Banana

For the plant genus to which bananas belong, see Musa or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hang(genus). For other uses, see Banana (disambiguation).
ing from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible
A banana is an edible fruit, botanically a berry,[1][2] parthenocarpic (seedless) bananas come from two wild
species Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The
scientic names of most cultivated bananas are Musa
acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa paradisiaca for
the hybrid Musa acuminata M. balbisiana, depending
on their genomic constitution. The old scientic name
Musa sapientum is no longer used.
Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and
Australia, and are likely to have been rst domesticated in
Papua New Guinea.[4][5] They are grown in at least 107
countries,[6] primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make ber, banana wine and banana beer and as
ornamental plants.

Four varieties of banana fruit

Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between bananas and plantains. Especially in the Americas and
Europe, banana usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which
are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By
contrast, Musa cultivars with rmer, starchier fruit are
called plantains. In other regions, such as Southeast
Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten,
so the simple two-fold distinction is not useful and is not
made in local languages.
The term banana is also used as the common name for
the plants which produce the fruit.[3] This can extend to
other members of the genus Musa like the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), pink banana (Musa velutina) and
the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the
genus Ensete, like the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and
the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are classied under the banana family,
Musaceae.

1 Description
The banana plant is the largest herbaceous owering
plant.[7] All the above-ground parts of a banana plant
grow from a structure usually called a "corm".[8] Plants
are normally tall and fairly sturdy, and are often mistaken
for trees, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a
false stem or pseudostem. Bananas grow in a wide variety of soils, as long as the soil is at least 60 cm deep,
has good drainage and is not compacted.[9] The leaves of
banana plants are composed of a stalk (petiole) and a
blade (lamina). The base of the petiole widens to form

Banana farm at Chinawal, India

produced by several kinds of large herbaceous owering

plants in the genus Musa.[3] (In some countries, bananas
used for cooking may be called plantains.) The fruit is
variable in size, color and rmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft esh rich in starch covered
with a rind which may be green, yellow, red, purple,
1

DESCRIPTION

The female owers (which can develop into fruit) have petals and
other ower parts at the tip of the ovary (the ovary is inferior).

A banana corm, about 25 cm (10 in) across

The Cavendish banana is the most common banana type sold.

Banana inorescence, partially opened.

a sheath; the tightly packed sheaths make up the pseudostem, which is all that supports the plant. The edges
of the sheath meet when it is rst produced, making it
tubular. As new growth occurs in the centre of the pseudostem the edges are forced apart.[10] Cultivated banana
plants vary in height depending on the variety and growing conditions. Most are around 5 m (16 ft) tall, with a
range from 'Dwarf Cavendish' plants at around 3 m (10
ft) to 'Gros Michel' at 7 m (23 ft) or more.[11][12] Leaves
are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres (8.9 ft)
long and 60 cm (2.0 ft) wide.[1] They are easily torn by
the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.[13]

eventually it emerges at the top.[14] Each pseudostem normally produces a single inorescence, also known as the
banana heart. (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced ve.[15] ) After
fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but oshoots will normally
have developed from the base, so that the plant as a whole
is perennial. In the plantation system of cultivation, only
one of the oshoots will be allowed to develop in order
to maintain spacing.[16] The inorescence contains many
bracts (sometimes incorrectly referred to as petals) between rows of owers. The female owers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem (closer
to the leaves) from the rows of male owers. The ovary
is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other ower
parts appear at the tip of the ovary.[17]

The banana fruits develop from the banana heart, in a

large hanging cluster, made up of tiers (called hands),
with up to 20 fruit to a tier. The hanging cluster is known
as a bunch, comprising 320 tiers, or commercially as a
banana stem, and can weigh 3050 kilograms (66110
When a banana plant is mature, the corm stops pro- lb). Individual banana fruits (commonly known as a baducing new leaves and begins to form a ower spike or nana or nger) average 125 grams (0.276 lb), of which
inorescence. A stem develops which grows up inside the approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter.
pseudostem, carrying the immature inorescence until The fruit has been described as a leathery berry.[18]

3
There is a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with numerous long, thin strings (the phloem bundles), which run
lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion.
The inner part of the common yellow dessert variety can
be split lengthwise into three sections that correspond to
the inner portions of the three carpels by manually deforming the unopened fruit.[19] In cultivated varieties, the
seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.[20]
Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive,[21][22] more so
than most other fruits, because of their potassium content
and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found
in naturally occurring potassium.[23] The banana equivalent dose of radiation is sometimes used in nuclear communication to compare radiation levels and exposures.[24]

is in the family Musaceae. The APG III system assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales, part of the
commelinid clade of the monocotyledonous owering
plants. Some 70 species of Musa were recognized by
the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as of January 2013;[26] several produce edible fruit, while others
are cultivated as ornamentals.[28]
The classication of cultivated bananas has long been a
problematic issue for taxonomists. Linnaeus originally
placed bananas into two species based only on their uses
as food: Musa sapientum for dessert bananas and Musa
paradisiaca for plantains. Subsequently further species
names were added. However, this approach proved inadequate to address the sheer number of cultivars existing
in the primary center of diversity of the genus, Southeast
Asia. Many of these cultivars were given names which
proved to be synonyms.[29]

