See also: Banana (homonymy)

The banana is the Fruit Bananier, which constitutes an essential component of the food mode of certain developed countries and constitutes a basic food for million people in the Tropics. The word banana is derived from the Guinean " Banema" , through Portuguese. It is called “fig” in Creole (French-speaking) in Reunion and the Antilles.

Description

The banana is a long fruit slightly curved, often gathered on the banana tree in named bunches “modes”. The banana has a skin of yellow or green color easy to detach which contains Fluor. The interior part is a tasty starch-based pulp with the sweetened taste and generally melting consistency.

The bananas incontestably appear among the tropical fruits most important. In 1992, the total production rose to 66 million tons (bananas and bananas plantains); it was not exceeded that by the production of Agrume S. the ripe bananas are rich in Potassium and in Sucre S. They are very nutritive (90 kcal/100 G) and very digestes because of their low content of greases. This is why they are generally consumed raw. The bananas are gathered green in the plantations, so called banana plantations. Less fragile than ripe bananas, they support transport best. They are immediately forwarded to the distribution centers (gone of export), where the process of maturation is sometimes activated while adding to the fruits of the ethylene. In natural conditions, this hydrocarbon is manufactured by the plant itself. The wild forms Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana , meet still today in most of the South Is Asian, of the India to the New Guinea-News-Guinea.
; Selection The selection by the man made it possible the wire centuries to create variétées consumed nowadays. Several research teams currently develop programmes of varietal improvement of the banana tree throughout the world, like the Katholieke Universiteit de Leuven (Belgium), the Cirad with the French West Indies, the Embrapa with the Brésil, FHIA with the Honduras, CARBAP with the Cameroun and of many other organizations in India, with the Vietnam, in Africa… According to the schools, the strategies for improvement are varied, but more or less rest all on modern Biotechnologie S. They make it possible to create new varieties more resistant to the parasite S and ravageurs of this culture. International research on the Banana tree is federated by the INIBAP, an international organization member of CGIAR. The INIBAP manages inter alia a Banque of genes of the banana tree, stored in vitro in Leuwen (Belgium) as well as a database on the genetic resources of the banana tree called in '' Musa Germplasm Information System '' (MGIS). The information system on the genetic resources the Musa one contains detailed information and standardized on the accessions held by many gene banks around the world.

The plant

Although the banana tree can reach a relatively large size (9 m), it is not a tree. Indeed, it does not form a woody trunk. The Pseudo-trunk is actually formed by the Pétiole S of the sheets. Those are recovered partially and constituted a bearing structure, a " forgery tronc". The petioles carry at their end a large limb lengthened with in the center a median vein. The sheets can reach 4 m length and 1 m broad. The stem of the banana tree is very short and entirely underground. It appears on a rhizome, which produces new stems regularly. The rhizome carries an important mass of long and fine roots, located right under the surface of the ground. The banana flavor is the Acétate of isoamyl.

Flowering

Flowering occurs at the end of 7 months and the fruits mature 4 months later. Then the stem dies.

After approximately a year and half, the banana tree is able to flower. The underground stem then forms a Inflorescence which develops through the " false-tronc" hollow to appear in the center of the sheets. At the beginning, the inflorescence is drawn up but, under the effect of the weight, it quickly will become hanging. The flowers which appear at the end of the inflorescence (thus in lower part) are male, those located more towards the beginning of the axis (thus above) are female. These last will give rise to bananas. Between the male flowers and the females, there can still be sterile flowers. On the axis of the inflorescence, the flowers are established in several transverse double lines. Each double line is protected by a Bractée crimson. Each day, one bractée will be rolled up and fallen, thus releasing the flowers which could be pollinated. The fertilized flowers will give rise to the fruits. In nature, in fact the bats ensure pollination. Each mode can comprise to 200 fruits. The bananas are generally sold in the form of " mains" , corresponding each one to a double line of female flowers. The current varieties of banana trees form fruits without there being fecundation; they are known as parthenocarpic. They thus do not contain seeds, contrary to the wild varieties whose fruits are entirely filled with hard angular seeds. After flowering, the banana tree dies, but at the same time, the underground stem forms side rejections. It is those which reform new plants.

To cultivate in moderate zone

Among the edible banana trees, only the dwarf banana tree, Musa acuminata “Dwarf Cavendish” lend themselves easily to being cultivated at home. This variety remains relatively small, 2 m to the maximum. The plant requires much water, much food, a strong humidity of the atmosphere and much of light. The dwarf banana tree is not too sensitive to the low temperatures and supports until a minimum of 10° C during the winter. Other wild banana trees can be cultivated same manner. " Musa textilis" (which provides textile fibers) and Musa basjoo is appropriate for a low-size greenhouse.

Varieties

There exist very many varieties of bananas, used as fruit (banana serves) or like vegetable (banana to be cooked).

• Banana plantain: Fruit of a variety of Musa Paradisiaca with yellow flesh, (yellow banana) green skin and of a flesh a little dew, rather firm, it is generally larger and longer than the banana fruit and contains more starch and less sugar. Used like a vegetable, it should be bleached during five minutes with ebullient water salted to be able to peel it easily. They are consumed cooked or fried, for salted finishes.

Production

In terms of value of production, the bananas and the bananas plantain are located at the 4th rank of the food plants of importance on a world level. The exported bananas are placed at the 4th rank of the basic commodities on a world level and the 3rd rank as a fruit (behind the orange and the Raisin). 50% of the production are ensured by only one group of cultivated bananas called Cavendish.

World exports

In thousands of tons (2004)

• ; ----- 4.444

• ; Philippines -- 2.383
• ; Costa Rica --- 2.004
• ; Colombia ----- 1.468
• ; Guatemala ------ 964
• ; Cameroun ------- 262
• ; --- 229

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