HARVEST, PACKING, DISEASES AND FOOD USES OF BANANA

I. BANANA

1.1 The Heritage of banana

Banana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce the commonly eaten fruit. They are native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia and Australia. Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.

The domestication of bananas took place in southeastern Asia. Many species of wild bananas still occur in New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE. This would make the New Guinean highlands the place where bananas were first domesticated. It is likely that other species of wild bananas were later also domesticated elsewhere in southeastern Asia such as the asian fighting banana known for its intense fruit taste and bright orange peels.

Some recent discoveries of banana phytoliths in Cameroon dating to the first millennium BCE have triggered an as yet unresolved debate about the antiquity of banana cultivation in Africa. There is linguistic evidence that bananas were already known in Madagascar around that time. The earliest evidence of banana cultivation in Africa before these recent discoveries dates to no earlier than late 6th century AD. These were possibly spread there by Arab merchants.

The banana is mentioned for the first time in written history in Buddhist texts in 600 BCE. Alexander the Great discovered the taste of the banana in the valleys of India in 327 BCE. The existence of an organized banana plantation could be found in China in 200 CE. In 650, Islamic conquerors brought the banana to Palestine. The word banana is of West African origin, and passed into English via Spanish or Portuguese.

In 15th and 16th century, Portuguese colonists started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil, and western Africa. As late as the Victorian Era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available via merchant trade. Jules Verne references bananas with detailed descriptions so as not to confuse readers in his book Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).

1.2 Taxonomy of Banana

The banana plant, often erroneously referred to as a "tree", is a large herb, with succulent, very juicy stem (properly "pseudostem") which is a cylinder of leaf-petiole sheaths, reaching a height of 20 to 25 ft (6-7.5 m) and arising from a fleshy rhizome or corm. Suckers spring up around the main plant forming a clump or "stool'', the eldest sucker replacing the main plant when it fruits and dies, and this process of succession continues indefinitely. Tender, smooth, oblong or elliptic, fleshy-stalked leaves, numbering 4 or 5 to 15, are arranged spirally. They unfurl, as the plant grows, at the rate of one per week in warm weather, and extend upward and outward, becoming as much as 9 ft (2.75 m) long and 2 ft (60 cm) wide. They may be entirely green, green with maroon splotches, or green on the upperside and red purple beneath. The inflorescence, a transformed growing point, is a terminal spike shooting out from the heart in the tip of the stem. At first, it is a large, long-oval, tapering, purple-clad bud. As it opens, it is seen that the slim, nectar-rich, tubular, toothed, white flowers are clustered in whorled double rows along the floral stalk, each cluster covered by a thick, waxy, hoodlike bract, purple outside, deep-red within.

Normally, the bract will lift from the first hand in 3 to 10 days. If the plant is weak, opening may not occur until 10 or 15 days. Female flowers occupy the lower 5 to 15 rows; above them may be some rows of hermaphrodite or neuter flowers; male flowers are borne in the upper rows. In some types the inflorescence remains erect but generally, shortly after opening, it begins to bend downward. In about one day after the opening of the flower clusters, the male flowers and their bracts are shed, leaving most of the upper stalk naked except at the very tip where there usually remains an unopened bud containing the last-formed of the male flowers. However, there are some mutants such as 'Dwarf Cavendish' with persistent male flowers and bracts which wither and remain, filling the space between the fruits and the terminal bud.

As the young fruits develop from the female flowers, they look like slender green fingers. The bracts are soon shed and the fully grown fruits in each cluster become a "hand" of bananas, and the stalk droops with the weight until the bunch is upside down. The number of "hands" varies with the species and variety.

The fruit (technically a "berry") turns from deep-green to yellow or red, or, in some forms, green-and white-striped, and may range from 2 1/2 to 12 in (6.4-30 cm) in length and 3/4 to 2 in (1.9-5 cm) in width, and from oblong, cylindrical and blunt to pronouncedly 3-angled, somewhat curved and hornlike. The flesh, ivory-white to yellow or salmon-yellow, may be firm, astringent, even gummy with latex, when unripe, turning tender and slippery, or soft and mellow or rather dry and mealy or starchy when ripe. The flavor may be mild and sweet or subacid with a distinct apple tone. Wild types may be nearly filled with black, hard, rounded or angled seeds 1/8 to 5/8 in (3-16 mm) wide and have scant flesh. The common cultivated types are generally seedless with just minute vestiges of ovules visible as brown specks in the slightly hollow or faintly pithy center, especially when the fruit is overripe. Occasionally, cross-pollination by wild types will result in a number of seeds in a normally seedless variety such as 'Gros Michel', but never in the Cavendish type.

1.3 Varieties of Banana

Edible bananas are classified into several main groups and subgroups. The Cavendish subgroup includes several important bananas:

a)      The 'Dwarf Cavendish', Plate III, first known from China and widely cultivated, especially in the Canary Islands, East Africa and South Africa. The plant is from 4 to 7 ft (1.2-2.1 m) tall, with broad leaves on short petioles. It is hardy and wind resistant. The fruit is of medium size, of good quality, but thin-skinned and must be handled and shipped with care. This cultivar is easily recognized because the male bracts and flowers are not shed.

b)      The 'Giant Cavendish', also known as 'Mons Mari, 'Williams', 'Williams Hybrid', or 'Grand Naine', is of uncertain origin, closely resembles the 'Gros Michel', and has replaced the 'Dwarf' in Colombia, Australia, Martinique, in many Hawaiian plantations, and to some extent in Ecuador. It is the commercial banana of Taiwan. The plant reaches 10 to 16 ft (2.7-4.9 m). The pseudostem is splashed with darkbrown, the bunch is long and cylindrical, and the fruits are larger than those of the 'Dwarf' and not as delicate. Male bracts and flowers are shed, leaving a space between the fruits and the terminal bud.

c)      'Pisang masak hijau', or 'Bungulan', the triploid Cavendish clone of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaya, is erroneously called 'Lacatan' in Jamaica where it replaced 'Gros Michel' because of its immunity to Panama disease, though it is subject to Sigatoka (leaf spot). The plant is tall and slender and prone to wind injury. Its fruits ripen unevenly in winter, bruise easily and are inclined to spoil in storage. It is no longer grown commercially in Jamaica and the Windward Islands. The fruits are commonly used as cooking bananas in Jamaican households. Simmonds declares this cultivar is not the true 'Lacatan' of the Philippines. He suggested that 'Pisang masak hijau' may have been the primary source of all the members of the Cavendish group.

d)     'Robusta', very similar to the so-called 'Lacatan', has largely replaced that cultivar in Jamaica and the Windward Islands and the 'Gros Michel' in Central America because it is shorter, thick-stemmed, less subject to wind. It is being grown commercially also in Brazil, eastern Australia, Samoa and Fiji. It is resistant to Panama disease but prone to Sigatoka.

e)      'Valery', also a triploid Cavendish clone, closely resembles 'Robusta' and some believe it may be the same. However, it is being grown as a successor to 'Robusta'. It is already more widely cultivated than 'Lacatan' for export. As compared with other clones in cooking trials, it has low ratings because cooking hardens the flesh and gives it a waxy texture.