Etymology

In a series of papers published in 1947 onwards, Ernest

Cheesman showed that Linnaeuss Musa sapientum and
The word banana is thought to be of West African origin, Musa paradisiaca were actually cultivars and descenpossibly from the Wolof word banaana, and passed into dants of two wild seed-producing species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, both rst described by Luigi
English via Spanish or Portuguese.[25]
Aloysius Colla.[30] He recommended the abolition of Linnaeuss species in favor of reclassifying bananas according to three morphologically distinct groups of cultivars
3 Taxonomy
those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics
of Musa balbisiana, those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa acuminata, and those with
characteristics that are the combination of the two.[29]
Researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed a genome-based nomenclature system in 1955.
This system eliminated almost all the diculties and inconsistencies of the earlier classication of bananas based
on assigning scientic names to cultivated varieties. Despite this, the original names are still recognized by some
authorities today, leading to confusion.[30][31]
The currently accepted scientic names for most groups
of cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata Colla and
Musa balbisiana Colla for the ancestral species, and
Musa paradisiaca L. for the hybrid M. acuminata
M. balbisiana.[32]
Synonyms of M. paradisica include:
A large number of subspecic and varietial names of
M. paradisiaca, including M. p. subsp. sapientum
(L.) Kuntze

Musa dacca Horan.

Musa sapidisiaca K.C.Jacob, nom. super.
Banana 'tree' showing fruit and inorescence.

Musa sapientum L., and a large number of its varietal names, including M. sapientum var. paradisiaca (L.) Baker, nom. illeg.

The genus Musa was created by Carl Linnaeus in

1753.[26] The name may be derived from Antonius Musa,
physician to the Emperor Augustus, or Linnaeus may Generally, modern classications of banana cultivars folhave adapted the Arabic word for banana, mauz.[27] Musa low Simmonds and Shepherds system. Cultivars are

5 HISTORICAL CULTIVATION
Group) are plantains.[38][39] Small farmers in Colombia
grow a much wider range of cultivars than large commercial plantations. A study of these cultivars showed that
they could be placed into at least three groups based on
their characteristics: dessert bananas, non-plantain cooking bananas, and plantains, although there were overlaps
between dessert and cooking bananas.[40]

A variety of banana cultivated widely in Indian state of Kerala,

locally known as nendran

placed in groups based on the number of chromosomes

they have and which species they are derived from. Thus
the Latundan banana is placed in the AAB Group, showing that it is a triploid derived from both M. acuminata
(A) and M. balbisiana (B). For a list of the cultivars classied under this system see List of banana cultivars.
In 2012, a team of scientists announced they had achieved
a draft sequence of the genome of Musa acuminata.[33]

Bananas and plantains

In regions such as North America and Europe, Musa

fruits oered for sale can be divided into bananas and
"plantains", based on their intended use as food. Thus
the banana producer and distributor Chiquita produces
publicity material for the American market which says
that a plantain is not a banana. The stated dierences
are that plantains are more starchy and less sweet; they
are eaten cooked rather than raw; they have thicker skin,
which may be green, yellow or black; and they can be used
at any stage of ripeness.[34] Linnaeus made the same distinction between plantains and bananas when rst naming two species of Musa.[35] Members of the "plantain
subgroup" of banana cultivars, most important as food in
West Africa and Latin America, correspond to the Chiquita description, having long pointed fruit. They are described by Ploetz et al. as true plantains, distinct from
other cooking bananas.[36] The cooking bananas of East
Africa belong to a dierent group, the East African Highland bananas,[12] so would not qualify as true plantains
on this denition.

In Southeast Asia the center of diversity for bananas,

both wild and cultivated the distinction between bananas and plantains does not work, according to Valmayor et al. Many bananas are used both raw and cooked.
There are starchy cooking bananas which are smaller than
those eaten raw. The range of colors, sizes and shapes
is far wider than in those grown or sold in Africa, Europe or the Americas.[35] Southeast Asian languages do
not make the distinction between bananas and plantains that is made in English (and Spanish). Thus both
Cavendish cultivars, the classic yellow dessert bananas,
and Saba cultivars, used mainly for cooking, are called
pisang in Malaysia and Indonesia, kluai in Thailand and
chuoi in Vietnam.[41] Fe'i bananas, grown and eaten in the
islands of the Pacic, are derived from entirely dierent
wild species than traditional bananas and plantains. Most
Fe'i bananas are cooked, but Karat bananas, which are
short and squat with bright red skins, very dierent from
the usual yellow dessert bananas, are eaten raw.[42]
In summary, in commerce in Europe and the Americas
(although not in small-scale cultivation), it is possible to
distinguish between bananas, which are eaten raw, and
plantains, which are cooked. In other regions of the
world, particularly India, Southeast Asia and the islands
of the Pacic, there are many more kinds of banana and
the two-fold distinction is not useful and not made in local languages. Plantains are one of many kinds of cooking bananas, which are not always distinct from dessert
bananas.

