one biggest cultivater of banana

The total number of cultivars of bananas and plantains has been estimated to be anything from around 300 to more than 1000. Names are highly confused, even within a single country. Many common names do not refer to a single cultivar or clone; for example 'Lady's Finger' or 'Lady Finger' has been used as the name for members of different genome groups, including AA and AAB. Many other names are synonyms of cultivars grown in the same or different countries.^[9] Attempts have been made to create lists of synonyms. In 2000, Valmayor et al. listed equivalent local names for 68 cultivars across five Southeast Asian countries (the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam), together with their internationally used names. They considered a further 81 cultivars to be unique to one country.^[1] In 2007, Ploetz et al. listed more cultivar names and synonyms, with an emphasis on those grown in the islands of the Pacific, but including some grown in areas such as India, Africa and South America. As an example, for the widely grown cultivar 'Dwarf Cavendish', they gave 58 synonyms from 29 different countries or geographical areas.^[9] ProMusa has created a checklist of banana cultivar names based on available literature.^[10]

A recent development is the use of "somaclones" in banana cultivation. Micropropagation involves growing plants from very small amounts of source tissue, sometimes even a single cell, under sterile conditions using artificial techniques to induce growth. The purpose of micropropagation is often to produce a large number of genetically identical offspring. However, by inducing mutations through various means, it is possible to produce plants which differ slightly from the "parent" plant and from each other ("somaclonal variations"). By growing on these somaclones and selecting those with desirable features, new cultivars can be produced which are very similar to an existing cultivar, but differ in one or two features, such as disease resistance. Somaclones may only be distinguishable bygenetic analysis.^[11]

AA Group[edit]

Diploid Musa acuminata, both wild banana plants and cultivars

• Chingan banana
• Lacatan banana
• Lady Finger banana (Sugar banana)
• Pisang jari buaya (Crocodile fingers banana)
• Señorita banana (Monkoy, Arnibal banana, Cuarenta dias, Cariñosa, Pisang Empat Puluh Hari, Pisang Lampung)^[12]
• Sinwobogi banana

AAA Group[edit]

some companies to cultivate banana as commercially

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Left to right: plantains, Red, Latundan, and Cavendish bananas.

The following is a list of banana cultivars and the groups into which they are classified. Almost all modern cultivated varieties (cultivars) of edible bananas and plantains are hybrids and polyploids of two wild, seeded banana species,Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Cultivated bananas are almost always seedless (parthenocarpic) and hence sterile, so they are propagated vegetatively. They are classified into groups according to a genome-based system introduced by Ernest Cheesman, Norman Simmonds, and Ken Shepherd, which indicates the degree of genetic inheritance from the two wild parents and the number of chromosomes (ploidy). Cultivars derived from Musa acuminataare more likely to be used as dessert bananas, while those derived from Musa balbisiana and hybrids of the two are usually plantains or cooking bananas.^[1][2][3]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1Classification of cultivars
• 2Cultivars
  • 2.1AA Group
  • 2.2AAA Group
  • 2.3AAAA Group
  • 2.4AAAB Group
  • 2.5AAB Group
  • 2.6AABB Group
  • 2.7AB Group
  • 2.8ABB Group
  • 2.9ABBB Group
  • 2.10BB Group
  • 2.11BBB Group
• 3See also
• 4References
• 5Further reading
• 6External links
  

banana usess chart

Characters used to classify banana cultivars derived from M. acuminata and M. balbisiana^[7]

Character	M. acuminata	M. balbisiana
Color of pseudostem	Black or grey-brown spots	Unmarked or slightly marked
Petiole canal	Erect edge, with scarred inferior leaves, not against the pseudostem	Closed edge, without leaves, against the pseudostem
Stalk	Covered with fine hair	Smooth
Pedicels	Short	Long
Ovum	Two regular rows in the locule	Four irregular rows in the locule
Elbow of the bract	Tall (< 0.28)	Short (> 0.30)
Bend of the bract	The bract wraps behind the opening	The bract raises without bending behind the opening
Form of the bract	Lance- or egg-shaped, tapering markedly after the bend	Broadly egg-shaped
Peak of the bract	Acute	Obtuse
Color of the bract	Dark red or yellow on the outside, opaque purple or yellow on the inside	Brown-purple on the outside, crimson on the inside
Discoloration	The inside of the bract is more bright toward the base	The inside of the bract is uniform
Scarification of the bract	Prominent	Not prominent
Free tepal of the male flower	Corrugated under the point	Rarely corrugated
Color of the male flower	White or cream	Pink
Color of the markings	Orange or bright yellow	Cream, yellow, or pale pink

