Banana: Difference between revisions

The banana may have been present in isolated locations elsewhere in the Middle East on the eve of [[Islam]]. The [[spread of Islam]] was followed by far-reaching diffusion. There are numerous references to it in Islamic texts (such as poems and [[hadith]]s) beginning in the 9th century. By the 10th century, the banana appearsappeared in texts from [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and Egypt. From there it diffused into North Africa and [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Iberia]] during the [[Arab Agricultural Revolution]].<ref name="Watson 1974">{{cite journal |last=Watson |first=Andrew M. |year=1974 |title=The Arab Agricultural Revolution and Its Diffusion, 700–1100 |journal=The Journal of Economic History |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=8–35 |doi=10.1017/S0022050700079602 |jstor=2116954|s2cid=154359726 }}</ref><ref name=Wats83/> An article on banana tree cultivation is included in [[Ibn al-'Awwam]]'s 12th-century agricultural work, ''Kitāb al-Filāḥa'' (''Book on Agriculture'').<ref>{{cite book |last=Ibn al-'Awwam |first=Yahya |author-link=Ibn al-'Awwam |title=Le livre de l'agriculture d'Ibn-al-Awam (kitab-al-felahah) |year=1864 |location=[[Paris]] |publisher=A. Francke Verlag |translator=J.-J. Clement-Mullet |pages=368–370 (ch. 7 - Article 48)|url=https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n14/mode/2up |language=fr |oclc=780050566}} (pp. [https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n472/mode/2up 368]-370 (Article XLVIII)</ref> During the Middle Ages, bananas from [[Granada]] were considered among the best in the Arab world.<ref name=Wats83>{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Andrew |chapter=Part 1. The chronology of diffusion: 8. Banana, plantain |date=1983 |title=Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world |location=New York |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-24711-5}}</ref> Bananas were certainly grown in the Christian [[Kingdom of Cyprus]] by the late medieval period. Writing in 1458, the Italian traveller and writer [[Gabriele Capodilista]] wrote favourably of the extensive farm produce of the estates at Episkopi, near modern-day [[Limassol]], including the region's banana plantations.<ref name=Jenn92>{{cite book |first=Ronald |last=Jennings |title=Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571–1640 |location=New York |publisher=NYU Press |year=1992 |page=189 |isbn=978-0-8147-4181-8}}</ref>

Export bananas are picked green, and ripened in special rooms upon arrival in the destination country. These rooms are air-tight and filled with [[Ethylene as a plant hormone|ethylene gas]] to induce ripening. This mimics the normal production of this gas as a ripening hormone.<ref name=plantphys>{{cite web |title=Fruit Ripening |url=http://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml |access-date=February 17, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721231853/http://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref><ref name=newton/> Ethylene stimulates the formation of [[amylase]], an [[enzyme]] that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste. Ethylene signals the production of [[pectinase]], an [[enzyme]] which breaks down the [[pectin]] between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.<ref name=plantphys/><ref name=newton>{{cite web |title=Ethylene Process |publisher=Argonne National Laboratory |url=http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/bot00/bot00553.htm |access-date=February 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324070541/http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/bot00/bot00553.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 24, 2010}}</ref> The vivid yellow color consumers normally associate with supermarket bananas is caused by ripening around {{convert|18|C|F}}, and does not occur in Cavendish bananas ripened in tropical temperatures (over {{convert|27|C|F}}).<ref name=Ding07>{{cite journal |first1=Phebe |last1=Ding |first2=S.H. |last2=Ahmad |first3=A.R.A. |last3=Razak |first4=N. |last4=Shaari |first5=M.T.M. |last5=Mohamed |date=2007 |title=Plastid ultrastructure, chlorophyll contents, and colour expression during ripening of Cavendish banana (''Musa acuminata'' 'Williams') at 17°C and 27°C |journal=New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=201–210 |url=http://psasir.upm.edu.my/836/1/PFP10.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316001102/http://psasir.upm.edu.my/836/1/PFP10.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |access-date=July 16, 2011 |doi=10.1080/01140670709510186 |bibcode=2007NZJCH..35..201D |s2cid=83844509 }}</ref>

