Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 5.1
Banana plant
('Manzano'), baby banana ('Bocadillo' or 'Pisang Mas') and ice cream ('Lady
Finger') types are exported on a smaller scale to niche markets. A full description of
banana and plantains cultivars can be found in Robinson and Galán Saúco (
2010
).
The early history of banana cultivation away from its centre of origin remains
uncertain, but the possible dates and routes for the distribution of
Musa
outside
Asia are discussed in detail by Simmonds (
1962
) and Purseglove (
1968
). An over-
view of the domestication and genomics aspects of bananas can be also found in
Heslop-Harrison and Schwarzacher (
2007
).
Edaphoclimatic Requirements for Production
Soil Requirements
The most important soil factors for banana cultivation are porosity and mechani-
cal impedance, aeration and natural drainage, water-holding capacity, and soil
temperature (Delvaux
1995
), from which drainage is essential for all banana soils
(Simmonds
1966
). The banana plant can be cultivated in different kind of soils
from sandy light to clay soils that may require frequent irrigation or make use of
mulching to the heavier soils where problems derived from lack of aeration and
