Cavendish bananas

The Cavendish is the name for the banana cultivar used most commonly in the world banana trade. One of many banana cultivars originating in Vietnam^[1] and China, it became the primary replacement for the Gros Michel banana in the 1950s. Cavendish's descendant, the Dwarf Cavendish Banana, is often grown as a houseplant.

Cavendish bananas range from approximately 15?25 cm in length, and are used in baking, fruit salads, fruit compotes, and to complement foods. The outer skin is partially green when sold in food markets and turns yellow when it ripens. When over-ripe, the skin will turn black and the flesh becomes mushy. Bananas ripen naturally and are at their peak ripeness when the peel is all yellow with a few dark brown specks beginning to appear.

Its accepted name is Musa (AAA group) 'Dwarf Cavendish'. Synonyms include:

1. Musa acuminata L. A. Colla
2. Musa nana J. de Loureiro (name accepted at Mobot)
3. Musa nana auct. non J. de Loureiro
4. Musa chinensis R. Sweet
5. Musa sinensis P. A. Sagot ex J. G. Baker
6. Musa sinensis P. A. Sagot
7. Musa sinensis R. Sweet ex P. A. Sagot

Panama disease

After Panama disease attacked the dominant Gros Michel ("Big Mike") variety in the 1950s, the Cavendish cultivar became the most widely cultivated banana. Because it was successfully grown in the same soils as previously affected Gros Michel plants, many presumed that the Cavendish cultivar was more resistant to Panama disease.

Contrary to this notion, in mid-2008 reports from Sumatra and Malaysia suggest that Cavendish-like cultivars may be vulnerable to Panama disease^[2]. Because cultivated bananas are spread by conventional vegetative reproduction rather than through sexual reproduction, the Cavendish plants are genetically identical and cannot evolve disease resistance. As there is currently no effective pesticide against Panama disease, some have speculated about a future where Cavendish cultivars are not usable for farming. In such a scenario, a separate cultivar may be developed as a replacement (as happened with the Gros Michel).

References

External links

• Battling for Bananas (Panama disease and the Cavendish)
• Can This Fruit Be Saved? (June 2005 Popular Science article)
• Urban Legends Reference Pages: Food (Banana Peal) (Snopes article on banana disease)
• Yes, We Will Have No Bananas (June 2008 New York Times article on Panama Disease potentially affecting the Cavendish banana)

de:Cavendish (Obst)