Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement

Bananas, Musa species, are perennial giant herbs belonging to the family Musaceae (Zingiberales: Scitaminae) (Simmonds, 1966; Tomlinson, 1969). Most bananas are cultivated for their fleshy fruits, but some clones are planted for their edible conns or for fiber. Bananas are among the most important f...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Swennen, Rony L., Vuylsteke, D.R.
Formato: Capítulo de libro
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 1991
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101699
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author Swennen, Rony L.
Vuylsteke, D.R.
author_browse Swennen, Rony L.
Vuylsteke, D.R.
author_facet Swennen, Rony L.
Vuylsteke, D.R.
author_sort Swennen, Rony L.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Bananas, Musa species, are perennial giant herbs belonging to the family Musaceae (Zingiberales: Scitaminae) (Simmonds, 1966; Tomlinson, 1969). Most bananas are cultivated for their fleshy fruits, but some clones are planted for their edible conns or for fiber. Bananas are among the most important food crops of the tropical and subtropical world. Some 68 million tons of bananas are produced annually, of which only 7 million tons enter the world market (FAO, 1987). This demonstrates that the crop is far more important as a food crop for local consumption than it is as an export commodity. The banana's center of origin is located in South-East Asia within an area bordered on the west by India and on the east by Samoa, Fiji and other South Pacific islands (Simmonds, 1966, 1976). High variability occurs, especially in India (Howes, 1928; Venkataramani, 1946; Bhaktavatsalu and Sathiamoorthy, 1979), Sri Lanka (Howes, 1928; Chandraratna and Nanayakkara, 1951), Thailand (Silayoi and Chomchalow, 1987; Silayoi, 1989), Viet Nam (Vakili, pers. comm.), fndonesia (Meijer, 1961), the Philippines (Allen, 1965; Valmayor, 1976; Valmayoret aI., 1981; Pascua and Espino, 1987; Pascua, 1989) and Papua New Guinea (Simmonds, 1956, 1966; Argent, 1976; IBPGR, 1984). It is believed that bananas were introduced into Africa by immigrants of Indo-Malayan origin and by Arab traders. There is much speculation on the POIts of entry, but the areas of Zanzibar and Pemba (Tanzania) and Madagascar are the most likely candidates. From there, bananas were taken westward across the continent by African migrations (Simmonds, 1976). During the 16th and 17th centuries, slave traders took the banana to the New World. It is there, in Central and South America, that the export trade of dessert bananas flourishes today.
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spelling CGSpace1016992023-09-25T09:16:55Z Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement Swennen, Rony L. Vuylsteke, D.R. bananas food crops Bananas, Musa species, are perennial giant herbs belonging to the family Musaceae (Zingiberales: Scitaminae) (Simmonds, 1966; Tomlinson, 1969). Most bananas are cultivated for their fleshy fruits, but some clones are planted for their edible conns or for fiber. Bananas are among the most important food crops of the tropical and subtropical world. Some 68 million tons of bananas are produced annually, of which only 7 million tons enter the world market (FAO, 1987). This demonstrates that the crop is far more important as a food crop for local consumption than it is as an export commodity. The banana's center of origin is located in South-East Asia within an area bordered on the west by India and on the east by Samoa, Fiji and other South Pacific islands (Simmonds, 1966, 1976). High variability occurs, especially in India (Howes, 1928; Venkataramani, 1946; Bhaktavatsalu and Sathiamoorthy, 1979), Sri Lanka (Howes, 1928; Chandraratna and Nanayakkara, 1951), Thailand (Silayoi and Chomchalow, 1987; Silayoi, 1989), Viet Nam (Vakili, pers. comm.), fndonesia (Meijer, 1961), the Philippines (Allen, 1965; Valmayor, 1976; Valmayoret aI., 1981; Pascua and Espino, 1987; Pascua, 1989) and Papua New Guinea (Simmonds, 1956, 1966; Argent, 1976; IBPGR, 1984). It is believed that bananas were introduced into Africa by immigrants of Indo-Malayan origin and by Arab traders. There is much speculation on the POIts of entry, but the areas of Zanzibar and Pemba (Tanzania) and Madagascar are the most likely candidates. From there, bananas were taken westward across the continent by African migrations (Simmonds, 1976). During the 16th and 17th centuries, slave traders took the banana to the New World. It is there, in Central and South America, that the export trade of dessert bananas flourishes today. 1991 2019-06-25T17:08:59Z 2019-06-25T17:08:59Z Book Chapter https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101699 en Limited Access Swennen, R. & Vuylsteke, D. (1991). Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement. Crop Genetic Resources, 2, (p. 151-160).
spellingShingle bananas
food crops
Swennen, Rony L.
Vuylsteke, D.R.
Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement
title Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement
title_full Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement
title_fullStr Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement
title_full_unstemmed Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement
title_short Bananas in Africa: diversity, uses and prospects for improvement
title_sort bananas in africa diversity uses and prospects for improvement
topic bananas
food crops
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101699
work_keys_str_mv AT swennenronyl bananasinafricadiversityusesandprospectsforimprovement
AT vuylstekedr bananasinafricadiversityusesandprospectsforimprovement