🍌Banana

• Botanical Name: Musa paradisica
• Family: Musaceae
• Origin: South East Asia
• Also called Apple of paradise/ Kalpathrau (A plant of virtues / Adams fig/ oldest cultivated tropical fruit. Banana is one of the oldest cultivated fruit crops in the tropics, deeply embedded in mythology and agriculture alike.
• India (23%) is the largest producer of banana in the world. India’s dominant share in global banana production is driven by favourable tropical climatic conditions and extensive cultivation across multiple states.
• Andra Pradesh produces highest. In Tamil Nadu, banana is specially grown for leaf production. Tamil Nadu’s tradition of using banana leaves as eco-friendly plates makes leaf-producing varieties commercially important in the state.
• Banana is staple food of South Africa.
• Ripe banana fruit contain over 26% of sugar. This high sugar content makes banana one of the most energy-dense fruits available.
• In monthan variety of Banana only Glucose sugar is found. Unlike other varieties that contain a mix of sugars, Monthan is unique in having exclusively glucose.
• Musa acuminate is the source of today’s edible banana. Most cultivated banana varieties trace their origin to this wild species, either as pure AA or as hybrids with Musa balbisiana (BB).

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• Growth of Banana is influenced by temperature.
  • It grows well at temperature of 26.5 °C.
  • Temperature between 20-30 °C is ideal for good plant growth.
  • Temperature above 36-38 °C causes scorching effect with increased transpiration. High temperatures accelerate water loss through the large leaf surface area, leading to leaf scorching and reduced productivity.
• Fruit type is berry. Botanically, each individual banana finger is classified as a berry since it develops from a single ovary.
• Propagated by suckers/corns. Since commercial banana varieties are seedless, vegetative propagation through suckers is the standard method to maintain genetic uniformity.
• Weight of sword suckers generally used: 500 -750 g
• Apart from sword sucker (weighing 500-750 g), cut rhizomes called ‘bits’ and ‘peepers’ are also used for propagation. Sword suckers are preferred because they have a well-developed rhizome and narrow leaves, indicating vigorous growth potential.

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• In banana commonly found: Vegetative parthenocarpy. This means fruits develop without fertilization, which is why commercial bananas are seedless.
• Genetic classification of Banana was given by Simmond & Shephard. Their classification system is based on the relative contribution of Musa acuminata (A genome) and Musa balbisiana (B genome) to each cultivar.
• Inflorescence of banana is known as spadix. The spadix is a spike-like flower cluster enclosed by large colourful bracts, commonly called the banana heart.
• Most of cultivated banana are Triploid in nature. Triploid (3n) bananas are sterile, which is why they produce seedless fruits but also makes conventional breeding extremely difficult.
• Diploid banana variety is Lady finger
• AAB, AAA clones are grown under irrigated conditions. These clones, with a higher proportion of the A genome, require consistent moisture for optimum growth and yield.
• ABB clones are grown under rainfed conditions [Monthan, Kanthali, Kunnan]. The B genome from Musa balbisiana confers greater drought tolerance and hardiness, making ABB clones suitable for areas with limited irrigation.

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• High uptake nutrient 'K' among N, P and K. Banana is a heavy feeder of potassium, requiring large quantities for proper bunch development, fruit filling, and disease resistance.
• Banana is a rich source of dietary potassium (K) used in nervous impulses and good source of energy.
• Seedlessness in banana is controlled by spray of 2, 4-D @ 25 PPM
• Poovan, Rasthali, Nendran and Robusta 2.1 X 2.1 (m2)
• Basari, Kulhan, Jawari: 1.8 x 1.8 m² spacing.
• High density 1.2 x 1.2 m to 1.5 x 1.5 m is common now days. High density planting increases the number of plants per hectare, leading to higher early yields and better land utilization.
• Edible part: Starchy Parenchyma. The fleshy, starchy parenchyma tissue of the mesocarp is the portion we consume.

