Banana

banana in Bangladesh
Banana is the number one fruit in Bangladesh considering its year round
availability, popularity and production. It accounts for 41% of the total
fruit production from 21% share in area. The average yield of banana
is 15 t/ha, which is lower compared with that of other countries in the
world. Plantain has a great demand in the urban areas during the lean
period of vegetables from May to October.
Banana is a rich source of calories. It is eaten fresh or sometimes mixed
with rice and milk, which is the traditional dish for Bangladeshis. It
also is used in fish curry, in preparing cakes and other delicious foods.
The green peel is also eaten and has a medicinal value.
Malnutrition is widespread in the country. The average food intake is
deficient in calories, vitamins and minerals. Bananas can improve the
nutritional situation of the country.
CultivarsTable banana

There are a number of banana cultivars in Bangladesh. Among them,
BARI Kola-1, ‘Amritsagar’, ‘Sabri’, ‘Champa’ and ‘Kabri’ are the
commercial cultivars. The other cultivars are ‘Mehersagar’, ‘Dudsagar’,
‘Agniswar’, ‘Genasundari’, ‘Kanaibanshi’, ‘Basrai’, ‘Binisuta’, etc. The
Horticulture Research Centre has 19 cultivars/landraces of table banana
in its collection. There are also different types of seeded cultivars growing
in the homesteads, roadsides and forests all over the country. These
are tall plants, hardy and drought tolerant, which takes a long time to
harvest. Most of these cultivars produce sweet fruits which are used as
baby food, dessert and in cake preparation. Its inflorescence is eaten as
delicious vegetable.
*Director General, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh.

Production systems

Banana production in Bangladesh can be categorized into three systems:
backyard, mixed and commercial smallholder production. Backyard
production of banana is common where the growers produce banana
primarily for home consumption. In this system, crop management is
very poor, but productivity and longevity is high. Bananas are grown
perennially in homestead areas. Practically no fertilizer or pesticides
are applied. In a mixed-crop production system, banana is intercropped
with potato, onion, mustard, radish, spinach, amaranth, bitter gourd,
cabbage, etc. to obtain additional income. In some commercial
smallholder plantations, banana is grown as a monocrop. But most of
the growers are not well aware of the modern production practices.
Status of banana in Bangladesh 43
activities on banana. DAE and NGOs play an important role on
technology dissemination.

• 
• 
• 
• 
•