Banana Growing in the Florida Home Landscape1 Jonathan H
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HS10 Banana Growing in the Florida Home Landscape1 Jonathan H. Crane and Carlos F. Balerdi2 Scientific name: Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana per plant than sweet bananas. The groups differ in whether the male parts of the inflorescence are persistent or absent. Common names for banana: English—banana, plantain; Spanish—banano, platano, guineo, cambur History and Distribution Common names for plantain: English—plantain, horse The banana and plantain are native to southeast Asia, banana; Spanish—platano where they have been cultivated for thousands of years. Bananas are believed to have been introduced to Africa in Family: Musaceae prehistoric times. Recent evidence suggests bananas were introduced into the New World (Ecuador) by southeast Relatives of banana within the Order Zingiberales: Asians around 200 BCE, and more recently by Portuguese Numerous ornamental plants including traveler’s palm, and Spanish explorers in the early 16th century. The bird-of-paradise, heliconia, and ginger. Portuguese introduced bananas into the Canary Islands and the Spanish to the Island of Hispaniola during the 1500s. Introduction Susceptibility to frost keeps the banana from spreading Bananas are vigorously growing, monocotyledonous beyond the tropics and the warm subtropics. However, herbaceous plants. There are two species of banana, Musa bananas are grown commercially in a number of subtropi- acuminata and M. balbisiana, and most banana cultivars cal areas such as Australia, Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, are hybrids of these species. Banana cultivars vary greatly Israel, the Canary Islands, and south Florida. In some areas, in plant and fruit size, plant morphology, fruit quality, and bananas are grown inside plastic or glass covered structures. disease and insect resistance. Most bananas have a sweet flavor when ripe; exceptions to this are cooking bananas Plantains are an important food source in parts of Africa, and plantains. southern India, and throughout tropical America. This is because of the ease and stability of production and the Plantains are hybrid bananas in which the male flowering highly nutritious nature of the fruit. axis is either degenerated, lacking, or possesses only relicts of male flowers. Plantains are always cooked before con- Bananas have been grown in scattered locations throughout sumption and are higher in starch than bananas. The two Florida since their introduction during the 16th century. groups of plantains, French and Horn, produce fewer fruit Limited commercial production has occurred since the late 1800s. Florida is considered a climatically marginal area 1. This document is HS10, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date October 1971 as FC-10. Revised January 1998, December 2005, October 2008, and November 2016. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu. 2. Jonathan H. Crane, professor and tropical fruit crops specialist, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center; and Carlos F. Balerdi, professor and multi-county tropical fruit crops Extension agent (retired), UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other UF/IFAS Extension publications, contact your county’s UF/IFAS Extension office. U.S. Department of Agriculture, UF/IFAS Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A & M University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, dean for UF/IFAS Extension. for commercial banana production due to our subtropical sheaths form the pseudostem. One pseudostem may have climate and occasional freezes. However, small scale over 40 leaves during its lifetime. commercial production does occur in southern Florida and producers supply local and regional markets. Roots: Numerous (200–500) fibrous roots arise from the rhizome. In well drained, deep, fertile soils, roots may Uses extend 5 ft (1.5 m) deep and 16 ft (4.9 m) laterally. Bananas are eaten fresh and used in salads, desserts, Flowers and fruit: The banana inflorescence (flowering breads, and candy. Bananas are a good source of ascorbic stalk) emerges from the center of the pseudostem 10 to acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin B6, and potassium. Plantains 15 months after planting; by this time 26 to 32 leaves have are cooked before use and may be baked, fried, or grilled. been produced. The process of banana flowering is called Plantains have similar nutritive value as fresh eating shooting. The flowers appear spirally along the axis of the bananas plus Vitamin A, and are an excellent source of inflorescence in groups of 10 to 20, covered by purplish-to- carbohydrates (starch). greenish fleshy bracts which shed as flowering development progresses. The first flowers to emerge are functionally Banana plants may also be used in the home landscape