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|image_caption=Banana plant
|image_caption=Banana plant
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Banana, a name applied to certain species of Musa, particularly to those that produce edible fruits, although it is sometimes used for species grown for ornament, as for Musa Ensete. There are three groups of edible bananas: the common banana, eaten raw, Musa sapientum; the plantain, fruits to be cooked, M. paradisiaca; dwarf, with edible fruits, M. Cavendishii. The first two are probably forms of one species, and the botanical nomenclature is confused. Some species produce fiber. Consult Abaca and Musa.
The banana plant is a great perennial herb. It grows 10 to even 30 feet tall, and produces a bunch of fruit, and the stalk then dies or becomes weak; in the meantime, suckers have arisen from the rootstock to take its place. The peculiar flower-bearing of the banana is shown in Fig. 462, which illustrates the tip of a flower-cluster. This cluster may be likened to a giant elongating bud, with large, tightly overlapping scales or bracts. Three of these bracts are shown at a a a. in different stages of the flowering. As they rise or open, the flowers below them expand. The bracts soon fall. The flowers soon shed their envelopes, but the styles, 6, persist for a time. The ovaries soon swell into bananas, c. The bracts are royal purple and showy.
The banana has come to be one of the most popular fruits in North America, due to the cheapness of its cultivation and transportation, ease of handling, long- keeping qualities, and adaptability to many uses. The source of supply is mostly Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, and latterly the northern shores of Colombia. In the tropics, the ordinary bananas are cooked and used as a vegetable rather more than as a fruit to be eaten from the hand. The plantains, which are coarser and harder fruits and thicker, are always cooked. A form of cooking banana used in parts of tropical America is shown in Fig. 463. Of the banana itself there are many varieties. The common large fruit in northern markets is the Martinique, Jamaica, Gros Michel or Bluefields. A red variety, the Baracoa or Red Jamaica, is sometimes seen. In the tropics, various very small forms are grown for local consumption. These are fragile and do not keep long, and are rarely seen in the markets North. One of them, known as the "fig" in Trinidad, is shown in Fig. 464; the fruits are about 3 inches long. The dwarf or Cavendish banana is grown extensively in the Canary Islands, and apparently also in Bermuda; and it is not uncommon as an ornamental plant in conservatories.
It is said that the banana was first imported into the United States in 1804 by Captain John N. Chester of the schooner Reynard, the lot consisting of thirty bunches. The first full cargo is said to have been 1,500 bunches brought to New York in 1830 on the schooner Harriet Smith, chartered by John Pearsall of the firm of J. & T. Pearsall. Two or three cargoes would appear each year, until about 1857 William C. Bliss entered the banana-importing business, securing his supply from Baracoa, Cuba, and taking the trade to Boston. In 1869, he secured a small cargo from Jamaica. In recent years, the Jamaica- United States banana trade has assumed very large proportions.
In the United States, there is little commercial cultivation of bananas, since the frostless zone is narrow and the fruit can be grown so much more cheaply in Central America and the West Indies. Small banana plantations are common in southern Florida, however, and even as far north as Jacksonville. They are also grown in extreme southern Louisiana, and southwestward to the Pacific coast. The plants will endure a slight frost without injury. A frost of five or six degrees will kill the leaves, but if the plants are nearly full grown at the time, new foliage may appear and fruit may form. If the entire top is killed, new suckers will spring up and bear fruit the following year. A stalk, or trunk, bears but once; but the new sprouts which arise from the roots of the same plant continue the fruit-bearing. A strong sprout should bear when twelve to eighteen months old (from two to three years in hothouses).
The plantation will, therefore, continue to bear for many years. A bearing stalk, as grown in southern California, is shown in Fig. 465.
The species mostly in demand for fruiting seldom or never produce seeds, and naturally increase by suckers. The suckers are most readily separated from the parent rootstock by a spade. This is a slow process of increase, but the suckers so produced make large and vigorous plants. A quicker method of propagation is to cut the entire rootstock into small, wedge-shaped pieces, leaving the outer surface of the root about 1 by 2 inches in size, planting in light, moist soil, with the point of the wedge down and the outer surface but slightly covered. The best material for covering these small pieces is fine peat, old leaf-mold, mixed moss and sand, or other light material that is easily kept moist. The beds so planted should be in full open sunshine if in a tropical climate, or given bottom heat and plenty of light if in the plant-house. The small plants from root- cuttings should not be allowed to remain in the original bed longer than is necessary to mature one or two leaves, as that treatment would stunt them.
