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Planting Banana Trees

This is one of the most popular and im-portant tropical fruits. Long-keeping and easilyshipped, it is tasty, very digestible and richin several major minerals and some vitamins.

Banana plants are rapid-growing herbs 5to 25 feet tall. Their stalks or trunks are suc-culent, being actually composed of compressedlayers of leaf sheaths. After bearing once, thestalks die back to the plant's true stem, whichis an underground rhizome. New suckers onwhich further fruit is borne are constantly risingfrom a healthy, productive rhizome. On a plantthat is growing well, a sucker bears within 12to 18 months after its emergence from the soil,but the length of time required to developfruit may vary with soil and climate.

A hole 30 by 36 inches and 18 inches deep should be prepared for planting eitherrhizomes or suckers. Dwarf Cavendish may beplanted eight to ten feet apart; others shouldstand no closer than 12 to 15 feet. Plant thesucker or rhizome a foot deep, and fill the holewith a mixture of topsoil and compost or rottedmanure.

While the plant is young, remove all butone sucker, which should be allowed to bearits fruit and be cut back before another suckeris permitted to grow. Older plants may beallowed to develop one new sucker every threemonths. A plant will grow and bear well forfour to six years, after which it should be dugout, the soil enriched and new suckers orrhizome pieces planted. After its first fruit hasripened, the plant may be allowed to grow threeto five suckers at a time, depending upon itsvigor. All others should be cut out.

Bananas are gross feeders. Because oftheir heavy growth they need plenty of fertilizerand a large amount of moisture. They do bestwhere the rainfall averages 60 to 100 inchesper year. In areas where it is less than that,they will need frequent watering.

A heavy rich mulch should be maintainedunder the plants at all times. This may berotted manure, compost or a mixture of ma-nure and leaves or grass.

Because they contain no viable seeds,bananas must be propagated by separating thesuckers from the parent plants or by makingcuttings of the rhizomes. Suckers two to eightmonths old are used and are moved in Marchor April.

Seven- to ten-pound cuttings of the rhi-zomes are removed, each with two buds, bycutting with a spade or mattock. Rhizome cut-tings can be replanted immediately or held for afew days, exposed to the air, then planted.

Bananas require about 100 days to matureafter the young flower buds appear. Bananaswhich are cut seven to 14 days before ripeningmay be hung in a cool shady place to developtheir flavor and sugar. Their nutritional valuewill be the same as that of tree-ripened fruit.

After the bunches are cut down from theplant, the ends of the stalk are trimmed and the bananas are held at room temper.until thoroughly ripe. Stalks of the plan:cut back and are chopped into small piewhich are added to the mulch around the ra

Varieties: The two main varieties arecommon banana, which is the importedwidely eaten as raw fruit, huge quantities bepicked and shipped green and ripeningyellow only as they reach the consumer; 4the Chinese dwarf banana (M. acuminate,`Dwarf Cavendish') which grows only foulsix feet high and bears many small, very ufruits. Since it is hardier than most variesthis dwarf banana is better suited to culturethis country, and many are grown as frailornamentals in gardens as well as potted indplants. The Gros Michel is the largest ea:variety, with a mild, tender flavor. These shebe cooked if green.

Nutrient Value: Varieties which are uonly for cooking are, in general, richervitamins than those which are eaten raw.one medium-sized banana of the cookvariety, there are 420 units vitamin A;milligrams vitamin B,; .06 milligrams vmin B•; .6 milligrams niacin; 12 milligrsvitamin C; and about 100 calories. Irdessert variety the amounts are approximaas follows: 120 units vitamin A; .03 milligramsvitamin B,; .05 milligrams vitamin B,; .6 m =-grams niacin; 9 milligrams vitamin C; andcalories.

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