Classification of cultivars

Banana plants were originally classified by Linnaeus into two species, which he called Musa paradisiaca – those used as cooking bananas (plantains), and M. sapientum – those used as dessert bananas. The primary center of diversity of cultivated bananas is Southeast Asia. Botanical exploration of this area led to many more species being named, along with subspecies and varieties. However, this approach proved inadequate to deal with the large number of cultivated varieties (cultivars) which were discovered, and many of the names later proved to be synonyms.^[1] Furthermore, it was discovered that most cultivated bananas are actually hybrids between two wild species, M. acuminata and M. balbisiana, both first described in 1820 by the Italian botanist Luigi Aloysius Colla,^[4] and that Linnaeus' two "species" were both this hybrid, which is now called M. × paradisiaca.^[5] Unlike the wild species, which have seeds, cultivated bananas are almost always seedless (parthenocarpic) and hence sterile, so they have to be propagated vegetatively.

In 1955, researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed abandoning traditional Latin-based botanical names for cultivated bananas.^[3] This approach foreshadowed the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants which, in addition to using Latin names based on the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, gives cultivars names in a currently spoken language, enclosed in single quotes, and organizes them into "cultivar groups", also not given Latin names.^[6]

Banana cultivars derived from M. acuminata and M. balbisiana can be classified into cultivar groups using two criteria. The first is the number of chromosomes: whether the plant is diploid, triploid or tetraploid. The second is relationship to the two ancestral species, which may be determined by genetic analysis or by a scoring system devised by Simmonds and Shepherd. A cultivar is scored on 15 characters, chosen because they differ between the two species. Each character is given a score between one and five according to whether it is typical of M. acuminata or of M. babisiana or is in between. Thus the total score for a cultivar will range from 15 if all characters agree with M. acuminata to 75 if all characters agree with M. balbisiana. Intermediate scores suggest mixed ancestry: for example, 45 would be expected for diploids with equal genetic contributions from both species.^[7]

Groups are then named using a combination of the letters "A" and "B". The number of letters shows the ploidy; the proportion of As and Bs the contributions of the ancestral species. The AAB Group, for example, comprises triploid cultivars with more genetic inheritance from M. acuminata than M. balbisiana. A character score of around 35 is expected for members of this group. Within groups, cultivars may be divided into subgroups and then given a cultivar name, e.g. Musa AAA Group (Cavendish Subgroup) 'Robusta'.^[7]

banana is good for helth and nutreans

The banana has an extensive trade history starting with firms such as the Irish Fyffes and the US United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) at the end of the 19th century. For much of the 20th century, bananas and coffee dominated the export economies of Central America. In the 1930s, bananas and coffee made up as much as 75% of the region's exports. As late as 1960, the two crops accounted for 67% of the exports from the region. Though the two were grown in similar regions, they tended not to be distributed together. The United Fruit Company based its business almost entirely on the banana trade, because the coffee trade proved too difficult to control. The term "banana republic" has been applied to most countries in Central America, but from a strict economic perspective only Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama had economies dominated by the banana trade.^{[citation needed]}

The European Union has traditionally imported many of its bananas from former European Caribbean colonies, paying guaranteed prices above global market rates (see Lomé Convention). These arrangements have now been largely withdrawn under pressure from other major trading powers, principally the United States. The withdrawal of these indirect subsidies to Caribbean producers is expected to favour the more efficient banana producers of Central America, in which American companies have an economic interest. In addition, small-scale Caribbean producers are finding it difficult to comply with increasingly strict certification requirements. Some support is being provided to Caribbean countries under the EU's Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM).^[73]