The textile and ornamental species, also, may be increased by the above process, but as these species usually produce seeds freely, seedlings can be more quickly grown, and with less trouble. The seeds of bananas should be sown as fresh as possible, treating them the same as recommended for root-cuttings. As soon as the seedlings show their first leaves, they should be transplanted into well-prepared beds of rich, moist soil, or potted off and plunged into slight bottom heat, as the needs of the grower or his location may demand. Both seedlings and root-cuttings should have proper transplanting, sufficient room and rich soil, as a rapid, unchecked growth gives the best and quickest results.
In the West Indies, Central America and Mexico, bananas are raised for export to the United States and Canada. The site chosen is usually a level plain in the lowlands, near the coast, or in valleys among the hills, where the rainfall or artificial moisture is sufficient. For distant shipping, bunches of fruit are cut with "machetes" or knives, after they reach their full size and arc almost mature, but quite green in color. Ripening is effected during shipment in warm weather, and by storing in dark, artificially heated rooms during cold weather. Banana flour is a valuable product of ripe bananas prepared among the plantations in the tropics. It is nutritious, and has an increasing demand and use as human food. A recently invented process of drying ripe bananas has been found very successful, and the industry promises to be of vast importance as the marketable article finds ready sale. Further details of the growing of the commercial crop in the tropics may be found in Cyclo. Amer. Agric., Vol. II, p. 199. E. N. Reasoner. L. H. B.
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[[Image:Inside a wild-type banana.jpg|thumb|250px|Fruits of wild-type bananas have numerous large, hard seeds.]]
[[Image:Inside a wild-type banana.jpg|thumb|250px|Fruits of wild-type bananas have numerous large, hard seeds.]]
[[Image:Banane Rose.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Certain banana cultivars turn red or purplish instead of yellow as they ripen.]]
[[Image:Banane Rose.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Certain banana cultivars turn red or purplish instead of yellow as they ripen.]]
[[Image:BananasBlueBagStLucia.jpg|thumb|Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for protection. The bags may be coated with [[pesticides]].]]
[[Image:BananasBlueBagStLucia.jpg|thumb|Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for protection. The bags may be coated with [[pesticides]].]]
[[Image:Banana trees.jpg|thumb|Inspecting bananas for fruit flies.]]
[[Image:Banana trees.jpg|thumb|Inspecting bananas for fruit flies.]]
[[Image:FHIA-17.jpg|thumb|right|Tanzanian farmers with 92 kg (200 lb) bunch of FHIA-17 bananas.]]
[[Image:FHIA-17.jpg|thumb|right|Tanzanian farmers with 92 kg (200 lb) bunch of FHIA-17 bananas.]]
[[Image:M. acuminata x balbisiana.JPG|right|thumb|''M. acuminata x balbisiana'' flower, partially opened.]]
[[Image:M. acuminata x balbisiana.JPG|right|thumb|''M. acuminata x balbisiana'' flower, partially opened.]]
[[image:bananacorms.jpg|thumb|right|Banana [[corm]]s.]]
[[image:bananacorms.jpg|thumb|right|Banana [[corm]]s.]]
'''Banana''' is the [[common name]] used for [[herbaceous]], [[Cultigen|cultigenic]] plants in the [[genus]] ''[[Musa (Musaceae)|Musa]]'', and is also the name given the [[fruit]] of these plants.
'''Banana''' is the [[common name]] used for [[herbaceous]], [[Cultigen|cultigenic]] plants in the [[genus]] ''[[Musa (Musaceae)|Musa]]'', and is also the name given the [[fruit]] of these plants.
Banana plants are of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Musaceae]]. They are cultivated primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent for the production of fibre and as ornamental plants. They are native to [[Tropics|tropical]] southeastern [[Asia]] but are widely cultivated in tropical regions. Because of their size and structure, banana plants are often mistaken for [[tree]]s. The main or upright growth is called a ''pseudostem'', which when mature, for some species can obtain a height of up to 2–8 m, with [[leaf|leaves]] of up to 3.5 m in length. Each pseudostem produces a single bunch of bananas, before dying and being replaced by a new pseudostem. The base of the plant is a [[rhizome]] (known as a [[corm]]). Corms are perennial, with a productive lifespan of 15 years or more.
Banana plants are of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Musaceae]]. They are cultivated primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent for the production of fibre and as ornamental plants. They are native to [[Tropics|tropical]] southeastern [[Asia]] but are widely cultivated in tropical regions. Because of their size and structure, banana plants are often mistaken for [[tree]]s. The main or upright growth is called a ''pseudostem'', which when mature, for some species can obtain a height of up to 2–8 m, with [[leaf|leaves]] of up to 3.5 m in length. Each pseudostem produces a single bunch of bananas, before dying and being replaced by a new pseudostem. The base of the plant is a [[rhizome]] (known as a [[corm]]). Corms are perennial, with a productive lifespan of 15 years or more.
