Banana production

Part of the Department of Pomology, Tropical and Subtropical Pomology I.

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This lesson is in preparation --Juan 18:19, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Banana (Musa spp.)

Musaceae

A banana plant.

Bananas are fruits beared by Musa ssp. They are the tropical fruits mostly cultivated on the plantations of all tropical regions of the world. But not all bananas are fruits. There are also so called plantains, which are believed to be a vegetable. According the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) rank for fruits, bananas are one of the most consumed fruits with the highest production ................../ year.

Common names

• banana – English
• plátano – Spanish
• banana – Spanish

Taxonomy

When talking about bananas, two genera of the family Musaceae are important. They are the genus Ensete and the genus Musa. Ensete are plants with the origin in Asia with a secondary distribution in Africa. On the other hand genus Musa comes from Africa and it is widely distributed to Asia and Pacific Ocean. From the taxonomical point of view Musa ssp. is divided into 4 sections. They are namely Eumusa, Callimusa, Rhodochlamys and Australimusa. Section Eumusa contains about 14 edible species including Musa acuminata and M. balbisiana – to taxa, which are used to produce new hybrids and varieties in the banana fruit processing. They are seedless. The second section “Callimusa” is used for ornamental purposes and its fruits are with seeds. The third section “Rhodochlamys” also contain ornamental bananas with seeds, but they are much smaller (up to 3 m of high). Last section “Australimusa” originates in Queensland, Australia and Filipines and it is used for fiber production. In overview Musa ssp. contains about 25 species. When talking about species

Morphology

It is a large herb with a succulent juicy stem called pseudotrunk.

Flowers

Are big giant predators

Fruits

Fruits are developed partenocarpicly. Fruit type is berry.

Banana genetics

Environmental conditions

Cultural practices