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• Brinjal, cucrbuts should not be grown in Banana orchard because they attract nematodes. These vegetables serve as alternate hosts for plant-parasitic nematodes that can severely damage banana roots.
• Banana initiate flowering 9-12 months after Planting.
• For the ripening of banana, low concentration of ethylene with 15-18 °C in controlled chamber is used. But use of acetylene is not good. Ethylene is the natural ripening hormone, and controlled application in ripening chambers ensures uniform ripening of the entire batch.
• Artificial ripening is done with chemical calcium carbide. While widely practised, calcium carbide (CaC₂) releases acetylene gas, which is a health hazard and is banned in many countries for food use.
• Banana fruits can be stored at 13 °C temperature & 85-95% humidity for three weeks. Temperatures below 13°C cause chilling injury, turning the peel black, while temperatures above this range accelerate ripening.

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• Banana is herbaceous, monocotyledonus and monocarpic fruit crop. Being monocarpic means each pseudostem flowers and fruits only once and then dies, replaced by a new sucker from the rhizome.
• Banana is a calcifuge crop calorific value: 67-137/100 g. As a calcifuge, banana prefers acidic to neutral soils and does not thrive in highly calcareous (lime-rich) soils.
• Banana is moisture loving plant. It requires 1800-2500 mm of annual rainfall or equivalent irrigation for optimal growth and yield.

Cultural Practices

• Banana Pseudo-stem
  • Pseudostem is the part of the plant which looks like trunk. Pseudostem is false stem which is formed by the tightly packed overlapping leaf sheaths. The true stem (rhizome) lies underground, and what appears as the trunk is actually a tightly wound column of concentric leaf sheaths.
  • Generally green in shiny or wax coated, brown blotched or brown black blotched. 1-8 m tall depends on variety.

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• Mettocking: Practice of removing banana pseudostem after harvesting of fruit. This allows the ratoon crop (successor sucker) to receive more light and nutrients, promoting faster growth.
• Desuckering: Descuckering once in 45 days is common practice in Banana cultivation. Regular removal of unwanted suckers ensures that the plant’s energy is directed towards the mother plant and the selected follower sucker, resulting in better bunch size.
• Propping: This involves providing physical support to the fruiting plant using bamboo poles or other supports to prevent it from toppling over under the weight of the bunch, especially during strong winds.
• Denavelling: ^{IBPS AFO 2019-20 Removal of male bud after completion of the female phase. Removing the male bud (the terminal inflorescence beyond the last hand of female flowers) redirects the plant’s energy towards fruit development, increasing bunch weight.}

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• Two spray of KH₂PO₄ at fruit development stage increases the bunch weight. Potassium dihydrogen phosphate provides readily available phosphorus and potassium during the critical fruit-filling stage.
• In Gujrat and Maharashtra: Furrow method and in Tamil Nadu trench method of planting is followed.
• Trench method is especially followed in wetland system of cultivation. In the trench method, bananas are planted in deep trenches that retain moisture and organic matter, making it ideal for high water table areas.
• For getting maximum yield a minimum of 10-12 leaves are required to be retained on the mother plant. These leaves are the photosynthetic factories that produce carbohydrates for fruit filling — fewer leaves result in smaller, poorly developed bunches.
• Strong wind is a threat for successful banana production. Banana’s large leaves and shallow root system make it highly vulnerable to wind damage, including pseudostem snapping and leaf shredding.
• For long distance transportation, harvesting is done at 75-80% maturity. Harvesting at this stage ensures fruits are firm enough to withstand transport and will ripen uniformly at the destination.
• Post-harvest technology to delay ripening of banana are skin coating with wax & (12% wax emulsion). Wax coating creates a semi-permeable barrier that slows down respiration and moisture loss, thereby extending shelf life.

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• Banana improvement work was started in the year 1949 in Tamil Nadu. Hybridization work— CBRS, Adhuthurai (TN)
• CBRS: Central Banana Research Station
• Maturity: 90-150 days. This refers to the time from flowering to harvest, which varies considerably based on variety and growing conditions.
• Salt water treatment reduces duration of Banana fruits.

