Banana facts and information
This article is a brief study on bananas, the history of the banana plant, and tips on growing the banana plant.
banana facts
Banana “trees” are not actually trees, but herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and family Musaceae. Due to their size, shape, and structure, they are often mistaken for trees. Bananas are grown primarily for their fruit. But the plant is also used as an ornamental plant in gardens.
There are generally two types of bananas that are grown, mainly in tropical regions. First, there is the sweet dessert fruit that is eaten raw or used in dessert recipes. There is a wide variety of delicious dessert recipes using bananas in almost every food culture in the world.
Second, bananas belong to a group of cultivars with firmer fruit and are generally used in cooking vegetable-based dishes such as curries. Bananas are especially popular in Southeast Asia, India, and Jamaica.
history of bananas
Banana plants were first cultivated for domestic use in Southeast Asia. There is evidence found in Papua New Guinea showing that banana cultivation there dates back, possibly, to 8000 BC. This would mean that the western highlands of Papua New Guinea were probably the first place where bananas were grown. Many wild bananas still grow in Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Bananas were first mentioned in written history in Buddhist texts around 600 BC. Then the famous explorer Alexander the Great found the fruit in India in 327 BC. It is said that the first plantations existed in China around the year 200 AD
The story of bananas continued with Islamic conquerors bringing the fruit to the Middle East and later, Arab traders exposed most of Africa to bananas. Interestingly, the word Banana is actually of West African origin.
After that, banana cultivation boomed in most of the rest of the world thanks in large part to Portuguese settlers who started banana plantations in the Atlantic islands, Brazil, and West Africa. Unfortunately for Europeans, bananas were not heard of in Europe until the Victorian era and even then, only through commercial trade.
These days, bananas can be found in virtually every market in the world without much trouble and hurrah to all!
Tips & Techniques – Growing Bananas
Growing banana plants is quite easy if the right combination of factors is present. A banana plant takes about nine months to mature and needs a lot of tender loving care to grow to its full potential.
Generally, a banana plant lives up to about 25 years. Bananas grow from stems that grow from the ground called rhizomes and produce suckers that grow from the main stem of the banana plant. The rhizomes have a shelf life of 15 years or more.
The upright plant is called a pseudostem and when mature it will reach an average height of 2 to 8 meters and the leaves will grow up to 3.5 meters long. Interestingly, each pseudostem produces only one bunch of bananas. It then dies and is replaced by a new pseudostem.
Growing banana plants require plenty of sunlight and a high level of humidity. That is one of the reasons why it is found in abundance in the tropics and countries with warm climates. As it grows, it requires daily watering and a balanced fertilizer for it to grow well. The proper temperature to grow Banana Plant should be about 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.
The soil has to be rich in nutrients and slightly acidic. It should also be able to retain moisture, but not too much, as roots that are full of water will die very quickly. When all the right ingredients are present, the banana plant grows very quickly and is a joy to watch. Not only does it bear fruit, it is a beautiful ornamental plant and really stands out in any garden.