The Banana Breeding Research Scheme in Jamaica has developed a number of tetraploid banana clones with superior disease-resistance and some are equal in dessert quality to the so-called 'Lacatan' and 'Valery'.

·         'Bluggoe' (with many other local names) is a cooking banana especially resistant to Panama disease and Sigatoka. It bears a few distinctly separated hands of large, almost straight, starchy fruits, and is of great importance in Burma, Thailand, southern India, East Africa, the Philippines, Samoa, and Grenada.

·         'Ice Cream' banana of Hawaii ('Cenizo' of Central America and the West Indies; 'Krie' of the Philippines), is a relative of 'Bluggoe'. The plant grows to 10 or 15 ft (3-4.5 m), the leaf midrib is light pink, the flower stalk may be several feet long, but the bunch has only 7 to 9 hands. The fruit is 7 to 9 in (17.5 22.8 cm) long, up to 2 1/2 in (6.25 cm) thick, 4-to 5-angled, bluish with a silvery bloom when young, pale yellow when ripe, The flesh is white, sweetish, and is eaten raw or cooked.

·         'Mysore', also known as 'Fillbasket' and 'Poovan', is the most important banana type of India, constituting 70% of the total crop. It is sparingly grown in Malaya, Thailand, Ceylon and Burma. It is thought to have been introduced into Dominice in 1900 but the only place where it is of any importance in the New World is Trinidad where it is cultivated as shade for cacao. The plant is large and vigorous, immune to Panama disease and nearly so to Sigatoka; very hardy and drought tolerant. It bears large, compact bunches of medium sized, plump, thin skinned, attractive, bright yellow fruits of subacid flavor.

Other prominent commercial cultivars are 'Salembale' and 'Rasabale', not suitable for canning because of starchy taste and weak flavor. 'Pachabale' and 'Chandrabale' are important local varieties preferred for canning. K.C. Naik described 34 cultivars as the more important among the many grown in South India.

·         'Silk', 'Silk Fig', or 'Apple' ('Manzana' in Spanish), is the most popular dessert banana of the tropics. It is widely distributed around the tropics and subtropics but never grown on a large scale. The plant is 10 to 12 ft (3-3.6m) tall, only medium in vigor, very resistant to Sigatoka but prone to Panama disease. There are only 6 to 12 hands in the bunch, each with 16 to 18 fruits. The plump bananas are 4 to 6 in (10-15 cm) long, slightly curved; astringent when unripe but pleasantly subacid when fully ripe; and apple scented. If left on the bunch until fully developed, the thin skin splits lengthwise and breaks at the stem end causing the fruit to fall, but it is firm and keeps well on hand in the home.

·         The 'Red', 'Red Spanish', 'Red Cuban', 'Colorado', or'Lal Kela' banana may have originated in India, where it is frequently grown, and it has been introduced into all banana growing regions. The plant is large, takes 18 months from planting to harvest. It is highly resistant to disease. The pseudostem, petiole, midrib and fruit peel are all purplish red, but the latter turns to orange yellow when the fruit is fully ripe. The bunch is compact, may contain over 100 fruits of medium size, with thick peel, and flesh of strong flavor. In the mutant called 'Green Red', the plant is variegated green and red, becomes 28 ft (8.5 m) tall with pseudostem to 18 in (45 cm) thick at the base. The bunch bears 4 to 7 hands, the fruits are thick, 5 to 7 in (12.5 17.5 cm) long. The purplish-red peel changes to orange-yellow and the flesh is firm, cream-colored and of good quality.

·         The 'Fehi' or 'Fe'i' group, of Polynesia, is distinguished by the erect bunches and the purplish-red or reddish-yellow sap of the plants which has been used as ink and for dyeing. The plants may reach 36 ft (10.9 m) and the leaves are 20 to 30 in (50-75 cm) wide. The bunches have about 6 hands of orange or copper-colored, thick skinned fruits which are starchy, sometimes seedy, of good flavor when boiled or roasted. These plants are often grown as ornamentals in Hawaii.

 

II. HARVESTING, HANDLING AND PACKING

2.1 HARVESTING

Banana bunches are harvested with a curved knife when the fruits are fully developed, that is, 75% mature, the angles are becoming less prominent and the fruits on the upper hands are changing to light green; and the flower remnants (styles) are easily rubbed off the tips. Generally, this stage is reached 75 to 80 days after the opening of the first hand. Cutters must leave attached to the bunch about 6 to 9 in (15-18 cm) of stalk to serve as a handle for carrying. With tall cultivars, the pseudostem must be slashed partway through to cause it to bend and harvesters pull on the leaves to bring the bunch within reach. They must work in pairs to hold and remove the bunch without damaging it. In the early 1960's a "banana bender" was invented in Queensland—an 8-ft pole with a steel rod mounted at the top and shaped with a downward pointing upper hook and an upward-pointing lower hook, the first to pull the pseudostem down after nicking and the second to support the bent pseudostem so that the bunch can be cut at a height of about 4 1/2 ft ( 1.35 m).

Formerly, entire bunches were transported to shipping points and exported with considerable loss from inevitable damage. Improved handling methods have greatly reduced bunch injuries. In modern plantations, the bunches are first rested on the padded shoulder of a harvester and then are hung on special racks or on cables operated by pulleys by means of which they can be easily conveyed to roads and by vehicle to nearby packing sheds. Where fields have been located in remote areas lacking adequate highways, transport out has been accomplished by hovercraft flying along riverbeds. In Costa Rica, when rains have prevented truck transport to railway terminals, bananas have been successfully carried in slings suspended from helicopters. Exposure to even moderate light after harvest initiates the ripening process. Therefore the fruits should be protected from light as much as possible until they reach the packing shed.

