By taking better care of banana plants we can easily produce this one of the most important fruit in the world.
Bananas are grown in tropical regions, and although they are commonly eaten in those regions, they are valued worldwide for their taste,
nutritional value and availability throughout the year. Banana, the fruit of the genus musa, one of the Musaceae family, is one of the most important fruits in the world.
Cavendish, or dessert, bananas are usually eaten fresh, although they can also be roasted or mashed and served chilled in pies or puddings.
They can also be used to flavor muffins, cakes, or bread. The cooking variety, or banana, is starchy rather than sweet and is widely grown as a staple food source in tropical regions.
Better care of banana plants and They are cooked either ripe or unripe. A ripe fruit contains as much as 22 percent carbohydrates
and is rich in fiber, potassium, manganese and vitamins B6 and C.
Better Care of Banana Plants History
Better care of banana plants and Bananas are believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia, and their consumption is mentioned in early Greek,
Latin, and Arabic texts, Alexander the Great saw banana during his Indian campaign. Shortly after the discovery of the Americas, bananas were transported from
the Canary Islands to the New World, where they were first established in Hispaniola and soon spread.
other islands and the mainland. Cultivation increased until bananas became a staple food in many regions, and in the 19th century they began appearing in
the United States market. Although Cavendish bananas are by far the most common cultivars imported by non tropical countries,
plantain cultivars account for approximately 85 percent of all banana cultivation worldwide.
Physical Description
Better care of banana plants are a Banana plant A banana tree is growing in a garden. Each herb stem bears only one bunch of fruit
and is cut after harvest to encourage new growth from the rhizome (underground stem). Banana flower A collard flower from Thailand.
Each purple-red bract curls, revealing clusters of pistillate (female) flowers beneath. The banana plant is a large herb growing from
an underground stem or rhizome to form a false trunk 3–6 m (10–20 ft) high. The stem is formed by the basal part of the leaf sheath
and is crowned with 10 to 20 oblong rosettes of elliptic leaves that sometimes reach 3–3.5 m (10–11.5 ft) in length and 65 cm (26 in) in width) in a large flower spike,
large Bears numerous yellow flowers protected by purplish-red bracts, rising to the top of false stems and bending downwards to
form clusters of 50 to 150 individual fruits or fingers. Individual fruits, or bananas, are bunched or hand divided into 10 to 20 groups.
After a tree has borne fruit, it is cut to the ground, as each stem bears only one bunch of fruit.
Better care of banana plants and The dead stems are replaced by others in the form of suckers or shoots, which arise from the rhizomes in about six months.
Thus the life of a single rhizome continues for many years, and the weak suckers which it sends up through the soil are periodically cut off,
and the stronger ones are allowed to grow into fruit-bearing plants.
Cultivar and Disease Susceptibility
Better care of banana plants and banana plantation is a Banana plants grow naturally in deep, loose, well-drained soils in humid tropical climates
and successfully under irrigation in semi-arid regions such as southern Jamaica. Rhizome shoots and segments are used as planting material,
The first crop ripens within 10 to 15 months and thereafter fruit production is more or less continuous.
Frequent pruning is necessary to remove excess growth and prevent overcrowding in banana gardens. Preferred commercial bunches of
bananas are nine hands or more and weigh 22–65 kg (49–143 lb). Three hundred or more bunches can be produced annually on an acre of land
and are harvested before the trees are fully ripe. Better care of banana plants and For export, the desired degree of ripeness achieved
before harvest depends on the distance from market and the type of transport and is artificially ripened after shipment after exposure to ethylene gas.
Gross Michel Kal
Better care of banana plants and Gross Michel banana tree Given that each banana variety is clonally propagated, domesticated plants have very little genetic variation.
This makes bananas especially vulnerable to pests and diseases, because if a novel pathogen or pest were to exploit a genetic weakness among the clones,
it could quickly destroy the variety. In fact, this happened in the late 1950s with the Gros Michel desert variety, which dominated the world’s commercial banana trade.
Richer and sweeter than the modern Cavendish, Gros Michel is prone to an invasive soil fungus that causes Panama disease, a form of Fusarium wilt.
Unable to breed resistance in sterile clones and unable to release the fungus from soil. Better care of banana plants and Although Cavendish
has so far been resistant to such pest attacks, its lack of genetic diversity makes it equally vulnerable to emerging pathogens and pests.
In fact, a strain of Panama disease known as Tropical Race (TR) 4 has threatened the Cavendish since the 1990s,
and many scientists worry that the breed will eventually become extinct.
Naming
Although there are several hundred varieties of banana in cultivation, their classification has been controversial because of their
ancient domestication, sterility, hybridization, and the use of different common names to refer to the same variety.