The banana fruit grow in hanging clusters, with up to 20 fruit to a tier (called a ''hand''), and 3-20 tiers to a bunch. The total of the hanging clusters is known as a bunch, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh from 30–50 kg. The fruit averages 125 g, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter content. Each individual fruit (or 'finger', or in common usage 'banana') has a protective outer layer (a [[peel]] or [[skin]]) with a fleshy edible inner portion. Typically the fruit has numerous strings (called 'phloem bundles') which run between the skin and the edible portion of the banana, and which are commonly removed individually after the skin is removed. Bananas are a valuable source of [[Vitamin A]], [[Vitamin B6]], [[Vitamin C]], and [[potassium]].
The banana fruit grow in hanging clusters, with up to 20 fruit to a tier (called a ''hand''), and 3-20 tiers to a bunch. The total of the hanging clusters is known as a bunch, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh from 30–50 kg. The fruit averages 125 g, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter content. Each individual fruit (or 'finger', or in common usage 'banana') has a protective outer layer (a [[peel]] or [[skin]]) with a fleshy edible inner portion. Typically the fruit has numerous strings (called 'phloem bundles') which run between the skin and the edible portion of the banana, and which are commonly removed individually after the skin is removed. Bananas are a valuable source of [[Vitamin A]], [[Vitamin B6]], [[Vitamin C]], and [[potassium]].
Bananas are grown in 132 countries worldwide, more than any other fruit crop. In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas that are usually eaten raw. The bananas from a group of cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are generally used in cooking rather than eaten raw. Bananas may also be dried and ground into banana flour.
Bananas are grown in 132 countries worldwide, more than any other fruit crop. In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas that are usually eaten raw. The bananas from a group of cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are generally used in cooking rather than eaten raw. Bananas may also be dried and ground into banana flour.
Although the wild species have fruits with numerous large, hard seeds, virtually all culinary bananas have [[seedless fruit]]s. Bananas are classified either as dessert bananas (meaning they are yellow and fully ripe when eaten) or as green cooking bananas. Almost all export bananas are of the dessert types; however, only about 10-15% of all production is for [[export]], with the [[United States|U.S.]] and [[EU]] being the dominant buyers.
Although the wild species have fruits with numerous large, hard seeds, virtually all culinary bananas have [[seedless fruit]]s. Bananas are classified either as dessert bananas (meaning they are yellow and fully ripe when eaten) or as green cooking bananas. Almost all export bananas are of the dessert types; however, only about 10-15% of all production is for [[export]], with the [[United States|U.S.]] and [[EU]] being the dominant buyers.
Pruning Only one primary stem of each rhizome should be allowed to fruit. All excess shoots should be removed as soon as they are noticed. This helps channel all of of the plant's energy into fruit production. Once the main stalk is 6 - 8 months old, permit one sucker to develop as a replacement stalk for the following season. When the fruit is harvested, cut the fruiting stalk back to 30 inches above the ground. Remove the stub several weeks later. The stalk can be cut into small pieces and used as mulch.
Pruning Only one primary stem of each rhizome should be allowed to fruit. All excess shoots should be removed as soon as they are noticed. This helps channel all of of the plant's energy into fruit production. Once the main stalk is 6 - 8 months old, permit one sucker to develop as a replacement stalk for the following season. When the fruit is harvested, cut the fruiting stalk back to 30 inches above the ground. Remove the stub several weeks later. The stalk can be cut into small pieces and used as mulch.
Fruit Harvest: Stalks of bananas are usually formed in the late summer and then winter over. In March they begin "plumping up" and may ripen in April. Occasionally, a stalk will form in early summer and ripen before cold weather appears. The fruit can be harvested by cutting the stalk when the bananas are plump but green. For tree-ripened fruit, cut one hand at a time as it ripens. If latter is done, check stalk daily as rodents can eat the insides of every banana, from above, and the stalk will look untouched. Once harvested the stalk should be hung in a cool, shady place. Since ethylene helps initiate and stimulate ripening, and mature fruit gives off this gas in small amounts, ripening can be hastened by covering the bunch with a plastic bag. Plantains are starchy types that are cooked before eating.
Fruit Harvest: Stalks of bananas are usually formed in the late summer and then winter over. In March they begin "plumping up" and may ripen in April. Occasionally, a stalk will form in early summer and ripen before cold weather appears. The fruit can be harvested by cutting the stalk when the bananas are plump but green. For tree-ripened fruit, cut one hand at a time as it ripens. If latter is done, check stalk daily as rodents can eat the insides of every banana, from above, and the stalk will look untouched. Once harvested the stalk should be hung in a cool, shady place. Since ethylene helps initiate and stimulate ripening, and mature fruit gives off this gas in small amounts, ripening can be hastened by covering the bunch with a plastic bag. Plantains are starchy types that are cooked before eating.