Varieties

• Poovan & Ney poovan are preferred in multistory system. Their compact growth habit makes them suitable for planting under taller tree canopies in multi-tier cropping systems.
• Gandevi selection (Hanuman or pardase) from Basrai.
• Poovan (AAB): Rasthali, Amritpani, mortman—choicest table banana (Best) Hard lumps and fruit cracking are the major physiological disorders. Tolerant to many Abiotic & biotic stresses. Poovan’s wide adaptability and stress tolerance make it one of the most popular varieties in South India.
• Poovan mvsore (AAB): Pink pigmentation on ventral side of midrib when young, susceptible to banana streak virus, leading cultivar of south India.
• Nendran (AAB): Most prized cooking variety used in Kerala. Good for making Banana chips. Nendran remains starchy even after ripening, making it ideal for frying and producing the famous Kerala banana chips.
• Hill banana (AAB): Suitable for cultivation on hills, fruits having unique aroma and flavour (taste). Suitable for Jam making.
• Lal velchi (AAA): It is grown for red skin. The distinctive red-purple peel colour makes this variety visually attractive and it commands a premium price in the market.
• Monthun (ABB): Good for culinary purpose.
• Ney Poovan (AB): diploid variety, it fetches double price than other cultivars. Horizontal bunch orientation. Its unique buttery flavour and distinct horizontal bunch make it a highly prized table variety.
• Lady finger (AB): diploid banana variety.

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Hybrids

• FHIA-1 (Gold Finger) - (AAAB) - Belong to pome group. Resistant to wilt and sigatoka leaf spot. This hybrid was developed by the Foundation Hondurena de Investigacion Agricola and offers disease resistance that many traditional varieties lack.
• Bodies Altafort - (AAAA) - Synthetic hybrid, a result of cross between Gross michel (AAA) x Pisanglin (AA).
• Klue teparod (AABB) - Natural tetraploid.
• CO-1: Kellar Laden x M. balbasiana x Kadali
• Rajapuri: Resistant to cold. This variety’s cold tolerance makes it suitable for cultivation in the subtropical regions of India.
• Nendran: Remain starchy even on ripening.
• Moongli: Mutant of Nendran

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• Sucker treatment: Pralinage - with 40 g of carbofuran 3 G granules per sucker. (The corn is dipped in slurry solution of 4 parts of clay plus 5 parts water and sprinkled with carbofuran to control nematodes. Pralinage is a pre-planting treatment where suckers are dipped in a clay slurry to protect them from nematode infestation during early establishment.
• High density planting - 3 suckers / pit at a spacing of 1.8 x 3.6 m (4600 plants / ha). Planting multiple suckers per pit increases the plant population and allows early higher yields while managing canopy through systematic desuckering.

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Physiological disorders

Kotta vazhai

In certain pockets of Tamil Nadu, the banana cv. Poovan is manifested with a peculiar development disorder which is characterized by the presence of distinctly conical and ill filled fruits with a prominent central core having many under developed non-viable seedy structures rendering the fruits inedible. This disorder causes significant economic losses in the Poovan-growing regions of Tamil Nadu, as affected fruits are completely unmarketable.

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Hard lump

• It is characterized by pinkish brown, firm pulp than the usual soft pulp occurs in cv. Rasthali. Affected fruits develop hard, gritty lumps within the pulp that make them unpalatable and commercially unacceptable.

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Disease

Insects

• Rhizome/Banana weevil
• Aphids

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Yield (t/ha/year)

• Poovan: 40-50
• Monthan: 30-40
• Robusta: 50-60
• Dwarf Cavendish: 50-60

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Breeding Problem in Banana

• Major breeding problem in banana is male sterility and parthenocarpy. Since most commercial bananas are triploid and produce fruit without seeds (parthenocarpy), conventional cross-breeding is extremely difficult. Male sterility further compounds this challenge, making it nearly impossible to use traditional hybridization methods for crop improvement.

Explore More

Watch: Banana Cultivation (YouTube)

Summary Cheat Sheet

Concept / Topic	Key Details
Banana botanical name	Musa paradisiaca (cooking), M. acuminata (dessert)
Family	Musaceae
Origin	Southeast Asia (Indo-Malayan region)
India’s rank	Largest producer in world
Leading state	Tamil Nadu (area); Maharashtra (production)
Chromosome number	2n = 22 (wild); cultivated = triploid (3n = 33)
Propagation	Suckers (sword suckers preferred), tissue culture
Spacing	1.8 x 1.8 m to 2 x 2 m
Dessert varieties	Robusta, Grand Naine, Dwarf Cavendish, Basrai
Cooking varieties	Nendran, Monthan
Major disease	Panama wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense)
Major disease	Sigatoka leaf spot (Mycosphaerella)
Major pest	Banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus)
Bunch cover	Blue polythene bag; improves fruit quality
Fruit type	Berry; parthenocarpic (seedless)
Desuckering	Removal of unwanted suckers; retaining one follower