Since most of the cultivated banana varieties are Musa acuminata and M. Interspecific hybrid of Balbisiana or M.
Acuminata subspecies hybrids, so a genome-based approach led to a change in the nomenclature of domesticated bananas.
Better care of banana plants are a Unlike most plants, these varieties are identified by their motility (number of sets of chromosomes) and parent plant,
rather than the traditional binomial designation. A system of letters (“A,” “B,” or “AB”) represents the parent plant(s), repeating the given letter to indicate ploidy.
Better care of banana plants are a For example, the popular Cavendish is referred to as AAA ‘Dwarf Cavendish, where
the triploidy (three sets of chromosomes) of “AAA” is present alongside M implies its derivation from the acuminata.
Cultivation of Plantations
History of Modern Gardening in America Tree plantations in the Philippines, 2010
In the 15th and 16th centuries,
Portuguese colonists began cultivating bananas commercially in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil, and West Africa.
North Americans began eating bananas on a small scale at very high prices soon after the Civil War, although it was only in the 1880s that the diet became more widespread.
By the end of the Victorian era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available.
The earliest modern plantations originated in Jamaica and the associated western Caribbean, much of Central America.
It involved the combination of the modern transportation networks of steamships and railroads with the development of refrigeration,
which allowed more time for harvesting and ripening. North American shippers such as Lorenzo Dow Baker and Andrew Preston,
founders of the Boston Fruit Company, began the process in the 1870s, but Minor C. Participated by railroad builders like Keith, these companies were monopolistic,
vertically integrated, and typically used political manipulation to build enclave economies (internally self-sufficient, virtually tax-free,
and export-oriented, with little contribution to the host economy). Their political maneuvering, which gave rise to the term banana republic for states such
as Honduras and Guatemala, involved working with local elites to influence their rivalries in politics or play to US international interests, particularly during the Cold War,
when the political climate favored their interests. In the modern US, Hawaii is by far the largest producer of bananas, followed by Florida.
Peasant Farming
Better care of banana plants and The vast majority of the world’s bananas are grown for family consumption or for sale in local markets.
India is the world leader in this type of production, but many other Asian and African countries where the climate and soil conditions allow
cultivation also have large populations of banana growers who sell at least some of their crops.
Better care of banana plants are In the Caribbean, smallholders with 1 to 2 acres of land often begin producing bananas for the world market alongside other crops.
Modern Agriculture
Better care of banana plants and Bananas are propagated asexually from shoots. Plants are permitted to produce two shoots at a time;
A large one for immediate results and a small “suck” or “follower” for 6-8 months. As a non-seasonal crop, banana is available fresh all year round. They are born in about 135 countries.
Cavendish
The Cavendish group of varieties dominate the world market. In global trade in 2009, by far the most important cultivars belong to
the Cavendish group of bananas of the triploid Musa acuminata AAA group. It is unclear whether any existing cultivar can replace the Cavendish banana,
so various hybridization and genetic engineering programs are attempting to create a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.
One such strain that has emerged is Taiwanese Cavendish or Formosana.
Ripe
Better care of banana plants and Ralstonia solanacearum on overripe banana Export bananas are picked green,
and after reaching the destination country are ripened in special rooms. These chambers are air-tight and filled with ethylene gas to allow ripening.
It mimics the natural production of these gases as a ripening hormone. Better care of banana plants are Ethylene stimulates
the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugars, affecting flavor. Ethylene signals the production of pectinase,
an enzyme that breaks down pectin within banana cells, causing bananas to become softer as they ripen.
The bright yellow color consumers commonly associate with supermarket bananas.
Storage and Transport
Bananas are transported over long distances from tropical regions to global markets. To get the maximum shelf life, the fruit is harvested before it matures.
The fruit requires careful handling, rapid transportation to ports, refrigeration and frozen shipping.
The goal is to stop the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene.
Better care of banana plants and This technique allows storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C (55 °F).On arrival,
bananas are kept at about 17 °C (63 °F) and treated with a low concentration of ethylene. A few days later, fruiting begins. to ripen and are delivered for final sale.
Better care of banana plants are a Ripe bananas can be kept for a few days at home. If the banana is very green,
it can be placed in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato to speed up the ripening process.
Sustainability
Better care of banana plants are a Excessive use of fertilizers contributes greatly to eutrophication of streams and lakes
and harms aquatic life by depriving fish of oxygen after algal blooms. Another issue is the deforestation associated with the expansion of banana production.
Rapid depletion of monotonous soil nutrients causes plantations to expand into areas with rich soils and cut down forests,
Better care of banana plants are which also affects soil erosion and degradation and increases the frequency of flooding. According to
the World Wildlife Fund, banana production generates more waste than any other agricultural sector.