===Propagation===
===Propagation===
* Tropical Race 4 - a reinvigorated strain of [[Panama disease|Panama Disease]] first discovered in 1993. This is a virulent form of fusarium wilt that has wiped out 'Cavendish' in several southeast Asian countries. It has yet to reach the Americas; however, soil fungi can easily be carried on [[boots]], [[clothing]], or [[tool]]s. This is how Tropical Race 4 moves from one plantation to another and is its most likely route into Latin America. The Cavendish cultivar is highly susceptible to TR4, and over time, Cavendish is almost certain to be eliminated from commercial production by this disease. Unfortunately the only known defense to TR4 is genetic resistance.
* Tropical Race 4 - a reinvigorated strain of [[Panama disease|Panama Disease]] first discovered in 1993. This is a virulent form of fusarium wilt that has wiped out 'Cavendish' in several southeast Asian countries. It has yet to reach the Americas; however, soil fungi can easily be carried on [[boots]], [[clothing]], or [[tool]]s. This is how Tropical Race 4 moves from one plantation to another and is its most likely route into Latin America. The Cavendish cultivar is highly susceptible to TR4, and over time, Cavendish is almost certain to be eliminated from commercial production by this disease. Unfortunately the only known defense to TR4 is genetic resistance.
* [[Black Sigatoka]] - a fungal leaf spot disease first observed in [[Fiji]] in [[1963]] or [[1964]]. Black Sigatoka (also known as Black Leaf Streak) has spread to banana plantations throughout the tropics due to infected banana leaves being used as packing material. It affects all of the main cultivars of bananas and [[plantains]], impeding [[photosynthesis]] by turning parts of their leaves black, and eventually killing the entire leaf. Being starved for energy, fruit production falls by 50% or more, and the bananas that do grow suffer premature [[ripening]], making them unsuitable for [[export]]. The fungus has shown ever increasing resistance to fungicidal treatment, with the current expense for treating 1 hectare exceeding US$1000 per year. In addition to the financial expense there is the question of how long such intensive spraying can be justified environmentally. Several resistant cultivars of banana have been developed, but none has yet received wide scale commercial acceptance due to taste and texture issues.
* [[Black Sigatoka]] - a fungal leaf spot disease first observed in [[Fiji]] in [[1963]] or [[1964]]. Black Sigatoka (also known as Black Leaf Streak) has spread to banana plantations throughout the tropics due to infected banana leaves being used as packing material. It affects all of the main cultivars of bananas and [[plantains]], impeding [[photosynthesis]] by turning parts of their leaves black, and eventually killing the entire leaf. Being starved for energy, fruit production falls by 50% or more, and the bananas that do grow suffer premature [[ripening]], making them unsuitable for [[export]]. The fungus has shown ever increasing resistance to fungicidal treatment, with the current expense for treating 1 hectare exceeding US$1000 per year. In addition to the financial expense there is the question of how long such intensive spraying can be justified environmentally. Several resistant cultivars of banana have been developed, but none has yet received wide scale commercial acceptance due to taste and texture issues.
* Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) - this [[virus]] is spread from plant to plant by [[aphids]]. It causes stunting of the leaves resulting in a "bunched" appearance. Generally, a banana plant infected with the virus will not set fruit, although mild strains exist in many areas which do allow for some fruit production. These mild strains are often mistaken for malnourishment, or a disease other than BBTV. There is no cure for BBTV, however its effect can be minimised by planting only tissue cultured plants (In-vitro propagation), controlling the aphids, and immediately removing and destroying any plant from the field that shows signs of the disease.
* Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) - this [[virus]] is spread from plant to plant by [[aphids]]. It causes stunting of the leaves resulting in a "bunched" appearance. Generally, a banana plant infected with the virus will not set fruit, although mild strains exist in many areas which do allow for some fruit production. These mild strains are often mistaken for malnourishment, or a disease other than BBTV. There is no cure for BBTV, however its effect can be minimised by planting only tissue cultured plants (In-vitro propagation), controlling the aphids, and immediately removing and destroying any plant from the field that shows signs of the disease.
Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, 'Gros Michel' is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama Disease is not found. Likewise, 'Cavendish' is in no danger of extinction, but it may leave the shelves of the supermarkets for good if diseases make it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace 'Cavendish' on a scale needed to fill current demand, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are working on creating a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.
Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, 'Gros Michel' is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama Disease is not found. Likewise, 'Cavendish' is in no danger of extinction, but it may leave the shelves of the supermarkets for good if diseases make it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace 'Cavendish' on a scale needed to fill current demand, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are working on creating a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.