🍌 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.
• India (23%) is the largest producer of banana in the world.
• Andra Pradesh produces highest. In Tamil Nadu, banana is specially grown for leaf production.
• Banana is staple food of South Africa.
• Ripe banana fruit contain over 26% of sugar.
• In monthan variety of Banana only Glucose sugar is found.
• Musa acuminate is the source of today’s edible banana.
• 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.
• Fruit type is berry.
• Propagated by suckers/corns.
• 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.
• In banana commonly found: Vegetative parthenocarpy.
• Genetic classification of Banana was given by Simmond & Shephard.
• Inflorescence of banana is known as spadix.
• Most of cultivated banana are Triploid in nature.
• Diploid banana variety is Lady finger
• AAB, AAA clones are grown under irrigated conditions.
• ABB clones are grown under rainfed conditions [Monthan, Kanthali, Kunnan]
• High uptake nutrient ‘K’ among N, P and K.
• 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.
• Edible part: Starchy Parenchyma.
• Brinjal, cucrbuts should not be grown in Banana orchard because they attract nematodes. 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.
• Artificial ripening is done with chemical calcium carbide.
• Banana fruits can be stored at 13 °C temperature & 85-95% humidity for three weeks.
• Banana is herbaceous, monocotyledonus and monocarpic fruit crop.
• Banana is a calcifuge crop calorific value: 67-137/100 g.
• Banana is moisture loving plant.

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.
  • Generally green in shiny or wax coated, brown blotched or brown black blotched. 1-8 m tall depends on variety.
• Mettocking: Practice of removing banana pseudostem after harvesting of fruit.
• Desuckering: Descuckering once in 45 days is common practice in Banana cultivation.
• Propping:
• Denavelling: ^{IBPS AFO 2019-20 Removal of male bud after completion of the female phase.}

• Two spray of KH₂PO₄ at fruit development stage increases the bunch weight.
• 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.
• For getting maximum yield a minimum of 10-12 leaves are required to be retained on the mother plant.
• Strong wind is a threat for successful banana production.
• For long distance transportation, harvesting is done at 75-80% maturity.
• Post-harvest technology to delay ripening of banana are skin coating with wax & (12% wax emulsion).
• 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.
• Salt water treatment reduces duration of Banana fruits.

Varieties

• Poovan & Ney poovan are preferred in multistory system.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Monthun (ABB): Good for culinary purpose.
• Ney Poovan (AB): diploid variety, it fetches double price than other cultivars. Horizontal bunch orientation.
• Lady finger (AB): diploid banana variety.

Hybrids

• FHIA-1 (Gold Finger) - (AAAB) - Belong to pome group. Resistant to wilt and sigatoka leaf spot.
• 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.
• Nendran: Remain starchy even on ripening.
• Moongli: Mutant of Nendran

• 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.
• High density planting - 3 suckers / pit at a spacing of 1.8 x 3.6 m (4600 plants / ha).

  

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.

Hard lump

• It is characterized by pinkish brown, firm pulp than the usual soft pulp occurs in cv. Rasthali.

Disease

Insects

• Rhizome/Banana weevil
• Aphids

Yield (t/ha/year)

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

Breeding Problem in Banana

• Major breeding problem in banana is male sterility and parthenocarpy.

Explore More 🔭

🟢 https://youtu.be/esvycD1O3cM