Banana

1. Banana
• Botanical name: Musa spp.
• Synonym: Adam’s Fig, Tree of Paradise, Tree of Wisdom, Kadali (Sanskrit), Kalpataru.
• Family: Musaceae
• Chromosome no: Diploid (AA/AB, 2n=22), triploid (AAA/AAB/BBA, 2n=33) and tetraploid (AAAA/ AAAB/ ABBB,
2n=44)
• Origin: South East Asia
• Banana is the 2nd most important crop in India after mango. India is the largest producer of banana in the world. Andhra
Pradesh is the highest producer of banana in India.
Taxonomy:
• Musaceae comprises of two genera Musa and Ensete.
• Musa comprising of 50 species has four sections namely Australimusa, Callimusa; each having a basic chromosome
number n=10 and Eumusa and Rhodochlamys, each having basic chromosome number n=11 while Ensete has basic
chromosome number n=9.
• Generally, commercial banana varieties producing edible fruits belong to Eumusa and to some extent Australimusa.
• The present-day edible banana has originated from two species of section Eumusa; Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana.
AA, AAA and AAAA for species acuminata and hybrid-AB, AAB/BBA and AAAB/ABBB developed from cross between
acuminata and bulbisiana

2. Points to remember:
• *ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana was established on 21st August 1993 at Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.
Present director: Dr. R. Selvarajan
 Inflorescence type is a spadix, fruit is a berry
• Banana is a climacteric fruit.
• Mode of Pollination: Ornithophiles
• Edible part: Starchy Parenchyma i.e Mesocarp & Endocarp
• Aroma in Banana: Hexanol (green), Eugenol (ripe) & Isopentanol (overripe)
• Banana oil is a combination of amyl acetate, amyl butrate, acetaldehyde, ethanol, methanol etc; which increases with
ripening
• Fatty acids mainly in the form of waxy coating are seen to appear on ripening
• Vit. A and C decreases with maturity while vit. B increases with ripening.
• Protogyny is found in Banana.
• Parthenocarpy is found in banana.

3. Scoring technique by Simmonds and Shepherd (1955)
Sl.N
o
Characters Musa acuminata Musa balbisiana
1. Pseudostem colour More or less heavily marked with
black or brown blotches
Blotches slight or absent
2. Petiole canal Margin erect or spreading with
scarious wings below, not clasping
pseudostem
Margins not winged
below, clasping
pseudostem
3. Peduncle Usually downy or hairy Glabrous
4. Pedicel Short Long
5. Ovules Two regular rows in each locule Four irregular rows in
each locule
6. Bract shoulder ratio Usually high (ratio<0.28) Usually low (ratio>0.30)
7. Bract curling Bracts roll Bracts lift but do not roll
8. Bract shape Lanceolate or narrowly ovate
tapering sharply from the shoulder
Acute
Broadly ovate, not
tapering sharply

5. Sl. No Characters Musa acuminata Musa balbisiana
9. Bract apex Acute Obtuse
10. Bract color Red, dull purple or yellow
outside; pink, dull purple or
yellow inside
Distinctive brownish-
purple outside; bright
crimson inside
11. Color fading Inside bract color fades to
yellow towards base
Inside bract color
continues to base
12. Bract scars Prominent Scarcely prominent
13. Free tepal of male flower Variably corrugated below tip Rarely corrugated
14. Male flower color Creamy white Variably flushed with pink
15. Stigma color Orange or rich yellow Cream, pale yellow or
pale pink.

9. Varieties:Cavendish type of cultivar is the most popular commercial and export cultivar. However,
other different type of cultivars is also grown in different part of the country, which are region
specific. Some of the important varieties are:
I. Diploid acuminata (AA)
• Lady’s Finger/Kadali/Matti- Plants are resistant to Panama disease but susceptible to leaf spot
and is a poor yielder
II. Triploid acuminata (AAA)
• Gross Michel, Cavendish- Robusta, Giant Cavendish, Dwarf Cavendish and Pisand Masak Hijau,
Red Banana, Amritsagar, Chakkarakeli
III. Tetraploid acuminata (AAAA)
• Bodley Altafort, a cross between Gross Michel x Pisang Lilin
IV. Hybrid diploids (AB)
• Ney Poovan-it is hardy and grows even under shade, Kunnan/Jirige Bale-suitable for processing
V. Hybrid Triploid (AAB or ABB)
a. AAB: Poovan/Champa, Rasthali, Virupakshi, Sirumalai, Rajapuri, Pisang Raja
b. ABB: Karpooravali, Cooking Banana- Bontha, Sail Kola, Klue Teparod