The United States produces few bananas. A mere 14,000 tonnes (14,000 long tons; 15,000 short tons) were grown in Hawaii in 2001.^[74] Bananas were once grown in Florida^{[citation needed]} and southern California.^[75]

In March 2014 it was announced that Fyffes and Chiquita would merge to create the world's largest banana company, worth about $1bn (£597m). The new firm, named ChiquitaFyffes, is expected to sell about 160 million boxes of bananas annually.^[

banana food

Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B₆ and contain moderate amounts of vitamin C, manganese and dietary fiber (right table).^[84]

Although bananas are commonly thought to supply exceptional potassium content,^[85] their actual potassium content is relatively low per typical food serving at only 8% of the Daily Value (right table). A compilation of potassium content in common foods consumed in the United States shows that raw bananas rank 1,611th, supplying 358 mg of potassium per 100 g; some foods with higher potassium content include beans, milk, apricots, carrots, sweet green bell peppersand potatoes.^[86]

Banana ingestion may affect dopamine production in people deficient in the amino acid tyrosine, a dopamine precursor present in bananas.^[87][88] Individuals with a latex allergy may experience a reaction to bananas.^[89]

Ripe bananas were found to contain serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.^[90]

uropean bananas

In regions such as North America and Europe, Musa fruits offered for sale can be divided into "bananas" and "plantains", based on their intended use as food. Thus the banana producer and distributor Chiquita produces publicity material for the American market which says that "a plantain is not a banana". The stated differences are that plantains are more starchy and less sweet; they are eaten cooked rather than raw; they have thicker skin, which may be green, yellow or black; and they can be used at any stage of ripeness.^[34] Linnaeus made the same distinction between plantains and bananas when first naming two "species" of Musa.^[35]Members of the "plantain subgroup" of banana cultivars, most important as food in West Africa and Latin America, correspond to the Chiquita description, having long pointed fruit. They are described by Ploetz et al. as "true" plantains, distinct from other cooking bananas.^[36] The cooking bananas of East Africa belong to a different group, the East African Highland bananas,^[12] so would not qualify as "true" plantains on this definition.

Cavendish bananas are the most common dessert bananas sold

An alternative approach divides bananas into dessert bananas and cooking bananas, with plantains being one of the subgroups of cooking bananas.^[37] Triploid cultivars derived solely from M. acuminata are examples of "dessert bananas", whereas triploid cultivars derived from the hybrid between M. acuminata and M. balbinosa (in particular the plantain subgroup of the AAB Group) are "plantains".^[38][39] Small farmers in Colombia grow a much wider range of cultivars than large commercial plantations. A study of these cultivars showed that they could be placed into at least three groups based on their characteristics: dessert bananas, non-plantain cooking bananas, and plantains, although there were overlaps between dessert and cooking bananas.^[40]

In Southeast Asia – the center of diversity for bananas, both wild and cultivated – the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" does not work, according to Valmayor et al. Many bananas are used both raw and cooked. There are starchy cooking bananas which are smaller than those eaten raw. The range of colors, sizes and shapes is far wider than in those grown or sold in Africa, Europe or the Americas.^[35] Southeast Asian languages do not make the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" that is made in English (and Spanish). Thus both Cavendish cultivars, the classic yellow dessert bananas, and Saba cultivars, used mainly for cooking, are called pisang inMalaysia and Indonesia, kluai in Thailand and chuoi in Vietnam.^[41] Fe'i bananas, grown and eaten in the islands of the Pacific, are derived from entirely different wild species than traditional bananas and plantains. Most Fe'i bananas are cooked, but Karat bananas, which are short and squat with bright red skins, very different from the usual yellow dessert bananas, are eaten raw.^[42]

In summary, in commerce in Europe and the Americas (although not in small-scale cultivation), it is possible to distinguish between "bananas", which are eaten raw, and "plantains", which are cooked. In other regions of the world, particularly India, Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific, there are many more kinds of banana and the two-fold distinction is not useful and not made in local languages. Plantains are one of many kinds of cooking bananas, which are not always distinct from dessert bananas.