In India, studies have been made to determine the most feasible disposition of a plant from which a bunch has been harvested. It is normal for it to die and it may be left standing for 3 to 4 months to dehydrate before removal, or the top half may be removed right after harest by means of a tool called a "mattock" (a combined axe and hoe); or the pseudostem may be cut at ground level, split open, and the tender core taken away for culinary purposes. Results indicated that the first two practices have equal effect on production, but the complete felling and removal of the pseudostem lowered the yield of the "follower" significantly. In Jamaica and elsewhere it is considered best to chop and spread as organic matter the felled pseudostem and other plant residue. This returns to the soil 404 lbs N, 101 lbs P and 1, 513 lbs K from an acre of bananas (404 kg, 101 kg and 1,513 kg, respectively, from a hectare). The stump should be covered with hard-packed soil to discourage entrance of pests.

Banana plantations, if managed manually, may survive for 25 years or far longer. The commercial life of a banana "stool" is about 5 or 6 years. From the 4th year on, productivity declines and the field becomes too irregular for mechanical operations. Sanitary regulations require that the old plantings be eradicated. In the past, this has been done by digging out the plants with the mattock, or bringing in cattle to graze on them. In recent years, the old plants and the suckers that arise from the old corms are injected with herbicide until all are thoroughly killed and the field is then cleared. Where bananas or plantains are raised on cleared forest land without sophisticated maintenance practices, they become thoroughly infested with nematodes by the end of the third year and the regrowth of underbrush has begun to take over the field, so it is simply abandoned.

2.2 HANDLING AND PACKING

Banana bunches were formerly padded with leaf trash which absorbed much of the sap and latex from the hervesting operation and the sites of broken off styles, each of which can leak at least 6 drops, especially if bunches are cut early in the morning. In the 1960's, when whole bunches were being exported from the Windward Islands and Jamaica to England, they were wrapped in wadding (paperbacked layers of paper tissue) to absorb the latex, and then encased in plastic sleeves for shipment. Nowadays plastic sleeves left on the bunches help protect them during transport from the field to distant packing sheds and a cushion of banana trash on the floor and against the sides of the truck does much to reduce injury. But the plastic bags increase the problem of staining by the sap/latex which mingles with the condensation inside the bag, becomes more fluid, runs down the inside and stains the peel. When hands are cut off, additional sap/latex mixture oozes from the severed crown. Banana growers and handlers know that this substance oxidizes and makes an indelible dark-brown stain on clothing. It similarly blemishes the fruits. At packing stations, the hands are floated through water tanks to wash it off. (Sodium hydrochlorate is an effective solvent.) Some people maintain that the fruit should remain in the tank for 30 minutes until all oozing of latex ceases. At certain times of the year, up to 5% of the hands may sink to the bottom of the tank, become superficially scarred and no longer exportable. As mentioned earlier, increased potassium in fertilizer mixtures renders the bananas more buoyant and fewer hands sink. In rainy seasons, it may be necessary to apply fungicide on the cut crown surface to avoid rotting, though experiments have shown that some fungicides give an off-flavor to the fruit.

Boxing was experimented with in the late 1920's but abandoned because of various types of spoilage. Modern means of combatting the organisms that cause such problems, as well as better systems of handling and transport, quality control, and good container design, have made carton packing not only feasible but necessary. First, the hands are graded for size and quality and then packed in layers in special ventilated cartons with plastic padding to minimize bruising.

In the past, bananas for export from Fiji to New Zealand were detached individually from the hands and packed tightly in 72-lb (33 kg) wooden boxes, with much bruising of the upper layer and of the fruits in contact with the sides. Reduction of fruit quality was found to offset the economic advantage of filling all the shipping space with fruits. Wooden boxes were abandoned and suppliers were converted to the packing of hands with cushioning material.

2.2.1 CONTROLLED RIPENING AND STORAGE

At times, markets may not be able to absorb all the bananas or plantains ready for harvest. Experiments have been conducted to determine the effect of applying gibberellin, either by spraying or in the form of a lanolin paste, on the stalk just above the first hands, or by injection of a solution, powder or tablet into the stalk. In Israel, gibberellin A₄A₇, applied by any of these methods about 2 months before time of normal ripening, had the effect of delaying ripening from 10 to 19 days. If applied too early, the gibberellin treatment has no effect.

Harvested bananas allowed to ripen naturally at room temperature do not become as sweet and flavorful as those ripened artificially. Post harvest ripening is expedited undesirably if bunches or hands are stored in unventilated polyethylene bags. As a substitute for expensive controlled-temperature storage rooms, researchers in Thailand have found that hands treated with fungicide can be stored or shipped over a period of 4 weeks in polyethylene bags if ethylene absorbing vermiculite blocks (treated with a fresh solution of potassium permanganate) are included in the sack. The permanganate solution will be ineffective if exposed to light and oxygen. The blocks must be encased in small polyethylene bags perforated only on one side to avoid staining the fruits.

Bananas are generally ripened in storage rooms with 90 to 95% relative humidity at the outset, later reduced to 85% by ventilation: and at temperatures ranging from 58° to 75°F (14.4°-23.9°C), with 2 to 3 exposures to ethylene gas at 1: 1000, or 6 hourly applications for 1 to 4 days, depending on the speed of ripening desired. The fruit must be kept cool at 56° 60°F (13.3°-15.6°C) and 80 to 85% relative humidity after removal from storage and during delivery to markets to avoid rapid spoilage. Post-ripening storage at 70°F (21°C) in air containing 10 to 100 ppm ethylene accelerates softening but the fruits will remain clear yellow and attractive with few or no superficial brown specks.

Plantains for processing in the ripe stage or marketing fresh must be stored under conditions that will provide the best quality of finished product. Puerto Rican studies have shown that uniform ripening is achieved in 4 to 5 days by storage at 56° to 72°F (13.3°-22.2°C), 95 to 100% relative humidity, and with a single exposure to ethylene gas. The initial 4% starch content is reduced to 1 to 1.74% and sugars increase by about 2%. The ripe fruit can be held another 6 days at 56°F (13.3°C) and still be acceptable for processing.

The manufacture of products from the green, still starchy, plantain is a major industry in Puerto Rico. If held at room temperature, the fruits begin to ripen 7 days after harvest and become fully ripe at the end of 2 more days. Chemically disinfected fruits stored in polyethylene bags with an ethylene absorbent (Purefil wrapped in porous paper) keep 25 days at room temperature of 85°F (29.44°C), and for 55 days under refrigeration at 55°F (12.78°C). Products of such fruits have been found to be as good as or better than those made from freshly harvested green plantains.