10. Climate and Soil:
• Banana is a tropical plant but is adapted to wide range of climatic conditions from subtropical to humid tropical.
• It can be grown up to an elevation of 1200 m from mean sea level.
• Well distributed rainfall of 100 mm per month is ideal for banana cultivation.
• It can grow at temperature range of 13- 40°C, 25-30°C being the optimum temperature.
• Temperature beyond 32°C deteriorates the growth due to higher photorespiration.
• Sunshine is important for banana production, most of the banana varieties require full sunlight for growth and
development and maturity of fruits.
• Heavy storms, frost, low temperature (less than 10°C) or extremely high temperature are detrimental for the crop,
leading to abnormal or malformed condition.
• It grows well on a wide range of soil. It requires well drained moderately deep soil with good water holding capacity.
Banana can grow at pH ranging between 4.5 – 8.1 but the optimum being 6.5-7.5.
• Higher pH interferes with the uptake of potassium and iron.

11. Propagation:
• Banana is commonly propagated through sword suckers selected from a healthy and
disease-free mother plant with good yield.
• Commercially propagated through tissue culture
• Two types of suckers are formed; Sword sucker and water sucker.
• The sucker chosen should be disease free, 3-4 months old weighing about 1-1.5 kg, and free
from rhizome weevil.
• Rhizome containing sufficient buds and reserve food for the developing bud may also be
used for propagation.

12. Sword sucker Water sucker
Narrow, pointed and needle shaped leaves
in initial stage
Characterized by broader leaves which is
produced at a very early age
Well-developed pseudostem with sword like
leaves.
They do not produce a healthy banana
clump, with slender pseudostem.
Sword suckers are closely associated with
the mother plant therefore develop strong
thick rhizomes of their own.
They normally develop from shallow buds
away from pseudostem near the soil surface.
It takes 12-13 months to yield and gives
bigger bunches.
Rhizome/corm is not well developed. It takes
more time (more than 18 months) for
yielding.
Superior planting material Inferior planting material
Yield is more. Yield is less.

14. Planting season:
• Planted throughout the year but warm and humid season (July to September) is considered to be the best
planting time.
• It can be also planted during February to December in areas where the temperature is warm and moist.
• Planting during winter should be avoided as it is highly sensitive to low temperature and affects the growth
of the plant.
Planting:
• Pits of 45 cm × 45 cm × 45 cm are dug and each pit is filled with 20-30 kg of well decomposed FYM or
compost before planting.
• The selected sword sucker is trimmed and pared of all roots and superficial tissues present on the sucker to
free from nematode and weevil infestation and the pared corm is dipped in clay slurry sprinkled with 20-40 g
of Carbofuran granules.
• Biopesticides like Trichoderma-N is may also be applied to prevent the corm from fungal infection and
nematode infestation.

17. Cultivar Spacing Accommodation
per hectare
Dwarf 1.8 m x 1.8m 3000
Semi Tall 2.1 m x 2.1 m 2150
Tall 2.4 m x 2.4 m 1700
Tallest 3 m x 3 m 1111
Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta, Grand Naine 1.8 m x 1.8m
Poovan, Monthan, Rasthali, Nendran and
Hill Banana
2-3 m
Spacing depending on the cultivar

18. • Nutrient Management:
• Heavy feeder
• Well decomposed FYM @ 10-15 kg/plant and fertilizer (NPK) may be applied @ 200:100:200 g/plant.
• N and K are applied in four equal split doses at 2, 4, 6 and 8 MAP, while P may be applied at the time of
planting.
• Spray Banana Special @ 5 g/l three times starting 5th month after planting till 7th month and additional one
spray may be given after emergence of inflorescence when required.
• To increase the bunch weight; after removal of tassel, nutrient feeding through the distal end of the bunch
peduncle may be given.
• After denavelling, 5-7 g urea dissolved in fresh cow dung slurry is filled in polythene bag and tied to the
bunch end.
• The nutrient may be given through micro irrigation system using water soluble fertilizers. The fertilizers
may be supplied at weekly intervals.
• The fertilizer requirement is reduced by 20-25% by fertigation as the fertilizers are given in fractional doses
thus reducing the leaching loss.