for female. In the edible cultivars, the rapidly growing ovaries ornamental purposes. The range in plant sizes and color develop parthenocarpically (without pollination) into and fruit shapes add a tropical atmosphere to the yard. clusters of fruits, called “hands.” The fruit is a berry. In addition, trees may be used as sun-screens to shade Although most banana cultivars produce seedless fruit, southeastern or western walls. some are fertile and can set seed. The last flowers to emerge are functionally male. In plantains, the male flowers may be Plant Description absent or greatly reduced. The time from shooting to fruit Whole plant: The banana is a fast-growing plant consisting harvest depends upon temperature, cultivar, soil moisture, of one or more pseudostems (upright, trunk-like structures) and cultural practices and ranges from 80 to 180 days. formed by tightly packed concentric layers of leaf sheaths, The time from planting a small banana sucker and harvest an underground rhizome, and a fibrous root system. The ranges from 9 to 20 months depending upon temperatures, entire plant is called a mat. The pseudostem constitutes the cultivar, and cultural practices. functional trunk which supports the leaves and the flower and fruit bearing stalk. Environmental Factors Temperature: Bananas flourish under uniformly warm to Types of suckers: hot conditions. Shoot growth is best between 78°F to 82°F (26–28°C) and fruit growth at 84°F to 86°F (29–30°C). • Sword suckers—small pseudostems (12–48 inches tall) Plant growth slows below 60°F (16°C) and stops at 50°F with narrow leaves. Sword suckers will develop into (10°C). Symptoms of chilling injury (temperatures below fruitful psuedostems at maturity 60°F/16°C but above 32°F/0°C) include failure of the • Water suckers—small pseudostems (12–48 inches tall) flowering stalk or fruit bunch to emerge from the pseud- with broad leaves. Water suckers are not well attached to ostem (called choking), development of a dull yellow or the rhizome and generally produce weak plants and less greenish-gray color to ripening fruit, distorted fruit shape, fruit than sword suckers. and an increase in fruit rotting. • Peepers—very small pseudostems (1–12 inches tall) that develop into either sword or water suckers. Chilling damage and irreversible freeze damage may occur at or below 32°F (0°C). Symptoms of freeze damage include Rhizome (corm): A rhizome is an underground stem with a water-soaked appearance to all above ground parts of numerous meristems (growing points) from which the the banana plant and desiccation, browning, and death of pseudostems, flowering and fruiting stalks, and fibrous leaves, pseudostems, and fruit. Temperatures below 28°F roots arise. (-2°C) may kill plants to the ground. However, new growth usually sprouts from the underground rhizome with the Sheath and leaves: The banana leaf consists of a long, tube- return of warm weather. like structure called a sheath, a stout petiole (leaf stalk), and a lamina or leaf blade. The tight packing of numerous Banana Growing in the Florida Home Landscape 2 Temperatures at or above 98°F (37°C) may result in leaf sufficiently high beds or mounds should be constructed and scorch and emerging new leaves may have very narrow proper engineering (sloping) of the land for water drainage blades. should be done. The beds will place most of the root system above the saturated soil layer and proper sloping of the Wind: Wind is a common constraint in subtropical ditches between beds should allow for drainage of excessive production areas. In addition, continuously windy weather water off the land. may cause severe leaf shredding (mild shredding may be beneficial), drying of the leaves, and plant crown distortion. Propagation Winds above 25 mph and 45 mph may cause tall and short banana cultivars (respectively) to topple. The most common propagation material is suckers, or pieces of the rhizome. There are 3 types of suckers: maiden- Drought and flooding: Temperature and soil moisture are head, a large non-fruiting pseudostem (plus roots and some the most important factors in banana production. Lack of rhizome); sword sucker, a sucker attached to the original water at any time may cause a reduction in fruit number (mother) rhizome with narrow sword-like leaves, and; a and size and ultimate crop yield. Banana cultivars with water sucker, a sucker next to but only superficially attached Musa balbisiana genes tend to be more drought tolerant to the mother rhizome with broad leaves. Water suckers than cultivars of Musa acuminata. Symptoms of drought produce inferior fruit and are therefore not recommended. stress include folding of the leaves, pale green to yellow Large sword suckers and maidenheads are the preferred leaf color development, and premature leaf death. Severe planting material. Sword suckers should be removed from drought stress may cause choking and pseudostem collapse.