The potential benefits of waxing have been considered by various investigators. While it is true that waxing of pre-disinfected fruits prolongs storage life by 60% at room temperature, 78°-92°F (25.56°-33.33°C), and by 28% at 52° to 55°F (11.11°-12.78°C), there is no advantage in waxing if the fruits can be held in gas storage, a combination of waxing and gassing being no better than gassing alone. In fact, waxing may result in uneven ripening after storage.

In the mid 1960's, fumigation by ethylene dibromide (EDB) against fruit fly infestation was authorized to permit export of Hawaiian bananas to the mainland USA. The treatment accelerated ripening and it could not be applied to 'Dwarf Cavendish' without covering the bunch with opaque or semi-opaque material for at least 2 months prior to harvest. EDB is no longer approved for use on food products for marketing within the United States.

III. PESTS, DISEASES, AND FOOD USES

3.1 PESTS

Wherever bananas and plantains are grown, the metodes are a major problem. In Queensland, bananas are attacked by various nematodes that cause rotting of the corms: spiral nematodes—Scutellonema brachyurum, Helicotylenchus multicinctus and H. nannus; banana root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus coffaea, syn. P. musicola; and the burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis less than 1 mm long, which enters roots and corms, causing red, purple and reddish-black discoloration and providing entry for the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. And also prevalent is the root-knot nematode, Meliodogyne javanica.

Plantains in Puerto Rico are attacked by 22 species of nematodes. The most injurious is the burrowing nematode and it is the cause of the common black headtoppling disease on land where plantains have been cultivated for a long time. Wherever coffee has been grown, Pratylenchus coffaea is the principal nematode, and where plantains have been installed on former sugar cane land, Meliodogyne incognita is dominant. These last two are among the three most troublesome nematodes of Surinam, the third being Helicotylenchus spp., especially H. multicinctus.

Nematicides, properly applied, will protect the crop. Otherwise, the soil must be cleared, plowed and exposed to the sun for a time before planting. Sun destroys nematodes at least in the upper several inches of earth. Some fields may be left fallow for as long as 3 years. Rotating plantains with Pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens) controls most of the most important species of nematodes except Pratylenchus coffaea. All planting material must be disinfected—corms, or parts of corms, or the bases of suckers. There are various means of accomplishing this. In Hawaii, corms are immersed in water at 122°F (50°C) for 15 minutes and soaked for 5 minutes in 1% sodium hypochlorite. In Puerto Rico, nematodes are combatted by immersing plantain corms in a solution of Nemagon for 5 minutes about 24 hours before planting and, when planting, mixing the soil in the hole with granular Dasanit (Fensulfothion) and every 6 months applying Dasanit in a ring around the pseudostem.

In Queensland, corms are immersed in hot water-131°F (55°C)—for 20 minutes or solutions of nonvolatile Nemacur or Mocap. Hot water and Nemacur are equally effective but hot water has less adverse effects on plant vigor. The Australians believe that nematicidal treatment of corms must be preceded by peeling off 3/8 in (1 cm) of the outer layer (usually discolored) even though this diminishes the vigor of the planting material. However, tests with 'Maricongo' plantain corms in Puerto Rico indicate that immersing for 10 minutes in aqueous solutions of Carbofuran, Dasanit, Ethoprop, or Phenamiphos without the time consuming and possibly detrimental peeling reduces the initial nematode populations by about 95 % and all the nematicides except Carbofuran give adequate post-planting control. Carbofuran apparently does not penetrate deeply enough. The Florida spiral nematode is the most damaging nematode in Brazil and Florida, especially during hot, rainy summers. Ethoprop is the only nematicide registered for use on bananas in Florida but it is not effective against this pest. The hot water treatment must be employed.

The black weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, also called banana stalk borer, banana weevil borer, or corm weevil, is the second most destructive pest of bananas and plantains. It attacks the base of the pseudostem and tunnels upward. A jelly like sap oozes from the point of entry. It was formerly controlled by Aldrin, which is now banned. In Surinam it has been combatted by injecting pesticide into the pseudostem, or spraying the pseudostem with Monocrotophos. In Ghana, they dip planting material in a solution of Monocrotophos and apply dust of Dieldrin or Heptachlor around the base of the pseudostem. Puerto Rican tests of several pesticides have shown that Aldicarb 10G, a nematicide insecticide, applied at the base of plantain plants at the rate of 1 to 1 1/2 oz (30-45 g) every 4 months, or 1 oz (30 g) every 6 months, controls both the burrowing nematode and the black weevil. Biological control of black weevil utilizing a weevil predator, Piaesius javanus, has not been successful.

The banana rust thrips, Chaetanophothrips orchidii; syn. C. signipennis, stains the peel, causes it to split and expose the flesh which quickly discolors. The pest is usually partially controlled by the spraying of Dieldrin around the base of the pseudostem to combat the banana weevil borer, because it pupates in the soil. Another measure has been to treat the inside of polyethylene bunch covers with insecticidal dust, especially Diazinon, before slipping them over the bunches. It is recognized that this procedure constitutes a health hazard to the workers. A great improvement is the introduction of polyethylene bags impregnated with 1% of the insecticide Dursban, eliminating the need for dusting. Bunches enclosed in these bags have been found 85.% free of attack by the banana rust thrips. The bags retain their potency for at least a year in storage. Impregnated with 1 to 2% Dursban, they are equal to Diazinon in preventing banana injury by the banana fruit scarring beetle, Colaspis hypochlora, also called coquito. This pest invades the bunches when the fruits are very young. It has been very troublesome in Venezuela, and at times from Guyana to Mexico. The banana scab moth, Nacoleia octasema, infests the inflorescence from emergence to the time half the bracts have lifted. It is a major pest in North Queensland, Malaysia and the southwest Pacific. Control may be by injection or dusting with pesticide, sometimes with lifting or removal of bracts. Corky scab of bananas in southern Queensland is caused by the banana flowers thrips, Thrips florum, especially in hot, dry weather. The infestation is lessened by removal of the terminal male bud which tends to harbor the pest.

Among minor enemies in Queensland is the banana spider mite, Tetranychus lambi which moves from beneath the leaves to the fruits in warm weather and creates dull brown specks which may become so numerous as to completely cover the peel, causing it to dehydrate and crack irregularly. The leaves of the plant will wilt. Bi-weekly sprayings of pesticide get rid of the mites.