The excessive use of fertilizers contributes greatly to [[eutrophication]] in streams and lakes, harming aquatic life, while expanding banana production has led to deforestation. As soil nutrients are depleted, more forest is cleared for plantations. This causes soil erosion, and increases the frequency of flooding.<ref name="Cohen2009">{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Rebecca |date=2009-06-12 |title=Global issues for breakfast: The banana industry and its problems FAQ (Cohen mix) |url=https://www.scq.ubc.ca/global-issues-for-breakfast-the-banana-industry-and-its-problems-faq-cohen-mix/ |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=SCQ |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605014801/https://www.scq.ubc.ca/global-issues-for-breakfast-the-banana-industry-and-its-problems-faq-cohen-mix/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Sustainability standards and certification|Voluntary sustainability standards]] such as [[Rainforest Alliance]] and [[Fairtrade certification|Fairtrade]] are being used to address some of these issues. BananasBanana production certified in this way grew rapidly at the start of the 21st century to represent 36% of banana exports by 2016.<ref>{{Cite report |last1=Voora |first1=V. |last2=Larrea |first2=C. |last3=Bermudez |first3= S. |year=2020 |title=Global Market Report: Bananas |url=https://www.iisd.org/ssi/commodities/banana-coverage/ |website=State of Sustainability Initiatives}}</ref> However, such standards are applied mainly in countries which focus on the export market, such as Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala; worldwide they cover only 8–10% of production.<ref name="IISD 2023">{{cite web |last1=Voora |first1=Vivek |last2=Bermudez |first2=Steffany |last3=Farrell |first3=Johanna Joy |last4=Larrea |first4=Cristina |last5=Luna |first5=Erika |title=Banana Prices and Sustainability |page=8 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-03/2023-global-market-report-banana.pdf |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |access-date=13 July 2024 |date=March 2023}}</ref>

[[Mutation breeding]] can be used in this crop. [[Aneuploidy]] is a source of significant variation in [[allotriploid]] varieties. For one example, it can be a source of [[Panama_disease#Tropical_Race_4/TR4|TR4 resistance]]. [[Lab protocol]]s have been devised to screen for such aberrations and for possible resulting disease resistances.<ref name="Efficient-Screening-Mutants">{{ Cite book |date=2022 |publication-place=Berlin |first2=Ivan |first1=Joanna |last2=Ingelbrecht |last1=Jankowicz-Cieslak |editor-first1=Joanna |editor-first2=Ivan L. |editor-last1=Jankowicz-Cieslak |editor-last2=Ingelbrecht |title=Efficient Screening Techniques to Identify Mutants with TR4 Resistance in Banana : Protocols |isbn=978-3-662-64914-5 |publisher=Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, [[International Atomic Energy Agency]], United Nations [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-64915-2 |s2cid=249207968 |oclc=1323245754 |page=142}}</ref> [[Crop wild relative|Wild ''Musa'' spp.]] provide useful resistance genetics, and are vital to breeding for TR4 resistance, as shown in [[introgressed]] resistance from wild relatives.<ref name="Current-Update">{{cite journal |issue=1 |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |year=2023 |volume=9 |pages=1–28 |display-authors=3 |last1=Ismaila |first1=Abubakar Abubakar |last2=Ahmad |first2=Khairulmazmi |last3=Siddique |first3=Yasmeen |last4=Wahab |first4=Muhammad Aswad Abdul |last5=Kutawa |first5=Abdulaziz Bashir |last6=Abdullahi |first6=Adamu |last7=Zobir |first7=Syazwan Afif Mohd |last8=Abdu |first8=Arifin |last9=Abdullah |first9=Siti Nor Akmar |id=Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences via KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. – Chinese Society for Horticultural Science and Institute of Vegetables and Flowers |journal=Horticultural Plant Journal |doi=10.1016/j.hpj.2022.02.004 |title=''Fusarium'' wilt of banana: Current update and sustainable disease control using classical and essential oils approaches |s2cid=247265619 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023HorPJ...9....1I }}</ref>

[[Panama disease]] is caused by a ''[[Fusarium]]'' soil [[fungus]], which enters the plants through the roots and travels with water into the trunk and leaves, producing [[gel]]s and gums that cut off the flow of water and nutrients, causing the plant to [[wilting|wilt]], and exposing the rest of the plant to lethal amounts of sunlight. Prior to 1960, almost all commercial banana production centered on the Gros Michel cultivar, which was highly susceptible.<ref name=Bark08>{{cite journal |last=Barker |first=C.L. |title=Conservation: Peeling Away |journal=National Geographic Magazine |date=November 2008}}</ref> Cavendish was chosen as the replacement for Gros Michel because, among resistant cultivars, it produces the highest quality [[fruit]]. It requires more care during shipping,<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Natasha |last=Frost |date=February 28, 2018 |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/gros-michel-bananas |magazine=[[Atlas Obscura]] |title=A Quest for the Gros Michel, the Great Banana of Yesteryear|access-date=July 24, 2019|archive-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724111647/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/gros-michel-bananas |url-status=live}}</ref> and its quality compared to Gros Michel is debatabledebated.<ref name="Lessard">{{Cite book |title=The Complete Book of Bananas |last=Lessard |first=William |year=1992 |publisher=W.O. Lessard |isbn=978-0963316103 |pages=27–28}}</ref>