5 Historical cultivation
5.1 Early cultivation
See also: Musa acuminata
Farmers in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea
rst domesticated bananas. Recent archaeological and
palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the
Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least
5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE.[4][44] It is likely
that other species were later and independently domesticated elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is
the region of primary diversity of the banana. Areas of
secondary diversity are found in Africa, indicating a long
history of banana cultivation in the region.[45]

An alternative approach divides bananas into dessert bananas and cooking bananas, with plantains being one
of the subgroups of cooking bananas.[37] Triploid cultivars derived solely from M. acuminata are examples
of dessert bananas, whereas triploid cultivars derived
from the hybrid between M. acuminata and M. balbi- Phytolith discoveries in Cameroon dating to the rst milnosa (in particular the plantain subgroup of the AAB lennium BCE[46] triggered an as yet unresolved debate

5.2

Plantation cultivation in the Caribbean, Central and South America

the Italian traveller and writer Gabriele Capodilista wrote

favourably of the extensive farm produce of the estates at
Episkopi, near modern day Limassol, including the regions banana plantations.[52]
Bananas were introduced to the Americas by Portuguese
sailors who brought the fruits from West Africa in the
16th century.[53]
Many wild banana species as well as cultivars exist
in extraordinary diversity in New Guinea, Malaysia,
Indonesia, China, and the Philippines.

Original native ranges of the ancestors of modern edible bananas. Musa acuminata is shown in green and Musa balbisiana
in orange.[43]

alt=Map stating that banana cultivation occurred in pre-Islamic

times in India and Southeast Asia, during the 7001500 CE
Islamic period along the Nile River and in Mesopotamia and
Palestine, and less-certainly in sub-Saharan Africa during that
same period

There are fuzzy bananas whose skins are

bubblegum pink; green-and-white striped
bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet;
bananas that, when cooked, taste like strawberries. The Double Mahoi plant can produce
two bunches at once. The Chinese name of
the aromatic Go San Heong banana means
'You can smell it from the next mountain.'
The ngers on one banana plant grow fused;
another produces bunches of a thousand
ngers, each only an inch long.
Mike Peed, The New Yorker[54]

In 1999 archaeologists in London discovered what they

believed to be the oldest banana in the UK, in a Tudor
rubbish tip.[55]

5.2 Plantation
cultivation
in
the
Caribbean, Central and South America

about the date of rst cultivation in Africa. There is linguistic evidence that bananas were known in Madagascar Main article: History of modern banana plantations in the
around that time.[47] The earliest prior evidence indicates Americas
that cultivation dates to no earlier than late 6th century In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese colonists
CE.[48] It is likely, however, that bananas were brought at
least to Madagascar if not to the East African coast during the phase of Malagasy colonization of the island from
South East Asia c. 400 CE.[49]
The banana may also have been present in isolated locations elsewhere in the Middle East on the eve of Islam.
The spread of Islam was followed by far-reaching diusion. There are numerous references to it in Islamic texts
(such as poems and hadiths) beginning in the 9th century. By the 10th century the banana appears in texts
from Palestine and Egypt. From there it diused into
North Africa and Muslim Iberia. During the medieval
ages, bananas from Granada were considered among the
best in the Arab world.[50] In 650, Islamic conquerors
brought the banana to Palestine. Today, banana conFruits of wild-type bananas have numerous large, hard seeds.
sumption increases signicantly in Islamic countries during Ramadan, the month of daylight fasting.[51]
started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil,
Bananas were certainly grown in the Christian Kingdom and western Africa.[56] North Americans began consumof Cyprus by the late medieval period. Writing in 1458, ing bananas on a small scale at very high prices shortly

6 MODERN CULTIVATION

after the Civil War, though it was only in the 1880s that it
became more widespread.[57] As late as the Victorian Era,
bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they
were available.[56] Jules Verne introduces bananas to his
readers with detailed descriptions in Around the World in
Eighty Days (1872).
The earliest modern plantations originated in Jamaica and
the related Western Caribbean Zone, including most of
Central America. It involved the combination of modern transportation networks of steamships and railroads
with the development of refrigeration that allowed bananas to have more time between harvesting and ripening. North America shippers like Lorenzo Dow Baker
and Andrew Preston, the founders of the Boston Fruit
Company started this process in the 1870s, but railroad
builders like Minor C Keith also participated, eventually culminating in the multi-national giant corporations
like todays Chiquita Brands International and Dole.[57]
These companies were monopolistic, vertically integrated
(meaning they controlled growing, processing, shipping
and marketing) and usually used political manipulation to
build enclave economies (economies that were internally
self-sucient, virtually tax exempt, and export oriented
that contribute very little to the host economy). Their political maneuvers, which gave rise to the term Banana republic for states like Honduras and Guatemala, included
working with local elites and their rivalries to inuence
politics or playing the international interests of the United
States, especially during the Cold War, to keep the political climate favorable to their interests.[58]

5.3

come. Banana crops are vulnerable to destruction by high

winds, such as tropical storms or cyclones.[60]
After the signing of the NAFTA agreements in the 1990s,
however, the tide turned against peasant producers. Their
costs of production were relatively high and the ending of
favorable tari and other supports, especially in the European Economic Community, made it dicult for peasant
producers to compete with the bananas grown on large
plantations by the well capitalized rms like Chiquita and
Dole. Not only did the large companies have access to
cheap labor in the areas they worked, but they were better
able to aord modern agronomic advances such as fertilization. The dollar banana produced by these concerns
made the prot margins for peasant bananas unsustainable.
Caribbean countries have sought to redress this problem
by providing government supported agronomic services
and helping to organize producers cooperatives. They
have also been supporters of the Fair Trade movement
which seeks to balance the inequities in the world trade
in commodities.