The banana silvering thrips, Hercinothrips bicintus, causes silvery patches on the peel and dots them with shiny black specks of excrement. The rind-chewing caterpillar, Barnardiella sciaphila, usually does little damage. Two species of fruit fly—Strumeta tryoni and S. musae —occasionally attack bananas in North Queensland.

3.2 DISEASES

It is appropriate here only to mention the main details of those maladies which are of the greatest concern to banana and plantain growers. Sigatoka, or leaf spot, caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella musicola (of which the conidial stage is Cercospora musae) was first reported in Java in 1902, next in Fiji in 1913 where it was named after the Sigatoka Valley. It appeared in Queensland 10 years later, and in another 10 years made its appearance in the West Indies and soon spread throughout tropical America. The disease was noticed in East and West Tropical Africa in 1939 and 1940. It was discovered in Ghana in 1954 and ravaged a state farm in 1965. It is most prevalent on shallow, poorly drained soil and in areas where there is heavy dew. The first signs on the leaves are small, pale spots which enlarge to 1/2 in (1.25 cm), become dark purplish black and have gray centers. When the entire plant is affected, it appears as though burned, the bunches will be of poor quality and will not mature uniformly. The fruits will be acid, the plant roots small. Control is achieved by spraying with orchard mineral oil, usuall every 3 weeks, a total of 12 applications of 1 1/2 gals per acre (14.84 liters/ha); or by systemic fungicides applied to the soil or by aerial spraying.

A much more virulent malady, Black Sigatoka, or Black Leaf Streak, caused by Mycosphaerella fifiensis var. difformis, attacked bananas in Honduras in 1969 and spread to banana plantations in Guatemala and Belize. It appeared in plantations in Honduras in 1972 where there had not been any need to spray against ordinary Sigatoka. It made headway rapidly through plantain fields in Central America to Mexico and about 10 years later was found in the Uruba region of Colombia. The disease struck Fiji in 1963 and became an epidemic. It began spreading in 1973, largely replacing ordinar Sigatoka. Surveys have revealed this previously unrecognized disease on several other South Pacific islands, in Hawaii, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan. It is spread mostly by wind; kills the leaves and exposes the bunches to the sun. Cultivars which are resistant to Sigatoka have shown no resistance to Black Sigatoka. There are vigorous efforts to control the disease by fungicides or intense oil spraying. But it is not completely controlled even by spraying every 10 to 12 days a total of 40 sprayings. The cost of control with fungicides is 3 to 4 times that of controlling ordinary Sigatoka because of the need for more frequent aerial sprayings. It is very difficult to treat properly on islands where bananas are grown mostly in scattered plantings. In Mexico where plantains are extremely important in the diet, and 65% of the production is on non-irrigated land, control efforts have elevated costs of plantain production by 145 to 168%. In the Sula Valley of Honduras, Black Sigatoka has caused annual losses of 3,000,000 boxes of bananas. The great need is for resistant cultivars of high quality.

Panama Disease or Banana Wilt, which arises from infection by the fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense originates in the soil, travels to the secondary roots, enters the corm only through fresh injuries, passes into the pseudostem; then, beginning with the oldest leaves, turns them yellow first at the base, secondly along the margins, and lastly in the center. The interior leaves turn bronze and droop. The pseudostem turns brown inside. This plague has seriously affected banana production in Central America, Colombia and the Canary Islands. It started spreading in southern Taiwan in 1967 and has become the leading local banana disease. The 'Cavendish' types have been considered highly resistant but they succumb if planted on land previously occupied by 'Gros Michel'. The disease is transmitted by soil, moving agricultural vehicles or other machinery, flowing water, or by wind. It is combatted by flooding the field for 6 months. Or, if it is not too serious, by planting a cover crop. There are reportedly two races: Race #1 affects 'Gros Michel', 'Manzano', 'Sugar' and 'Lady Finger'; Race #2 attacks 'Bluggoe'. Resistant cultivars are the Jamaican 'Lacatan', 'Monte Cristo', and 'Datil'or'Nino'. Resistant plantains are 'Maricongo', 'Enano' end 'Pelipita'.

Moko Disease, or Moko de Guineo, or Marchites bacteriana, is caused by the bacterium, Pseudomonas solanacearum, resulting in internal decay. It has become one of the chief diseases of banana and plantain in the western hemisphere and has seriously reduced production in the leading areas of Colombia. It attacks Heliconia species as well. It is transmitted by insects, machetes and other tools, plant residues, soil, and root contact with the roots of sick plants. There are said to be 4 different types transmitted by different means. Efforts at control include covering the male bud with plastic to prevent insects from visiting its mucilaginous excretion; debudding, disinfecting of cutting tools with formaldehyde in water 1: 3; disinfection of planting material; disposal of infected fruits and plant parts; injection of herbicide into infected plants to hasten dehydration, and also seemingly healthy neighboring plants. If the organism is variant SFR, all adjacent plants within a radius of 16.5 ft (5 m) must be destroyed and the area not replanted for 10 to 12 months, for this variant persists in the soil that long. If it is variant B, the plants within 32.8 ft (10 m) must be injected and the area not replanted for 18 months. In either case, the soil must be kept clear of broad leaved weeds that may serve as hosts. In Colombia, there are 12 species of weeds that serve as hosts or "carriers" but only 4 of these are themselves susceptible to the disease. Crop rotation is sometimes resorted to. The only sure defense is to plant resistant cultivars, such as the 'Pelipita' plantain.

Black-end arises from infection by the fungus Gloeosporium musarum, of which Glomerella cingulata is the perfect form. It causes anthracnose on the plant and attacks the stalk and stalk-end of the fruits forming dark, sunken lesions on the peel, soon penetrating the flesh and developing dark, watery, soft areas. In severe cases, the entire skin turns black and the flesh rots. Very young fruits shrivel and mummify. This fungus is often responsible for the rotting of bananas in storage. Immersing the green fruits in hot water, 131°F (55°C) for 2 minutes before ripening greatly reduces spoilage.

Cigar-tip rot, or Cigar-end disease, Stachylidium ( Verticillium) theobromae begins in the flowers and extends to the tips of the fruits and turns them dark, the peel darkens, the flesh becomes fibrous. One remedy is to cut off withered flowers as soon as the fruits are formed and apply copper fungicides to the cut surfaces.

