Question

Banana crop is cultivated by farmers without sowing of seeds. Explain how the plant is cultivated.

Answer 1

Hint: The characteristics of soil which is required for cultivation are rich, well drained, fertile, and with plenty of organic matter. The range of pH should be between 6 to 8. Edible bananas do not produce viable seeds, so they are propagated with the help of suckers.

Complete answer:
Vegetative propagation is the method used for the cultivation of bananas. This method is asexual in nature. Bananas do not grow from seeds but they grow from a bulb or rhizome. Rhizome has the potential to develop a new banana plant. It takes nearly 9 to 12 months for a dwarf banana plant to reach the stage of harvesting from growing the banana bulb or rhizome whereas it takes about 15 to 18 months to reach the harvesting stage for tall varieties of bananas. Signs of maturity in the banana plant are fruit becomes soft, the angles are completely filled, metallic sound when tapped, and conversion in the colour of the fruit from deep green to light green.

Note: There are some after cares that need to be taken in the cultivation of banana plants. They are named as desuckering, propping and wrapping. Desuckering is the process in which the unwanted suckers that grow near the base of the plant are removed. Propping is the method to support the plants with bamboo in case of high winds. Wrapping is done to improve the quality and taste of the fruit.