5.4 East Africa

Main article: East African Highland bananas

Most farms supply local consumption. Cooking bananas

represent a major food source and a major income source
for smallhold farmers. In east Africa, highland bananas
are of greatest importance as a staple food crop. In counPeasant cultivation for export in the tries such as Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda per capita
consumption has been estimated at 45 kilograms (99 lb)
Caribbean
per year, the highest in the world.

Main article: History of peasant banana production in

the Americas
The vast majority of the worlds bananas today are cultivated for family consumption or for sale on local markets. India is the world leader in this sort of production,
but many other Asian and African countries where climate and soil conditions allow cultivation also host large
populations of banana growers who sell at least some of
their crop.[59]
There are peasant sector banana growers who produce
for the world market in the Caribbean, however. The
Windward Islands are notable for the growing, largely of
Cavendish bananas, for an international market, generally
in Europe but also in North America. In the Caribbean,
and especially in Dominica where this sort of cultivation
is widespread, holdings are in the 12 acre range. In many
cases the farmer earns additional money from other crops,
from engaging in labor outside the farm, and from a share
of the earnings of relatives living overseas. This style of
cultivation often was popular in the islands as bananas
required little labor input and brought welcome extra in-

6 Modern cultivation
All widely cultivated bananas today descend from the
two wild bananas Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. While the original wild bananas contained
large seeds, diploid or polyploid cultivars (some being
hybrids) with tiny seeds are preferred for human raw fruit
consumption.[61] These are propagated asexually from
oshoots. The plant is allowed to produce two shoots at
a time; a larger one for immediate fruiting and a smaller
sucker or follower to produce fruit in 68 months.
The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer,
during which time the individual stools or planting sites
may move slightly from their original positions as lateral
rhizome formation dictates.
Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, i.e. the esh of
the fruit swells and ripens without its seeds being fertilized and developing. Lacking viable seeds, propagation typically involves farmers removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usu-

6.2

Ripening

ally this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana
pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small
sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers,
are easier to transplant and can be left out of the ground
for up to two weeks; they require minimal care and can
be shipped in bulk.

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.[64] Likewise, Dwarf
Cavendish and Grand Nain are in no danger of extinction,
but they may leave supermarket shelves if disease makes
it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if
any existing cultivar can replace Cavendish bananas, so
It is not necessary to include the corm or root structure various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs
are attempting to create a disease-resistant, mass-market
to propagate bananas; severed suckers without root mate[61]
rial can be propagated in damp sand, although this takes banana.
somewhat longer.
In some countries, commercial propagation occurs by
means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it
ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a
risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating
Panama disease).

6.2 Ripening

Export bananas are picked green, and ripen in special

rooms upon arrival in the destination country. These
rooms are air-tight and lled with ethylene gas to induce
ripening. The vivid yellow color consumers normally asAs a non-seasonal crop, bananas are available fresh year- sociate with supermarket bananas is, in fact, caused by
the articial ripening process.[65][66] Flavor and texture
round.
are also aected by ripening temperature. Bananas are
refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 C (56.3 and 59.0 F)
during transport. At lower temperatures, ripening perma6.1 Cavendish
nently stalls, and the bananas turn gray as cell walls break
down. The skin of ripe bananas quickly blackens in the
Main article: Cavendish banana
In global commerce in 2009, by far the most impor- 4 C (39 F) environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaected.

Ripened bananas (left, under sunlight) uoresce in blue when

exposed to UV light.

Tree-ripened Cavendish bananas have a greenishyellow appearance which changes to a brownish-yellow

Cavendish bananas are the main commercial banana cultivars
as they ripen further. Although both avor and texture of
sold in the world market.
tree-ripened bananas is generally regarded as superior to
any type of green-picked fruit, this reduces shelf life to
tant cultivars belonged to the triploid AAA group of
Musa acuminata, commonly referred to as Cavendish only 710 days.
group bananas. They accounted for the majority of ba- Bananas can be ordered by the retailer ungassed (i.e.
nana exports,[61] despite only coming into existence in not treated with ethylene), and may show up at the super1836.[62] The cultivars Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain market fully green. Guineos verdes (green bananas) that
(Chiquita Banana) gained popularity in the 1950s after have not been gassed will never fully ripen before becomthe previous mass-produced cultivar, Gros Michel (also ing rotten. Instead of fresh eating, these bananas are best
an AAA group cultivar), became commercially unviable suited to cooking, as seen in Mexican culinary dishes.
due to Panama disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium A 2008 study reported that ripe bananas uoresce when
oxysporum which attacks the roots of the banana plant.[61] exposed to ultraviolet light. This property is attributed
Cavendish cultivars are resistant to the Panama Disease to the degradation of chlorophyll leading to the accumubut in 2013 there were fears that the Black Sigatoka fun- lation of a uorescent product in the skin of the fruit.
gus would in turn make Cavendish bananas unviable.[63] The chlorophyll breakdown product is stabilized by a
Ease of transport and shelf life rather than superior taste propionate ester group. Banana-plant leaves also uomake the Dwarf Cavendish the main export banana.
resce in the same way. Green bananas do not uoresce.