In Surinam, cucumber mosaic virus attacks plantains especially when cocumber is interplanted in the fields. Also, Chinese cabbage, Cayenne pepper and "bitter greens" (Cestrum latifolium Lam.) are hosts for the disease.

Cordana leaf spot (Cordana musae), causes oval lesions 3 in (7.5 cm) or more in length, brown with a bright-yellow border. There is progressive dying of the leaves beginning with the oldest, as in Sigatoka, with consequent undersized fruits ripening prematurely. It formerly occurred mainly in sheltered, humid regions of Queensland. Now it is seen mostly as an invader of areas affected by Sigatoka, in various geographical locations.

Bunchy top, an aphid-transmitted virus disease of banana, was unknown in Queensland until about 1913 when it was accidentally introduced in suckers brought in from abroad. In the next 10 years it spread swiftly and threatened to wipe out the banana industry. Drastic measures were taken to destroy affected plants and to protect uninvaded plantations. The disease was found in Western Samoa in 1955 and it eliminated the susceptible 'Dwarf Cavendisht' from commercial plantings. A vigorous eradication and quarantine program was undertaken in 1956 and carried on to 1960. Thereafter, strict inspection and control measures continued. Other crops were provided to farmers in heavily infested areas. Leaves formed after infection are narrow, short, with upturned margins and become stiff and brittle; the leafstalks are short and unbending and remain erect, giving a "rosetted" appearance. The leaves of suckers and the 3 youngest leaves of the mother plant show yellowing and waviness of margins, and the youngest leaves will have very narrow, dark-green, usually interrupted ("dot-and dash") lines on the underside.

Because of the seriousness of Panama disease and Bunchy Top in southern Queensland, the prospective banana planter must obtain a permit from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. In the Southern Quarantine Area, any plant showing Bunchy Top, as well as its suckers and all plants within a 15 ft (4.6 m) radius must be killed by injecting herbicide or must be dug out completely and cut into pieces no bigger than 2 in (5 cm) wide. In restricted areas, only the immune 'Lady Finger' may be grown. In the Northern Quarantine Area, no plants may be brought in from another area and all plants within a radius of 120 ft (36.5 m) from a diseased plant must be eradicated.

Swelling and splitting of the corm and the base of the pseudostem is caused by saline irrigation water and by overfertilization during periods of drought which builds up soluble salts in the soil.

3.3 FOOD USES

The ripe banana is utilized in a multitude of ways in the human diet—from simply being peeled and eaten out of-hand to being sliced and served in fruit cups and salads, sandwiches, custards and gelatins; being mashed and incorporated into ice cream, bread, muffins, and cream pies. Ripe bananas are often sliced lengthwise, baked or broiled, and served (perhaps with a garnish of brown sugar or chopped peanuts) as an accompaniment for ham or other meats. Ripe bananas may be thinly sliced and cooked with lemon juice and sugar to make jam or sauce, stirring frequently during 20 or 30 minutes until the mixture jells. Whole, peeled bananas can be spiced by adding them to a mixture of vinegar, sugar, cloves and cinnamon which has boiled long enough to become thick, and then letting them cook for 2 minutes.

In the islands of the South Pacific, unpeeled or peeled, unripe bananas are baked whole on hot stones, or the peeled fruit may be grated or sliced, wrapped, with or without the addition of coconut cream, in banana leaves, and baked in ovens. Ripe bananas are mashed, mixed with coconut cream, scented with Citrus leaves, and served as a thick, fragrant beverage.

Banana pure is important as infant food and can be successfully canned by the addition of ascorbic acid to prevent discoloration. The puree is produced on a commercial scale in factories close to banana fields and packed in plastic-lined #10 cans and 55-gallon metal drums for use in baby foods, cake, pie, ice cream, cheesecake, doughnuts, milk shakes and many other products. It is also used for canning half-and-half with applesauce, and is combined with peanut butter as a spread. Banana nectar is prepared from banana puree in which a cellulose gum stabilizer is added. It is homogenized, pasteurized and canned, with or without enrichment with ascorbic acid.

Sliced ripe bananas, canned in sirup, were introduced to the food trade for commercial use in frozen tarts, pies, gelatins and other products. In 1966, the United Fruit Company built a processing plant at La Lima, Honduras, for producing canned and frozen banana puree and canned banana slices. Because of seasonal gluts and perishability and the tonnages of bananas and plantains that are not suitable for marketing or export because of overripeness or stained peel or other defects, there is tremendous interest in the development of modes of processing and preserving these fruits.

In Polynesia, there is a traditional method of preserving large quantities of bananas for years as emergency fare in case of famine. A pit is dug in the ground and lined with banana and Heliconza leaves. The peeled bananas are wrapped in Heliconza leaves, arranged in layer after layer, then banana leaves are placed on top and soil and rocks heaped over all. The pits remain unopened until the fermented food, called "masi", is needed.

In Costa Rica, ripe bananas from an entire bunch are peeled and boiled slowly for hours to make a thick sirup which is called "honey". Green bananas, boiled in the skin, are very popular in Cuba, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands. In Puerto Rico, the cooked bananas are recooked briefly in a marinating sauce containing black pepper, vinegar, garlic, onions, bay leaves, olive oil and salt and left standing at room temperature for 24 hours before being eaten. Peeled, sliced green bananas are quick-frozen in Puerto Rico for later cooking. If steam treated to facilitate peeling, the enzymes are inactivated only on the surface of the flesh and the interior, when exposed, will turn brown unless sulfited. It is more satisfactory to immerse the whole bananas in water at 200°F (93°C) for 30 minutes which wholly inactivates the enzymes. No sulfite is then needed and no browning occurs.

Much research has been conducted by food technologists at the University of Puerto Rico to determine the best procedures for canning sliced green bananas and plantains to make them readily available for cooking. Enzyme inactivation is necessary and the hot water treatment facilitates the peeling. If peeled raw, green bananas and plantains exude gummy white latex which stains materials. When canning, citric acid in a 2% brine is added, but this method of preservation has not yet met with success because of rapid detinning of the inside of the cans. The problem is not solved by using enamellined cans because the fruit darkens quickly after the cans are opened. Glass jars may prove to be the only suitable containers.

