Bananas--America's Favorite Fruit
Why They are Healthful, How They Grow, Why They are Endangered
Jul 18, 2009
The banana is America’s favorite fruit and enjoys popularity around the world, so much so that the United Nations has declared it the fourth most important crop in the world. Ninety percent of bananas are grown on small farms in tropical areas and eaten locally, but the lucrative export business is worth 5 trillion dollars a year.
No other fruit can claim the conveniences of bananas. They are harvested while still green and firm, so are easy to ship. Each banana comes with a built in wrapper which keeps it clean and uncontaminated and makes it easy to eat, and you can tell how ripe it is just by looking at it.
Banana Nutrition
The banana's soft, sweet, tasty flesh is rich in vitamins A, C, and B6 and the minerals calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. It is one of the best food sources for potassium, which can help lower blood pressure and provide other benefits to your heart as well. One banana gives you 30% of your daily B6, which aids your immune system and your nervous system.
Bananas can also soothe an acid stomach and may even help prevent ulcers.
A Cloned Plant with Seedless Fruit
Bananas may be familiar to us, but the banana “tree” is a strange being. First of all, it’s not really a tree at all, but a giant, almost palmlike plant more closely related to grass than to maples or pines. What looks like a trunk actually consists of the hard bases of the giant leaves. Secondly, while the giant purplish flower is one of the largest blossoms in the world, it produces no seeds.
The original wild bananas were riddled with hard seeds that made them inedible. Through the course of nature, mutations for seedless fruits came along, and people took notice. Fortunately for us, banana plants produce suckers from the base of the stem, and cuttings from the suckers can be transplanted to propagate the plants.
An Endangered Food
Scientists and farmers alike are worried about the banana’s future. Since they can only be grown from suckers, all bananas of a particular variety are genetically identical clones, making them very vulnerable to pests and diseases. In the 1950s, the most familiar variety was called Gros Michel, which apparently tasted better than today’s Cavendish. But a fungus disease wiped out all the commercial orchards.
Recently another fungus emerged that attacks Cavendish plantations, reducing yields by as much as 70% and drastically shortening the lifespan of the plants. Scientists and plant breeders are scrambling to find resistant varieties so we can continue to enjoy this popular, healthful fruit.
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