6 MODERN CULTIVATION

The study suggested that this allows animals which can not, so comparisons can only be made using the total for
see light in the ultraviolet spectrum (tetrachromats and bananas and plantains combined. The 2011 statistics (see
pentachromats) to more easily detect ripened bananas.[67] Table 1) show that India led the world in banana production, producing around 20% of the worldwide crop of 145
million metric tonnes. Uganda was the next largest producer with around 8% of the worldwide crop. Its national
6.3 Storage and transport
data does distinguish between bananas and plantains, and
shows that the latter made up over 95% of production.
Bananas must be transported over long distances from the Ten countries produced around two thirds of the total
tropics to world markets. To obtain maximum shelf life, world production.[Note 1]
harvest comes before the fruit is mature. The fruit reThe statistics for the export of bananas and plantains show
quires careful handling, rapid transport to ports, cooling,
a rather dierent picture (see Table 2). Total world exand refrigerated shipping. The goal is to prevent the baports at around 18 million metric tonnes amounted to
nanas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethyonly 12% of total world production; two thirds of the
lene. This technology allows storage and transport for 3
exports were generated by only ve countries. The top
4 weeks at 13 C (55 F). On arrival, bananas are held at
three producing countries do not appear in this table, and
about 17 C (63 F) and treated with a low concentration
two countries, Costa Rica and Guatemala, do not appear
of ethylene. After a few days, the fruit begins to ripen
in the table of top producers. Only the Philippines has
and is distributed for nal sale. Unripe bananas can not
a consistent position in both tables. Exports were domibe held in home refrigerators because they suer from the
nated by Ecuador, with 29% of the world total. Statistics
cold. Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home.
for Ecuador distinguish between bananas and plantains;
If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown pa93% of its exports were classied as bananas.[Note 1]
per bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the
Bananas and plantains constitute a major staple food
ripening process.[68]
crop for millions of people in developing countries. In
Carbon dioxide (which bananas produce) and ethylene
most tropical countries, green (unripe) bananas used for
absorbents extend fruit life even at high temperatures.
cooking represent the main cultivars. Bananas are cooked
This eect can be exploited by packing banana in a
in ways that are similar to potatoes. Both can be fried,
polyethylene bag and including an ethylene absorbent,
boiled, baked, or chipped and have similar taste and texe.g., potassium permanganate, on an inert carrier. The
ture when served. One banana provides about the same
bag is then sealed with a band or string. This treatment
calories as one potato.
has been shown to more than double lifespans up to 34
[69][70][71]
Most producers are small-scale farmers either for home
weeks without the need for refrigeration.
consumption or local markets. Because bananas and
plantains produce fruit year-round, they provide an ex6.4 Production and export
tremely valuable food source during the hunger season
(when the food from one annual/semi-annual harvest has
been consumed, and the next is still to come). Bananas
and plantains are therefore critical to global food security.
Bananas have been an important source of disagreement
in the Doha Round of trade talks. A study for ICTSD
showed that the new deal on EU banana import taris will
be a boon to Latin American exporters but would trigger
a drop in exports of the fruit from African, Caribbean and
Pacic (ACP) countries.[72]

Indian Bananas, various varieties sold in a rural shop in South

India

Statistics on the production and export of bananas and

plantains are available from the Food and Agriculture Organization. Some countries produce statistics which distinguish between bananas and plantains, but three of the
top four producers (India, China and the Philippines) do

Bananas are among the most widely consumed foods in

the world. Chiquita, Del Monte, Dole, and Fyes grow
their own bananas in Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, and Honduras. Banana plantations are capital
intensive and demand signicant expertise. The majority
of independent growers are large and wealthy landowners in these countries. Producers have attempted to raise
prices via marketing them as "fair trade" or Rainforest
Alliance-certied in some countries.
The banana has an extensive trade history starting with
rms such as the Irish Fyes and the US United Fruit
Company (now Chiquita) at the end of the 19th century.
For much of the 20th century, bananas and coee dom-

7.1

Panama disease

inated the export economies of Central America. In the

1930s, bananas and coee made up as much as 75% of
the regions exports. As late as 1960, the two crops accounted for 67% of the exports from the region. Though
the two were grown in similar regions, they tended not to
be distributed together. The United Fruit Company based
its business almost entirely on the banana trade, because
the coee trade proved too dicult to control. The term
"banana republic" has been applied to most countries in
Central America, but from a strict economic perspective
only Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama had economies
dominated by the banana trade.
The European Union has traditionally imported many of
its bananas from former European Caribbean colonies,
paying guaranteed prices above global market rates (see
Lom Convention). These arrangements have now been
largely withdrawn under pressure from other major trading powers, principally the United States. The withdrawal
of these indirect subsidies to Caribbean producers is expected to favour the more ecient banana producers of
Central America, in which American companies have an
economic interest. In addition, small-scale Caribbean
producers are nding it dicult to comply with increasingly strict certication requirements. Some support is
being provided to Caribbean countries under the EUs
Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM).[73]
Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for pro-