Through experimental work with a view to freezing peeled, blanched, sliced green bananas, it has been found that, with a pulp-to-peel ratio of less than 1:3 the fruits turn gray on exposure to air after processing and this discoloration is believed to be caused by the high iron content (4.28 p/m) of the surface layer of the flesh and its reaction to the tannin normally present in green bananas and plantains. At pulp to peel ratio of 1:0, the tannin level in green bananas is 241.4 mg; at l:3, 151.0 mg, and at 1:5, 112.6 mg, per 100 g. Therefore, it is recommended that for freezing green bananas be harvested at a stage of maturity evidenced by 1:5 pulp-to-peel ratio. Such fruits have a slightly yellowish flesh, higher carotene content, and are free of off-flavors. The slices are cooked by the consumer without thawing.

Completely green plantains are 50% flesh and 50% peel. Plantains for freezing should have a pulp content of at least 60% for maximum quality in the ultimate food product, but a range of 55 to 65% is considered commercially acceptable.

Ripe plantains, held until the skin has turned mostly or wholly black, are commonly peeled, sliced diagonally and fried in olive oil, accompany the main meal daily in the majority of homes in tropical Latin America. In the Dominican Republic, a main dish is made of boiled, mashed ripe plantains mixed with beaten eggs, flour, butter, milk and cloves, and layered in a casserole with ground beef fried with Picalilli and raisins, lastly topped with grated cheese and baked until golden brown. In Guatemala, boiled plantains are usually served with honey.

Green plantains are popular sliced crosswise, fried until partially cooked, pressed into a thickness of 1/2 in (1.25 cm), and fried in deep fat till crisp. The product is called 'tostones" and somewhat resembles French-fried potatoes. Puerto Rican "mofongo" is a ball of fried green plantain mashed with fried pork rind, seasoned with thickened stock, garlic and other condiments. It must be eaten hot before it hardens. "Mofongo" has been successfully frozen in boilable pouches. Slices of nearly ripe plantain (5% starch content) are cooked in sirup and frozen in boilable pouches. Puerto Rican plantains, shipped green to Florida, have been ripened, peeled, quartered, infused with orange juice, frozen and provided to schools for serving as luncheon dessert.

In Ghana, plantains are consumed at 5 different stages of ripeness. Fully ripe plantains are often deep fried or cooked in various dishes. A Ghanian pancake called "fatale" is made of nearly full ripe plantains and fermented whole meal dough of maize, seasoned with onions, ginger, pepper and salt, and fried in palm oil. "Kaklo" is the same mix but thicker and rolled into balls which are deep-fried. Because home preparation is laborious, a commercial dehydrated mix has been developed. In Ghana, green plantains are boiled and eaten in stew or mashed, together with boiled cassava, into a popular plastic product called "fufu" which is eaten with soup. Because of the great surplus of plantains in summer, technologists have developed methods for drying and storing of strips and cubes of plantain for house use in making "fufu" out of season. The cubes can also be ground into plantain flour. Use of infrared, microwave, and extrusion systems has resulted in high-quality finished products. Processing has the added advantage of keeping the peels at factories where they may be converted into useful by-products instead of their adding to the bulk of household garbage.

Banana or plantain flour, or powder, is made domestically by sun-drying slices of unripe fruits and pulverizing. Commercially, it is produced by spray-drying, or drum-drying, the mashed fruits. The flour can be mixed 50-50 with wheat flour for making cupcakes. Two popular Puerto Rican foods are "pasteles" and "alcapurias"; both are pastry stuffed with meat; the first is wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled; the latter is fried. The pastry is made of plantain flour or a mixture of plantain with cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz. ) or cocoyam (tanier), Xanthosoma spp. The plantain cultivars 'Saba', 'Tundoc' and 'Latundan' are very suitable for making flour.

Commercial production and marketing of fried green plantain and banana chips has been increasing in various parts of the world over the past 25 years and these products are commonly found in retail groceries alongside potato chips and other snack foods. 'Carinosa' and 'Bungulan' bananas are favored for chip-making. In Puerto Rico, the plantain cultivars 'Guayamero Alto' and 'Congo Enano' are chosen for this purpose.

Dried bananas, or so-called "banana figs" are peeled firm-ripe bananas split lengthwise, sulphured, and ovendried to a moisture content of 18 to 20%. Wrapped individually in plastic and then packed by the dozen in polyethylene bags, and encased in cartons, they can be stored for a year at room temperature—75.2° to 86°F (24°-30°C) and they are commonly exported. The product can be eaten as a snack or minced and used together with candied lemon peel in fruit cake and other bakery products. In India the 'Dwarf Cavendish' is preferred for drying; in the Philippines, the true 'Lacatan' or the 'Higo'.

Canadian researchers have developed a system of osmotic dehydration for sliced firm ripe bananas and plantains, especially designed for developing countries with plentiful sugar for the solutions required.

Since the early 1960's, Brazil has produced dehydrated banana flakes for local markets and export to the USA and elsewhere in vacuum sealed cans. The flakes are used on cereal, in baked goods, canapes, meat loaf and curries, desserts, sauces, and other products. In Israel, banana flakes have been made by steam blanching 'Dwarf Cavendish' bananas and drum drying to 2.6% moisture. The flakes, packed in vacuum sealed cans, keep for a year at 75.2° to 86°F (24° 30°C). At temperatures to 95°F (35°C), the flakes darken somewhat and tend to stick together. Israel has also introduced a formula for high-protein flakes made of 70% banana and 30% soybean protein and this development has been adopted in Brazil. The flakes are used by Brazilian food manufacturers in ice cream, and as fillings for cakes and other bakery products. South Africa has produced flakes of 2/3 banana and 1/3 maize meal.

In Africa, ripe bananas are made into beer and wine. The Tropical Products Institute in London has established a simple procedure for preparing an acceptable vinegar from fermented banana rejects.

The terminal male bud of the wild banana, M. balbisiana, is marketed in Southeast Asia. It is often boiled whole after soaking an hour in salt water, or with several changes of water to reduce astringency, and eaten as a vegetable. The male bud of cultivated bananas is considered too astringent but it is, nevertheless, sometimes similarly consumed. The flowers may be removed from the bud and prepared separately. They are used in curries in Malaya and eaten with palm oil in West Tropical Africa.

The new shoots of young plants may be cooked as greens. Banana pseudostem core constitutes about 10 to 15% of the whole and contains 1% starch, 0.68% crude fiber and 1% total ash. It is often cooked and eaten as a vegetable in India and is canned with potatoes and tomatoes in a curry sauce. Circular slices about 1/2 in (1.25 cm) thick are treated with citric acid and potassium metabisulphite and candied.

