Banana Plant Information & Environmental Requirements

Banana Plant Information – Banana Plant Morphology

The banana is a fruit from the family Musaceae and genus Musa, is native to Southeast Asia, and it is one of the most important fruit crops in the world. The main stem can reach 10-15 feet in diameter and 10-30 feet (3-9 m) high. The banana plant’s oblong, medium-green, spiral-shaped leaves have a blade length of 3 feet (1 m). The bloom has a yellowish-white tinge and appears in clusters of 10–20 blossoms at the end of a tall stalk beneath a reddish-purple husk with a teardrop shape. The banana is an elongated fruit 2 to 10 inches (5-25 cm) long, covering a fleshy berry with no seeds. The fruit turns from green to brown when it is mature. There are no thorns and several trunks or pseudostems on the branches. (1)

A perennial herb that resembles a tree, the banana. The absence of woody parts and the fact that the fruit-bearing stem falls away after the growing season define it as an herb. Since suckers and shoots emerging from lateral buds on the rhizome take over and grow into fruit-bearing stems, it is a perennial plant. (2)

The banana plant is a sizable perennial herb with sheaths on the leaves that resemble pseudostems that extend from the trunk. The plant has 8–12 leaves, each measuring up to 9 feet (2.7 m) long and 2 feet (60 cm) wide. In some instances, up to 30 feet (9 m) of lateral growth of roots is possible in loose soil. Depending on the variety, other plant descriptions change.

Flower development begins from the true underground stem (corm) nine to twelve months after planting. The middle of the pseudostem is where the inflorescence (flower stalk) emerges. The growth of the flowers spirals around the central axis in clusters. In the majority of cultivars, a few “hands” of neutered flowers with ovulated ovaries and stamens follow the female blooms. At the terminal ends of the neutered flowers, male blooms follow. (3)

The characteristic of the Banana plant is large, fleshy, upright stalks topped with soft, smooth, arching leaves signifies the banana plant. Ranging from 6 feet for the dwarf species to over 30 feet for the largest types, banana trees are guaranteed to lend a tropical flavor to any landscape setting. (4)

The characteristic of the Banana fruit is elongated and curved, with soft flesh high in starch and encased in a rind that, when mature, can be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown, depending on the type.

The trunks can soar up to 20 feet (6 m) high. There are leaf sheaths on the trunks, plus the top has about 10 to 20 more leaves, which can be 10 inches to 11.5 inches (25-30 cm) wide.

The roots of a banana tree can be as wide as 30 inches (76 cm) and up to 5 feet deep (1.5 m). On average, though, they grow to be around 18 inches (5.5 m) or less.

The banana fruits start as yellow and purple flowers, appearing at the trunks’ top. A healthy banana plant can produce up to 50 to 150 fruits at a time, but it only produces one crop during its lifetime. (5)

Types of Banana

• Cavendish Banana – Commonly found in the grocery
• Pisang Raja – Popular in Indonesia
• Red Banana – Reddish-purple skin color and sweeter and softer than Cavendish
• Lady Finger Banana – Known as Baby banana, around 3 inches in length
• Blue Java Banana – Known as the ice cream banana due to its creaminess
• Plantain – Referred as cooking bananas, high starch and used in savory dishes
• Manzano Banana – Its thin, yellow skins turn black when completely mature, and they have short, plump bodies grown in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
• Burro Banana – Have a lemony and tangy taste.
• Barangan Banana – Yellow with small black dots. The flesh is white with no seeds.
• Goldfinger Banana – Grown in Honduras, can be cooked when green and eaten raw once fully ripe. (6)

However, the Cavendish is the most common type of banana we always find in the market. Before the Cavendish, the Gros Michel (Big Mike) Banana was the most popular.

From the 1890s to around 1960, the Gros Michel kind of banana was popular in the U.S. These were reported to have been wonderful and superlative in “taste, perfume, and peel color,” according to historian John Soluri. To cultivate bananas, the American banana cartel cleared a large area of jungle. To keep those bananas and the money they brought in, moving north, the banana lords also kept “banana republics” in the Caribbean and Central America.

While it was at its peak, the Gros Michel was exceedingly well-liked. The U.S. consumed more bananas per person in 1913 than apples did, with banana consumption exceeding twenty pounds. The following year, importers, retailers, and customers successfully argued that bananas were the “poor man’s fruit”. (7)

Tragically, the Panama Plague nearly wiped out the whole population of this species.

It was replaced by the Cavendish banana that may be found in all supermarkets today.

Although Gros Michel bananas are no longer produced commercially and cannot be found in supermarkets, small-scale farmers continue to raise them.

The famous Cavendish banana resisted the disease and complied with other market needs. For example, it could stay green for several weeks after being harvested (ideal for long transit days). The perfect yellow color of the fruit after ripening can give good feedback from the consumers, and it gives a high yield rate.

Banana Environmental Requirements

Bananas grow best in Tropical regions. Temperatures of 80° F (27° C) are ideal for growing plants. Banana plants like warm and wet conditions, along with fertile soils. They grow best in the tropics, with an average temperature in the high-20s Celsius, and can be found in plantations in a broad band between 30 degrees north and south of the equator. (8)

When growing bananas, humidity levels must be taken into consideration. A humidity of at least 50% or higher is recommended, as this crop is native to hot and humid parts of the world. Too much shade or canopy can impair the development of the fruit, and if too much sun, it needs much watering. Wind also influences the growth and production of the crop. A wind velocity of 50 km/h can upturn and blow down a large plantation, while winds at 90-100 km/h will completely destroy the plantation. (9)

References

1. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST409
2. https://www.promusa.org/
3. http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/crop/crops/i_banana.htm#top
4. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu
5. https://www.ehow.com/facts_7604734_structure-banana-plant.html
6. https://www.ediblearrangements.com/blog/different-types-of-bananas/
7. https://daily.jstor.org/
8. https://link.springer.com
9. https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/expert_system/banana/cli.html

Further reading

Banana: Crop History, Nutritional Value and Health Benefits

Banana Plant Information & Environmental Requirements

Banana Variety Selection

Banana Plant Care – Commercial Cultivation of Bananas

Soil Requirements and Land Preparation for Bananas

Banana Planting Distances and Support Systems

Banana Water Requirements & Irrigation Systems

Banana Nutrient Requirements and Fertilization Program

Banana Plant Protection – Major Banana Diseases

Banana Plant Protection – Common Pests of Banana Plants

Banana Yield, Harvest, Processing and Storage

Banana Exports and Markets