The United States produces few bananas. A mere 14,000

tection. The bags may be coated with pesticides.
tonnes (14,000 long tons; 15,000 short tons) were grown
[74]
in Hawaii in 2001.
Bananas were once grown in
Florida and southern California.[75]
7.1 Panama disease
In March 2014 it was announced that Fyes and Chiquita would merge to create the worlds largest banana Panama disease is caused by a fusarium soil fungus (Race
company, worth about $1bn (597m). The new rm, 1), which enters the plants through the roots and travels
named ChiquitaFyes, is expected to sell about 160 mil- with water into the trunk and leaves, producing gels and
gums that cut o the ow of water and nutrients, causlion boxes of bananas annually.[76]
ing the plant to wilt, and exposing the rest of the plant to
lethal amounts of sunlight. Prior to 1960, almost all commercial banana production centered on Gros Michel,
was highly susceptible.[79] Cavendish was chosen
7 Pests, diseases, and natural dis- which
as the replacement for Gros Michel because, among resisasters
tant cultivars, it produces the highest quality fruit. However, more care is required for shipping the Cavendish,
and its quality compared to Gros Michel is debated.
Main article: List of banana and plantain diseases
While in no danger of outright extinction, the most common edible banana cultivar Cavendish (extremely popular in Europe and the Americas) could become unviable for large-scale cultivation in the next 1020 years.
Its predecessor 'Gros Michel', discovered in the 1820s,
suered this fate. Like almost all bananas, Cavendish
lacks genetic diversity, which makes it vulnerable to diseases, threatening both commercial cultivation and smallscale subsistence farming.[77][78] Some commentators remarked that those variants which could replace what
much of the world considers a typical banana are so different that most people would not consider them the same
fruit, and blame the decline of the banana on monogenetic
cultivation driven by short-term commercial motives.[58]

According to current sources, a deadly form of Panama

disease is infecting Cavendish. All plants are genetically
identical, which prevents evolution of disease resistance.
Researchers are examining hundreds of wild varieties for
resistance.[79]

7.1.1 Tropical race 4

Tropical race 4 (TR4) is a reinvigorated strain of Panama
disease rst discovered in 1993. This virulent form of
fusarium wilt 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, cloth-

10

9 CULTURE

ing, or tools. This is how TR4 travels and is its most likely
route into Latin America. Cavendish is highly susceptible
to TR4, and over time, Cavendish is almost certain to be
eliminated from commercial production by this disease.
The only known defense to TR4 is genetic resistance.[80]

7.3 Banana bunchy top virus

Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) jumps from plant

to plant using aphids. It stunts leaves, resulting in a
bunched appearance. Generally, an infected plant does
not produce fruit, although mild strains exist which allow
some production. These mild strains are often mistaken
for malnourishment, or a disease other than BBTV. There
is no cure; however, its eect can be minimized by plant7.2 Black sigatoka
ing only tissue-cultured plants (in vitro propagation), controlling aphids, and immediately removing and destroying
Black sigatoka is a fungal leaf spot disease rst observed infected plants.
in Fiji in 1963 or 1964. Black Sigatoka (also known
as black leaf streak) has spread to banana plantations
throughout the tropics from infected banana leaves that
were used as packing material. It aects all main culti- 7.4 Banana bacterial wilt
vars of bananas and plantains (including the Cavendish
cultivars[63] ), impeding photosynthesis by blackening Banana bacterial wilt (BBW) is a bacterial disease caused
parts of the leaves, eventually killing the entire leaf. by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum.[81] After
Starved for energy, fruit production falls by 50% or more, being originally identied on a close relative of bananas,
and the bananas that do grow ripen prematurely, making Ensete ventricosum, in Ethiopia in the 1960s,[82] BBW octhem unsuitable for export. The fungus has shown ever- curred in Uganda in 2001 aecting all banana cultivars.
increasing resistance to treatment, with the current ex- Since then BBW has been diagnosed in Central and East
pense for treating 1 hectare (2.5 acres) exceeding $1,000 Africa including the banana growing regions of Rwanda,
per year. In addition to the expense, there is the question the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya,
of how long intensive spraying can be environmentally Burundi, and Uganda.[83]
justied. Several resistant cultivars of banana have been
developed, but none has yet received commercial acceptance due to taste and texture issues.

8 Nutrition
7.2.1

In East Africa

Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B6 and contain

moderate amounts of vitamin C, manganese and dietary
ber (right table).[84]

With the arrival of Black sigatoka, banana production in

eastern Africa fell by over 40%. For example, during the
1970s, Uganda produced 15 to 20 tonnes (15 to 20 long
tons; 17 to 22 short tons) of bananas per hectare. Today,
production has fallen to only 6 tonnes (5.9 long tons; 6.6
short tons) per hectare.