In India, a solution of the ash from burned leaves and pseudostems is used as salt in seasoning vegetable curries. The ash contains roughly (per 100 g): potassium, 255 mg; magnesium, 27 mg; phosphorus, 33 mg; calcium, 6.6 mg; sodium, 51 mg. Dried green plantains, ground fine and roasted, have been used as a substitute for coffee.

Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion*

Banana	Plantain
	Ripe	Green	Dried	Flour (green)	Ripe	Ripe (cooked)	Green	Dried (green)
Calories	65.5-111	108	298	340	110.7-156.3	77	90.5-145.9	359
Moisture	68.6-78.1g	72.4g	19.5-27.7g	11.2-13.5g	52.9-77.6g	79.8g	58.7-74.1g	9.0g
Protein	1.1-1.87g	1.1g	2.8-3.5g	3.8-4.1g	0.8-1.6g	1.3g	1.16-1.47g	3.3g
Fat	.016-0.4g	0.3g	0.8-1.1g	0.9-1.0g	0.1-0.78g	0.10g	0.10-0.12g	1.4g
Carbohydrates	19.33-25.8g	25.3g	69.9g	79.6g	25.50-36.81g	18.1g	23.4-37.61g	83.9g
Fiber	0.33-1.07g	1.0g	2.1-3.0g	3.2-4.5g	0.30-0.42g	0.2g	0.40-0.48g	1.0g
Ash	0.60-1.48g	0.9g	2.1-2.8g	3.1g	0.63-1.40g	0.7g	0.63-0.83g	2.4g
Calcium	3.2-13.8mg	11mg		30-39mg	5.0-14.2mg		10.01-12.2mg	50mg
Phosphorus	16.3-50.4mg	28mg		93-94mg	21.0-51.4mg		32.5-43.2mg	65mg
Iron	0.4-1.50mg	0.9mg		2.6-2.7mg	0.40-0.11mg		0.56-0.87mg	1.1mg
B-Carotene	0.006-0.151mg				0.11-1.32mg		0.06-1.38mg	45mg
Thiamine	0.04-0.54mg				0.04-0.11mg		0.06-0.09mg	0.10mg
Riboflavin	0.05-0.067mg				0.04-0.05mg		0.04-0.05mg	0.16mg
Niacin	0.60-1.05mg				0.48-0.70mg		0.32-0.55mg	1.9mg
Ascorbic Acid	5.60-36.4mg				18-31.2mg		22.2-33.8mg	1mg
Tryptophan	17-19mg				8-15mg		7-10mg	14mg
Methionine	7-10mg				4-8mg		3-8mg
Lysine	58-76mg				34-60mg		37-56mg

*Derived from various analyses made in Cuba, Central America and Africa.

3.4 OTHER USES

Banana leaves are widely used as plates and for lining cooking pits and for wrapping food for cooking or storage. A section of leaf often serves as an eye-shade. In Latin America, it is a common practice during rains to hold a banana leaf by the petiole, upside-down, over one's back as an "umbrella" or "raincoat". The leaves of the 'Fehi' banana are used for thatching, packing, and cigarette wrappers. The pseudostems have been fastened together as rafts.

Split lengthwise, they serve as padding on banana inspection turntables and as cushioning to protect the bunches ("stems") during transport in railway cars and trucks. Seat pads for benches are made of strips of dried banana pseudostems in Ecuador. In West Africa, fiber from the pseudostem is valued for fishing lines. In the Philippines, it is woven into a thin, transparent fabric called "agna" which is the principal material in some regions for women's blouses and men's shirts. It is also used for making handkerchiefs. In Ceylon, it is fashioned into soles for inexpensive shoes and used for floor coverings.

Plantain fiber is said to be superior to that from bananas. In the mid-19th Century, there was quite an active banana fiber industry in Jamaica. Improved processes have made it possible to utilize banana fiber for many purposes such as rope, table mats and handbags. In Kerala, India, a kraft type paper of good strength has been made from crushed, washed and dried banana pseudostems which yield 48 to 51% of unbleached pulp. A good quality paper is made by combining banana fiber with that of the betel nut husk (Areca catechu L.). But Australian investigators hold that the yield of banana fiber is too low for extraction to be economical. Only 1 to 4 oz (28-113 g) can be obtained from 40 to 80 lbs (18-36 kg) of green pseudostems; 132 tons of green pseudostems would yield only 1 ton of paper. Their conclusion is that the pseudostem has much greater value as organic matter chopped and left in the field.

Dried banana peel, because of its 30 to 40% tannin content, is used to blacken leather. The ash from the dried peel of bananas and plantains is rich in potash and used for making soap. That of the burned peel of unripe fruits of certain varieties is used for dyeing.

In the Philippines, the Pinatubo Negritos cut off a banana plant close to the ground, make a hollow in the top of the stump, which then fills with watery sap drunk as an emergency thirst quencher. Central Americans obtain the sap of the red banana in the same manner and take it as an aphrodisiac.

Medicinal Uses: All parts of the banana plant have medicinal applications: the flowers in bronchitis and dysentery and on ulcers; cooked flowers are given to diabetics; the astringent plant sap in cases of hysteria, epilepsy, leprosy, fevers, hemorrhages, acute dysentery and diarrhea, and it is applied on hemorrhoids, insect and other stings and bites; young leaves are placed as poultices on burns and other skin afflictions; the astringent ashes of the unripe peel and of the leaves are taken in dysentery and diarrhea and used for treating malignant ulcers; the roots are administered in digestive disorders, dysentery and other ailments; banana seed mucilage is given in cases of catarrh and diarrhea in India.

Antifungal and antibiotic principles are found in the peel and pulp of fully ripe bananas. The antibiotic acts against Mycobacteria. A fungicide in the peel and pulp of green fruits is active against a fungus disease of tomato plants. Norepinephrine,

dopamine, and serotonin are also present in the ripe peel and pulp. The first two elevate blood pressure; serotonin inhibits gastric secretion and stimulates the smooth muscle of the intestines.

Alleged hallucinogenic effects of the smoke of burning banana peel have been investigated scientifically and have not been confirmed.

Allergic Reaction

There are two forms of banana allergy. One is oral allergy syndrome which causes itching and swelling in the mouth or throat within one hour after ingestion and is related to birch tree and other pollen allergies. The other is related to latex allergies and causes urticaria and potentially serious upper gastrointestinal symptoms.