19. • Irrigation:
• Banana is high moisture loving plant and requires about 125 cm of rainfall distributed annually.
• The productivity of the plant is determined by the availability of water.
• The plants are irrigated based on the weather condition and soil moisture availability.
• Peak irrigation time- summer months (March to June) wherein the plant requires around 20-25
liters of water per plant.
• The water requirement can be reduced after July by 40-50% as the evaporation rate is less during
this period.
• In general, the water requirement by plant is 80% of the evaporation.
• The irrigation may be given by flooding, furrow system, or basin method in areas having less
water.
• The best method is to adopt sprinkler or drip irrigation system.

20. • Intercultural Practices:
• Pre-flowering operations: It include weeding, earthing up and maintaining adequate number of suckers in each clump i.e.,
desuckering and removal of dried leaves and petioles.
1. Weeding:
• Critical period- 6 MAP
• In light soil, pre winter shallow ploughing of interspace. Two-three ploughing before onset of monsoon.
• In heavy soils, pre-emergence application of weedicide with Diuron @ 4kg/ha or Glyphosate 2kg/ha followed by hand weeding.
Intercrops are also grown to smoother the weed population.
1. Earthing-up: It does not allow the rhizomes to expose and encourages production of suckers. Alternate earthing up and trenching
helps irrigation and drainage during dry and wet months respectively. It also protects the plants from borer attack and wind
damage by supporting the plants.
2. Mulching: It helps in moisture conservation and suppression of weeds, improve plant growth and subsequently increases yield.
3. Desuckering: Cutting the pseudostem of sucker at the ground level followed by application of kerosene.
• It is done to ensure less competition for nutrient and water from the limited soil zone devoted for growing of banana plant.
• One healthy sword sucker per plant is allowed to grow after flowering.
• It is advisable to do desuckering during early summer to keep the assimilatory rate normal.
4. Trashing: Removal of the dried leaves at regular interval to prevent insect and disease spore build up.

21. • Post-flowering operation: It involves providing support/ staking/ propping, removal of
male flower or heart, covering of immature fruits with wrappers.
• Propping: Providing support by using bamboo poles or any other supports to the tall
varieties like Rasthali, Elakki Bale, Poovan, Monthan and other cultivars as well when it
is at bunching stage to avoid uprooting of the plants due to heavy weight of the bunch
or wind.

22. • Denavelling: Removal of male bud after appearance of the last hand (fruits) on bunch is known as
denavelling. This practice increases the fruit weight, bunch weight and quality of fruits by
accumulation of assimilates in the growing fruit.
• Bunch covering: Bagging of bunch with perforated polythene cover or jute bags at bunch maturity
stage to hasten the fruit maturity, maintain the fruit quality, avoid fruit cracking on exposure to sun,
to protect the fruit against thrips and scrapping insects.

23. Harvesting and Yield:
• Banana takes 10-12 months from planting or 110-130 days from flowering to
maturity depending upon the cultivar.
• Maturity indices-
• Drying of top leaves, change of fruits from dark green to light green,
• Tendency of the floral end of the fruit to fall by slightest touch of hand,
• fruit becomes plump and all the angles are filled in completely,
• pH changes from 4.8 to 5.8 i.e., the acidity in fruit reduces as it reaches maturity.
• The fruits are harvested at ¾ maturity stage for long distance transport.
• Yield varies according to the cultivar grown.
• Average yield for Cavendish cultivars: 50-100 t/ha, yield can go up to 150 t/ha with good
cultural practices and high-density planting.
• The varieties like Ney Poovan, Poovan, Rasthali, Monthan and Nendran can yield up to 40-
65 t/ha. In addition to the main crop, up to two ratoon crops can also be taken.