Although bananas are commonly thought to supply exceptional potassium content,[85] their actual potassium
content is relatively low per typical food serving at only
8% of the Daily Value (right table). A compilation of
potassium content in common foods consumed in the
United States shows that raw bananas rank 1,611th, supThe situation has started to improve as new disease- plying 358 mg of potassium per 100 g; some foods with
resistant cultivars have been developed by the higher potassium content include beans, milk, apricots,
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and carrots, sweet green bell peppers and potatoes.[86]
the National Agricultural Research Organisation of
Banana ingestion may aect dopamine production in
Uganda (NARO), such as FHIA-17 (known in Uganda as
people decient in the amino acid tyrosine, a dopamine
the Kabana 3). These new cultivars taste dierent from
precursor present in bananas.[87][88] Individuals with a
the Cabana banana, which has slowed their acceptance
latex allergy may experience a reaction to bananas.[89]
by local farmers. However, by adding mulch and manure
to the soil around the base of the plant, these new
cultivars have substantially increased yields in the areas
where they have been tried.

9 Culture

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and

NARO, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and
CGIAR have started trials for genetically modied ba- 9.1 Food and cooking
nanas that are resistant to both Black sigatoka and banana
weevils. It is developing cultivars specically for small- See also: Cooking plantain and List of banana dishes
holder and subsistence farmers.

9.2
9.1.1

Fiber
Fruit

11
9.1.2 Flower

Banana hearts are used as a vegetable[99] in South Asian

and Southeast Asian cuisine, either raw or steamed with
dips or cooked in soups, curries and fried foods.[100]
The avor resembles that of artichoke. As with artiBananas are a staple starch for many tropical populations. chokes, both the eshy part of the bracts and the heart
Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the esh can vary are edible.[101]
in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from rm to
mushy. Both the skin and inner part can be eaten raw or
cooked. The primary component of the aroma of fresh 9.1.3 Leaves
bananas is isoamyl acetate (also known as banana oil),
which, along with several other compounds such as butyl Main article: Banana leaf
acetate and isobutyl acetate, is a signicant contributor to
banana avor.[90][91][92]
Banana leaves are large, exible, and waterproof. They
During the ripening process, bananas produce the gas
ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone and indirectly
aects the avor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks
down starch into sugar, inuencing the taste of bananas.
The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of
starch and, consequently, have a starchier taste. On the
other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher
sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the
production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down
the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the
banana to soften as it ripens.[93][94]
Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split
bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana
leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes
are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in
South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia
that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a
snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or
plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense
banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make
banana our. Extracting juice is dicult, because when
a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas
feature prominently in Philippine cuisine, being part of
traditional dishes and desserts like maruya, turrn, and
halo-halo or saba con yelo. Most of these dishes use
the Saba or Cardaba banana cultivar. Bananas are also
commonly used in cuisine in the South-Indian state of
Kerala, where they are steamed (puzhungiyathu), made
into curries,[95] fried into chips (upperi)[96] or fried in batter (pazhampori).[97] Pisang goreng, bananas fried with
batter similar to the Filipino maruya or Kerala pazhampori, is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and
Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United Kingdom and United States as banana fritters.
Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked,
baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes, such
as the Pazham Pachadi prepared in Kerala.[95]

are often used as ecologically friendly disposable food

containers or as plates in South Asia and several
Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesian cuisine, banana leaf is employed in cooking method called pepes and
botok; the banana leaf packages containing food ingredients and spices are cooked on steam, in boiled water or
grilled on charcoal. In the South Indian states of Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in every
occasion the food must be served in a banana leaf and as
a part of the food a banana is served. Steamed with dishes
they impart a subtle sweet avor. They often serve as a
wrapping for grilling food. The leaves contain the juices,
protect food from burning and add a subtle avor.[102]
In Tamil Nadu (India) leaves are fully dried and used as
packing material for food stus and also making cups to
hold liquid foods. In Central American countries, banana
leaves are often used as wrappers for tamales.
9.1.4 Trunk
The tender core of the banana plants trunk is also used
in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, and notably
in the Burmese dish mohinga.
Peeled, whole, and longitudinal section
Kilawin na pus ng saging, a Filipino dish using banana owers
Nicaraguan Nacatamales, in banana leaves, ready to
be steamed
Kaeng yuak is a northern Thai curry made with the
core of the banana plant
Pisang goreng fried banana coated in batter, popular
snack in Indonesia
Banana in sweet gravy, known as pengat pisang in
Malay. Popular along Malaysias east coast

Seeded bananas (Musa balbisiana), one of the forerunners of the common domesticated banana,[98] are sold in 9.2
markets in Indonesia.

Fiber

12
9.2.1

9 CULTURE
Textiles

The banana plant has long been a source of ber for high
quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing
and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut
from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested
shoots are rst boiled in lye to prepare bers for yarnmaking. These banana shoots produce bers of varying
degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with dif- Banana owers and leaves for sale in the Thanin market
fering qualities for specic uses. For example, the out- in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
ermost bers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, while the softest innermost bers are
desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional
Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all 9.3.1 Arts
performed by hand.[103]
The song "Yes! We Have No Bananas" was writIn a Nepalese system the trunk is harvested instead, and
ten by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn and originally
small pieces are subjected to a softening process, mereleased in 1923; for many decades, it was the bestchanical ber extraction, bleaching and drying. After
selling sheet music in history. Since then the song
that, the bers are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for use
has been rerecorded several times and has been parin rugs with a silk-like texture. These banana ber rugs
ticularly popular during banana shortages.[104][105]
are woven by traditional Nepalese hand-knotting meth A person slipping on a banana peel has been a staple
ods, and are sold RugMark certied.
of physical comedy for generations. A 1910 USA
In South Indian state of Tamil Nadu after harvesting for
comedy recording features a popular character of
fruit the trunk (outer layer of the shoot) is made into
the time, Uncle Josh, claiming to describe his own
ne thread used in making of ower garlands instead of
such incident:[106]
thread.
Now I don't think much of
the man that throws a banana
peelin' on the sidewalk, and I don't
think much of the banana peel that
9.2.2 Paper
throws a man on the sidewalk neither ... my foot hit the bananer
Main article: Banana paper
peelin' and I went up in the air, and
I come down ker-plunk, jist as I was
pickin' myself up a little boy come
Banana ber is used in the production of banana paper.
runnin' across the street ... he says,
Banana paper is made from two dierent parts: the bark
Oh mister, won't you please do
of the banana plant, mainly used for artistic purposes, or
that agin? My little brother didn't
from the bers of the stem and non-usable fruits. The
see you do it.
paper is either hand-made or by industrial process.