Reproduction
Better care of banana plants are Mutation breeding can be used in these crops. Aneuploidy is a source of considerable variation in allotriploid breeds.
For one example, it can be a source of resistance to TR4. Lab protocols have been developed to screen for such abnormalities and potential resulting disease. The wild Musa spp.
confers useful resistance genetics, and TR4 is essential for breeding for resistance, as shown in introgressed resistance from wild relatives.
The Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research attempted to exploit the rarity of seed production to create disease-resistant varieties
through conventional breeding; 30,000 commercial banana plants were hand-pollinated with pollen from the wild fertile Asian fruit,
producing 400 tons, of which about fifteen seeds, four or five of which germinated. Further breeding with wild bananas resulted in
a new seedless cultivar resistant to both black sigatoka and Panama disease. Bananas are exported in larger volumes and at larger prices than other fruits.
Better care of banana plants are In 2022, the combined global production of bananas and plantains was 179 million tons, led by India
and China with a combined 26% of global production. Other major producers were Uganda, Indonesia, Philippines, Nigeria and Ecuador.
Better care of banana plants are According to a 2013 report, total global exports were 20 million tons of bananas, with Ecuador and
the Philippines leading exporters with 5.4 and 3.3 million tons, respectively, and the Dominican Republic leading banana exports with 210,350 tons.
Developing Countries
Plantains and bananas are a major staple food crop for millions of people in developing countries. In many tropical countries,
the main varieties produce green (ripe) bananas used for cooking. Most of the producers are either households or small scale farmers for local markets.
Since plantains and plantains bear fruit throughout the year,
Better care of banana plants are they provide a valuable food source during the famine season among other crop crops.
Bananas and bananas are thus important for global food security. Besides cost, there is also the question of how long intensive spraying can be environmentally justified.
Banana Cluster Top Virus
Better care of banana plants are a Infected banana tree Colony of banana aphid (Pentalonia nigronervosa), vector of banana bunch top virus.
Banana bunchy top virus is a plant virus of the genus Babuvirus, family Nanonviridae affecting Musa spp.
(including banana, abaca, plantain, and ornamental banana) and enset spp. in the Musaceae family.
Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) symptoms include dark green streaks of variable length on the leaf veins, midrib and petiole.
As the disease progresses, leaves become smaller and ‘bunch’ at the top of the plant. Infected plants may not produce
any fruit or fruit bunches may not emerge from the pseudopods. Better care of banana plants are The virus is transmitted by
the banana aphid pentalonia nigronervosa and is widespread in SE Asia, Asia, the Philippines , Taiwan, Oceania and parts of Africa.
BBTD has no cure, but can be effectively controlled by eradication of diseased plants and use of virus-free planting material. No resistant cultivars have been found,
Better care of banana plants and but there are varietal differences between susceptible cultivars. No resistant cultivars have been found,
but interspecific differences in susceptibility have been reported. The commercially important Cavendish sub-group was severely affected.
Banana Bacterial Wilt
Better care of banana plants are Banana bacterial wilt (bbw) is a bacterial disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv.. musacearum was
first identified in Ethiopia in the 1960s on the banana’s close relative, Enset ventricosum, BBW affected all banana cultivars in Uganda in 2001.
Better care of banana plants are Since then BBW has been diagnosed in Central and East Africa, including banana growing areas in Rwanda,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, and Uganda.
Conserving Genetic Diversity
Better care of banana plants are Cold storage room for banana collection at the Musa Germplasm Transit Center of Bioversity International Given
the narrow range of genetic diversity present in banana and the many threats posed by biotic (pests and diseases) and abiotic threats (such as drought) stress,
the conservation of The full spectrum of banana genetic resources is underway. In 2024, FAO economist Pascal leu described
the effects of global warming as a “massive threat” to the world supply of bananas.
Banana Germplasm
Banana germplasm is stored in several national and regional gene banks and the world’s largest banana collection,
the International Musa Germplasm Transit Center, managed by Bioversity International and hosted at KU Leuven, Belgium.
Musa cultivars are usually seedless and their long-term storage options are limited by the vegetative nature of the plant’s reproductive system.
Better care of banana plants are As a result, they are preserved in three main ways: in vivo (planted in field collections),
in vitro (as plants in test tubes within a controlled environment), and cryopreservation (meristems preserved in liquid nitrogen at −196 °C).
Genes from wild banana species are preserved as DNA and as cryopreserved pollen, and seeds from wild species are also preserved, although less commonly,
because they are difficult to regenerate. Also, bananas and their crop wild relatives are conserved in situ (in the wild natural habitat where they evolved and continue to do so).
Diversity is also preserved in the case of farmers where continuous cultivation, adaptation and improvement of
cultivation are often done by small-scale farmers to enhance traditional local cultivation.