. Transport, irrigation, drainage, and packaging facilities all necessitate significant capital expenditures. Farmers in the Eastern Caribbean, on the other hand, typically rely on smallholder agriculture. There is no plantation system in this location due to its physical characteristics, so this system is the only option available.
In general, cultivating bananas requires a lot of time and effort. Clearing jungle growth, supporting plants against bending as a result of the weight of developing fruit, and irrigation are all necessary parts of the process in some areas. Polyethylene bags are used to protect banana bunches from wind, insect, and bird attacks, as well as to maintain optimal temperatures during the conventional production process.
The process of harvesting and maturing
The bananas are collected when they are still green after nine months. In preparation for export, they undergo further inspection and sorting at the packhouse. Bananas with no bruising are highly sought for by UK fruit buyers. They are frequently offered at a considerably cheaper price if the bananas fail to meet these requirements.
Bananas must travel six to twelve days to reach the United Kingdom and Europe because of the time it takes to be chilled before being loaded into reefer ships. They are carried at a temperature of 13.3°C to extend shelf life and must be handled with care to avoid damage. In order to maintain the quality, the parameters of humidity, ventilation, and temperature are also closely regulated.
At their destination port, bananas are first ripened (by means of the use of ethylene gas) before being shipped to supermarkets.
Tip
Banana plants can be propagated from seeds or cuttings obtained from the mother plant’s surrounding area. When a banana plant is in its vegetative stage, it grows and develops by creating a pseudostem of concentrically expanding leaves. When the tip of the flowering stem or shoot emerges from the pseudostem, the flowering stage has begun. Fruiting occurs after the shoot apex stem has matured and bloomed with both female and male flowers. The pseudostem and shoot apex die or are cut off at the conclusion of the fruiting period, allowing the new plantlets to grow and develop.
Variety of Banana Plants
Depending on the gardener’s goals, bananas can be split into edible and ornamental varieties or hardy and tropical varieties. Ornamental bananas, which are produced for their tropical appearance rather than edible fruit, include those that will grow but not bear fruit in cooler places, whereas edible bananas require tropical temperatures to bear fruit. Temperatures around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and yearly rainfall between 78 and 98 inches are ideal for banana plants. Many home growers may not be able to duplicate these conditions outside of a greenhouse.
According to Harvest to Table, edible banana trees include sweet or dessert types as well as cooking bananas. Musa acuminata, also known as the Cavendish banana (USDA plant hardiness zones 10 and 11), is a yellow sweet banana commonly found in supermarkets. As a decorative or for fruit, the ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ Musa acuminata (also known as ladyfinger banana and Chinese banana) reaches only 4 feet to 6 feet tall. Blue Java, Manzano, and Gross Michel bananas are all examples of sweet bananas. Musa paradisiaca and Musa balbisiana, both USDA plant hardiness zones 9 through 12, contain more starch than cooking bananas and must be cooked in order to be eaten (Plants for a Future).
It is possible to grow edible bananas as ornamental banana plants as well as tropical banana plants. Gardeners can bring tropical ‘Dwarf Cavendish,’ a dwarf variety of banana plants, into a shelter or an indoor space in cooler regions, although the plants are less likely to provide edible fruit when grown in containers. Musa basjoo, or Japanese banana, is a robust ornamental banana plant that thrives in cooler locations but dies back in zones 5 through 8. According to the University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions, Musa balbisiana is another cold-hardy ornamental plant.
Stages of Banana Plant Development
Bananas don’t have a specific growing season, therefore they’re available year-round. Tropical locations 30 degrees north and south of the equator are home to both native banana plants and commercial banana farms. For bananas, there are actually three different stages of growth: vegetative development (approximately six months), blooming (about three months), and the fruiting stage (about three months). This means that, under ideal conditions, it takes roughly a year from planting to harvesting a banana crop. After the fruiting stage, the mother pseudostem is removed and replaced with a new plantlet.
A pseudostem, or false stem, is the first step in the vegetative development of plantlets, whether they are formed from seed or suckered from the mother root. A banana leaf plant rather than a banana tree is formed when the stem grows and the leaf sheaths create concentric layers. Frost-free months are required for the plant to reach its full height, which might take anywhere from 10 to 15 months. At this stage, the pseudostem rises up from the ground level to generate an extraordinarily huge flower stem. The banana flower and fruit growth process takes around three months to complete at this point in time.
With purple bracts and crowded in groupings called hands, the female flowers develop first. As the bracts fall off the flowers, male hands begin to form. This can happen as often as once every day during the blossoming stage. At maturity, there are six to fifteen hands per stalk, each developing into 10–20 fruit. The pseudostem, which bears fruit only once, is removed and cut for mulch once the fruit has been collected, and a new plantlet is allowed to form in its place.
What to Do with a Banana Plant and What to Avoid
Tropical and hardy banana plants both demand organic-rich, well-drained, loamy soils with medium moisture and a pH level between 5.5 and 6.5. They like full light, but the leaves and fruit may burn when the temperature is high, with plant growth decreasing when temperatures approach 80 degrees Fahrenheit and ending when temperatures hit 100 degrees. A lot of water is needed by banana plants when the temperature is high, but too much of it can lead to root rot. Banana plants require monthly fertilization with an 8-10-8 fertilizer, which contains slightly more phosphorus.
The leaves of winter-hardy banana plants fall back when the temperature drops to 32 degrees, but the well-mulched roots may withstand temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees. Cut the stem to a height of 2 to 3 feet once the leaves have withered. When temperatures drop, frost-sensitive tropical banana plants can be protected from the elements by being grown in pots. Banana trees need plenty of room, whether they’re indoors or out.
The Cavendish banana has replaced the ‘Gros Michel,’ which was a grocery store staple until the 1950s, when a tropical fungus severely affected ‘Gros Michel’ crops, according to Wisconsin State Farmer. The Cavendish is currently the dominant sweet or dessert banana in U.S. grocery shops. There is no known cure for this fungus and it can live in the soil for decades, according to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment. Anthracnose (another fungal disease), bacterial leaf spot, and the mosaic virus can also attack banana plants. Grasshoppers, root nematodes, and borers all attack outdoor banana plants, while aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, and scale can infest potted banana plants.
