Studies on Indian Bananas

Summary

• 1. Twenty-four varieties of bananas grown in South India, the fruit of which is either used for culinary purpose or both as a vegetable and a fruit, were chosen for the study.

• 2. The plants were studied from the time of planting the sucker in the field upto the time of the harvest of the fruit bunch, and a description embodying certain important characters is given for each variety.

• 3. The experimental data presented clearly indicates that in the classification of bananas it is of paramount importance to take the total effect of all the important characters, namely, the different plant characters such as the stem, leaf and fruit, with accurately drawn illustrations rather than depend on a minor character like the persistent or deciduous nature of the male flowers in the bunches.