9.3

Cultural roles

The poet Bash is named after the Japanese word

for a banana plant. The bash" planted in his garden by a grateful student became a source of inspiration to his poetry, as well as a symbol of his life
and home.[107]
The cover artwork for the debut album of The Velvet Underground features a banana made by Andy
Warhol. On the original vinyl LP version, the design allowed the listener to peel this banana to nd
a pink, peeled phallic banana on the inside.[108]
9.3.2 Religion and popular beliefs

Coconut, banana and banana leaves used while worship- In Burma, bunches of green bananas surrounding a green
ing River Kaveri at Tiruchirappalli, India.
coconut in a tray form an important part of traditional

13
other purication materials.[112][113] In 2007, banana peel powder was tested as a means of ltration for heavy metals and radionuclides occurring
in water produced by the nuclear and fertilizer industries (cadmium contaminant is present in phosphates). When added and thoroughly mixed for 40
minutes, the powder can remove roughly 65% of
heavy metals, and this can be repeated.[114]

10 Notes
[1] The gures in the tables were derived from: FAOSTAT.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The datasets for bananas and plantains for 2011
were downloaded and combined (the two are not distinguished in many cases). Totals and percentages were then
calculated. The number of countries shown was chosen to
account for a minimum of 66% of the world total.

11 References

Nang Tani, the female ghost of Thai folklore that haunts banana
plants

oerings to the Buddha and the Nats.

In all the important festivals and occasions of Hindus, the
serving of bananas plays a prominent part. Traditionally
in Tamil marriages, banana plants are tied on both sides
of the entrance of houses to bless the newlyweds to be
useful to each other. The banana is one of three fruits
with this signicance, the others being mango and jack
fruit.
In Thailand, it is believed that a certain type of banana
plants may be inhabited by a spirit, Nang Tani, a type
of ghost related to trees and similar plants that manifests
itself as a young woman.[109] Often people tie a length of
colored satin cloth around the pseudostem of the banana
plants.[110]
In Malay folklore, the ghost known as Pontianak is associated with banana plants (pokok pisang), and its spirit is
said to reside in them during the day.[111]

[1] Banana from 'Fruits of Warm Climates by Julia Morton. Hort.purdue.edu. Archived from the original on
2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
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[3] Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved 201301-04. |chapter= ignored (help)
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[5] Nelson, Ploetz & Kepler 2006.
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[9] Stover & Simmonds 1987, p. 212.

9.4

Other uses

[10] Stover & Simmonds 1987, pp. 1317.

Banana sap from the pseudostem, peelings or esh

may be suciently sticky for adhesive uses.
The large leaves may be used as umbrellas.

[102]

Banana peel may have capability to extract heavy

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[11] Nelson, Ploetz & Kepler 2006, p. 26.

[12] Ploetz et al. 2007, p. 12.
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13

Further reading

Dan Koeppel, The New York Times article of June

18, 2008, Yes, We Will Have No Bananas
Harriet Lamb, Fighting The Banana Wars and
other Fairtrade Battles, ISBN 978-1-84604-083-2

14

External links

Kew plant prole: Musa acuminata (banana)

Articles on banana trade at Agritrade

How the global banana industry is killing the worlds
favorite fruit, by Gwynn Guilford of Quartz/MSN
News, March 3, 2014

18

15

15
15.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Jojalozzo, JSpung, Allmightyduck, Oxymoron83, Antonio Lopez, Baseball Bugs, Ryanld, Gondor1, Techman224, Tsherratt, Senor Cuete,
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Dwangsta, Ciaran10, Music.man1300, Saurabh.vinian, Flying sausages to the rescue, Loelymistayke, Spammermonkey, Scientic29,
Richard gilder, ChuispastonBot, Jambolik, Evan-Amos, Senator2029, Ksmit139, Sqwertso, Kleopatra, Michael Bailes, ManU0710, Rememberway, Inge Van den Bergh, ClueBot NG, Transinity, Davidtibbs, CocuBot, Joefromrandb, Lemuellio, AgniKalpa, CopperSquare,

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TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Danim, TootsMcGee, Anupmehra, North Atlanticist Usonian, Helpful Pixie Bot, ?oygul, Itonyfy, KLBot2, Mark Marathon, Plantdrew,
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