How is bananas produced

At traditional grocery stores, bananas are super cheap and you can easily determine the ripeness that you want to purchase. Even though they are a common produce purchase, most people do not know much about bananas.

We know that they come from other countries, and some of us might know about the ethylene ripening treatments they undergo, but there is a lot more to it. During my recent trip to Maui, I was able to visit a few farms that were growing apple bananas and it was really exciting to see how bananas are grown. An apple banana is smaller in size than the traditional bananas we are used to eating.

They are also more flavorful and are considered a dessert banana. The farms I visited were growing the apple bananas to sell locally in Maui. However, I have also seen these being sold in traditional grocery stores in California. Although it appears as though bananas grow on trees, they are not actually classified as trees. They are considered herbs. They form from a rhizome, which is an underground stem.

While growing, there are other suckers that sprout up from the underground stem. Once the banana cluster has been produced, that stem will no longer produce anymore fruit. The wooden crates have been replaced by the cardboard cartons we still see used today. Firstly, banana hands are removed from the bunch stem and cut into clusters of between 3 and 9 individual bananas.

It is these clusters that you would be used to seeing at your local retailers. These clusters are then placed into cartons which weigh a minimum of 13 kg. Over 28 million of these cartons are packed in Australia each year! Once the bananas have passed the quality assurance process, they go into a ripening room. This controlled environment replicates the climatic conditions where the bananas were grown and would have ripened naturally if the plant had not been harvested.

Prepared pits are left open for days for solar radiation to kill all the insects, soil borne diseases and for aeration before refilling. In saline alkali soil where pH is above 8, pit mixture is to be modified incorporating organic matter and gypsum.

The suckers are planted in the centre of the pit and soil around is compacted. Plants are planted in the pits keeping pseudostem 2cm below the ground level. Soil around the plant is gently pressed. Deep planting should be avoided.

The field is irrigated immediately after planting. Furrow planting is practiced in annual planting system in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Trench planting is practiced in wet land cultivation of Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu. Banana requires high amount of nutrients, which are often supplied only in part by the soil.

Banana crop requires Kg N, 0. Traditionally farmers use more of urea and less of phosphorous and potash. Urea is applied in three to four split doses. About g. Further application of g. Application of full dose of P and K at planting and N in three equal doses in shallow rings about cm. Application of g. N in vegetative phase and 50 g. N in reproductive phase enhances the yield. The requirement of phosphorus is comparatively low. Superphosphate forms the major source of P followed by the application of rock phosphate g.

In acidic soils, triple superphosphate or diammonium phosphate is recommended. Phosphorus is applied in single dose at the time of planting and quantity of P 2 O 5 depends upon the soil type and varies from 20 to 40 g.

Potassium is indispensable in banana cultivation due to its role in vital functions. It is not stored and its availability is influenced by temperature. Thus continuous supply is required at finger filling stage. Application of K g. K 2 O is recommended depending upon the cultivar. Plantains need higher K than other group of cultivars. Muriate of potash is generally used as a source of K.

But in soils with pH above 7. Calcium influences yield through its interaction with N, P and K. In case of acute Mg deficiencies, foliar application of Mg SO 4 is found to be effective.

Although sulphur deficiency in soils has been reported in some cases but is not a serious problem in case of banana. Sulphur uptake is active during sucker to shooting stage but after shooting sulphur supply comes from leaves and pseudostem. Fertigation : In order to avoid loss of nutrients from conventional fertilizers i.

Moreover, it saves labour and time and the distribution of nutrients is uniform. Combined foliar application of ZnSo 4 0. Banana being a succulent, evergreen and shallow rooted crop requires large quantity of water for increasing productivity. Water requirement of banana has been worked out to be 1, — 2, mm per annum.

In winter, irrigation is provided at an interval of days while in summer it should be given at an interval of days. However, during rainy season irrigation is provided if required as excess irrigation will lead to root zone congestion due to removal of air from soil pores, thereby affecting plant establishment and growth.

In all, about irrigations are provided to the crop. Banana production should be supported by an efficient irrigation system like drip irrigation.

Normal furrows, basin and trench systems are followed. Application of drip irrigation and mulching technology has reported to improve water use efficiency.

Besides, the system also enables efficient fertilizer application through the fertigation technique. Application of irrigation through drip system helps to maintain the proportion of soil air and soil water which results in early and vigorous growth of bunches. Drip irrigation may be given 15 l. Two methods are followed in case of drip irrigation:.

One lateral line and one dripper per plant is used. One lateral and one dripper for two plants are arranged. The distance between the two lines may also be 2. Table-3 : Impact of Drip Irrigation. Drip system. Height of plant. Girth of plant. Average no. Average flowering period. Average harvesting period. Average weight. Percentage of plants. Increase in yield Per ha. Water saved. The following inter-cultural operations are recommended for optimum productivity of the crop :.

It also helps to protect plants from wind damage and production losses to some extent. Removal of unwanted suckers is a critical operation in banana for reducing internal competition with the main plant. Small suckers are removed on regular basis upto months. Due to heavy weight of bunch the plant goes out of balance and the bearing plant may lodge and production and quality are adversely affected. Therefore they should be propped with the help of two bamboos forming a triangle by placing them against the stems on leaning side.

This also helps in uniform development of bunch. Covering bunch using dried leaves of the plant is economical and prevents bunch from direct exposure to sunlight and also enhances the quality of fruit.

Tarantulas like to hide in banana leaves. Banana plants grow quickly and can reach their full height of feet in only 9 months. After growing for about months, the plant develops a nice crown of leaves. Then a flowering stem emerges from the top, and a large bud begins to develop. As the bud unfolds, it reveals double rows of tiny flowers. Each stem grows 9 to 12 hands, which means that a single banana plant can produce up to bananas.

About 14 days after the stem has emerged, the weight of the growing bananas causes the stem to hang upside down. At this stage, many farmers cover the fruit with a bag to help protect it from insects and sun damage. Farmers also support the plant by tying it to neighboring plants with twine. This helps prevent the plant from toppling over from the weight of the bananas.