24. Post harvest management:
• Stowing: After harvesting, the bunches are arranged in rows with the cut ends of pedicel facing upward known
as stowing.
• Stowing is required at two stages; soon after harvest, the bunches are stowed in the field usually over a bed of
banana leaves.
• Second is during transport and at wholesalers godown where it is again stowed before sending to the ripening
room. During stowing the fruits are invariably subjected to mechanical or insect injury in addition to the spread
of pathogens.
• Dehandling: After harvest, hands are removed from the bunch using sharp, clean knife making a smooth cut as
close as possible to the stem. The fruits are placed with crown facing downward onto a layer of leaves to drain
off the latex.
• Packaging: The fruits in the boxes are arranged horizontally in two rows keeping crown ends towards box side
and fruit tips towards the center of the box.
• While packing in single row, the hands are placed in vertical position by keeping the tips upward and crown facing downward.
• Cushioning pads or kraft paper are placed at the bottom of the box and fruits may be covered with LDPE liner of 100 gauge inside the
box to create modified atmosphere.

25. • Precooling: Precooling is done within 10-12 hours after bunch harvesting to bring down the field
temperature of fruit from 30-35°C to 13°C, which takes about 6-8 hours.
• The fruits packed in boxes are precooled by force air cooling at 13°C and 85-90% RH.
• After precooling, the boxes are immediately moved to the cold room for storage.
• Storage: suffer from chilling injury when stored below 13°C leading to discoloration of fruit surface,
dull color, failure to ripening and browning of flesh. Store at 13°C and 85-90% RH. At this
temperature, the fruits can be stored for 3-4 weeks. The storage life can be extended by
combination of low temperature with controlled atmosphere.
• CA: 12-13°C and 5% O2 + 5% CO2; cultivar Robusta can be stored for 8 weeks with post storage
ripening period of 4-5 days under ambient condition. To prevent the ripening of banana at storage,
Potassium permanganate can be used commercially.
• Ripening: Green banana in boxes or cushioned plastic crates are loaded in ripening chamber. The
room should be closed, insulated, airtight and temperature maintained at 16-18°C, 85-90% RH. The
temperature is controlled and maintained by thermostat. Ethylene gas @ 100 ppm (0.01%) is
supplied inside and the chamber is closed for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the room is ventilated to
clear the ethylene gas and the CO2 released during the initial ripening phase and the temperature
maintained at 18°C is reduced to 15°C for 3-4 days.

26. • Physiological Disorders:
• 1.Choke throat:
• It is caused due to low temperature, affecting the growth of plant. Leaves become yellow and in severe
cases, the tissue gets killed. In case of normal flowering plants, the stalk carrying bunches elongates freely so
that the entire inflorescence comes out of the pseudostem and hangs down. The bunches are unable to
emerge out of the pseudostem properly when flowering synchronizes with low temperature. The distal part of
the inflorescence comes out and the basal part gets stuck up at the throat hence the name choke throat. The
fruit maturity is delayed by 5-6 months instead of 3.5-4 months for harvest. Planting of low temperature
tolerant varieties like Kullan to check the disorder and planting of tall trees such as casurina and eucalyptus to
prevent the cold wind blowing into the orchard.

27. Chilling injury:
• Occurs when the pre-or post-harvest temperature falls below 14°C. The symptoms include darkening of peel, uneven
ripening, watery dark patches on skin, dull yellow to smoky yellow color of the ripening fingers. The fruit becomes brittle
and fungal invasion is also seen. On the vascular bundles of the sub epidermal layers, brown streaks appear. The
discoloration is due to enzymatic oxidation of dihydroxy phenylalanine.

28. • Kottai vazhai:
• It is a serious malady in Poovan, reducing the production by 10-25%. The malady is unknown, it is characterized by
the presence of sharp, tapered and ill filled fruits with a prominent central core having many underdeveloped seedy
structures making the fruits inedible. Streaks, striation and blotches can be seen on the surface of pseudostem. Bunches are
held at an angle above the horizontal position. Pollen grains are infertile, shriveled, shrunken and broken while the pericarp
is smaller and the locular cavity is bigger than the normal. It can be controlled by spraying 25 ppm of 2,4-D and GA 100
ppm after the opening of last hand for production of parthenocarpic fruit.

29. • Degrain/Finger drop:
• It is a disorder which occurs in ripe fruit. The ripe fruit drops off from the bunch due to rotting of the
pedicel which becomes soft and weak.
• Peel splitting:
• Peel of the fruit is split and consequently pulp is exposed as the cracks widens. Controlled by
implementation of dry humidity conditions during ripening.