Banana

Banana

[Musa]

Family
Musaceae

Height
5 meter + The banana plant is the worlds largest flowering plant.

Location and climate
Tropical climate. 38% of the global banana plantations are located in India and China.

Pollination
Birds and bats (wild bananas)

Usage
Banana fibers are strong and light weight and is extracted from the stalk of the leaves The fiber is used for mats, rope, furniture textile, clothing textile and banana fiber has been used since the 1600 for kimonos in Japan.

The banana is also an important food source and is found on the top of the food security list because it produces fruit all years around and is an accessible crop in many development contries.

There are different species in the banana family and the most common is the Cavendish banana. This banana can not reproduce itself due to the lack of genetic diversity. The plant is therefore vulnerable for diseases like the Panama disease (fungus) making the Cavendish endangered for commercial production by this disease

Experts state the need for banana biodiversity by producing diverse new banana varieties, not just having a focus on the Cavendish.

Large amounts of pesticides are used on banana plantations. According to WWF 60% of the destruction of Costa Ricas coral reef is due to the overflow from plantations and WWF describes banana production to be the most harmful agriculture due to deforestation, depleted soil due to monoculture, erosion, waste from plastic bags (used to cover the cluster of bananas when hanging on the trees), plastic string and the left over plant after harvest.

The large amount of bio mass from the plant makes it an obvious choice for the above usage but who knows if the Cavendish banana will be here in 20 years?

If counting both bananas (cold consumption) and plantains (cooked) the total amount produced is 154 million tons a year.