Growing bananas
properly speaking, banana culture is annual, since the whole stem is cut down during harvest; but its reproductive cycle is perennial since it grows back from suckers and begins a new cycle

Vocabulary

• plantation = a banana orchard
• a hand = the name given to each group of fruit that develops from female flowers, growing in a row and consisting of 10 to 25 bananas
• a bunch = a complete bunch is made up of numerous hands; it can contain from 200 to 300 bananas and may weigh 30 kg

The true stem of the banana tree is underground and is called a bulb or rhizome; it only just shows on the surface until the flowering time. It is from this apical part of the bulb (the apical meristem) that the leaves emerge, and later, the flowers. Every leaf has a very developed basal section (the boot) which narrows into a sturdy petiole that extends into a central rib from which the leaf blade extends on both sides. The stem of the banana tree, (or "false trunk" since it is not a true trunk) is created by the strong interweaving of the leaf sheaths, which are kept stiff by the presence of long fibres and by the turgor of the tissue.

The new leaves emerge from the tip or apex of the bulb and progress inside the stem or false trunk before appearing in the centre of the leafy crown. When it comes out, the young leaf is rolled up like a cigar and will not begin to unfurl until it is has emerged entirely.

After producing a certain number of leaves (about 30 for cultivated varieties) that are 60 cm wide and about 3 m long, the role of the apical meristem becomes one of flower induction. The stem becomes a flower stalk and begins to grow in the centre of the false trunk with the inflorescence developing at its end, becoming bigger and finally emerging at the top of the plant.

In most varieties with edible fruit, the inflorescence bends towards the ground and the bud or shoot hangs vertically. The shoot is made up of purplish spathes and at the axil of each of these spathes is found a group of flowers arranged in two tight rows. As the bud continues to grow, the spathes rise up and usually fall, producing flowers that bend downward obliquely. The first groups are female flowers, since the female organs (ovary, style and stigma) are proportionally better developed than the male organs (stamen). Then quite abruptly, after producing a certain number of female flowers, the floral stem will bear nothing more than some flowers with reduced ovaries, called male flowers, that degenerate rapidly.

The fruit
While the bud continues to grow, the styles and stigmas of the female flowers dry up while the ovary develops and becomes a fruit or "finger," bending upwards to seek out more light. The bunch begins to take on a definite shape, made up of a certain number of "hands," the name given to each group of fruit produced by the female flowers.

Culture
After the production and harvest of the bunches, the plant does not die; one or more suckers then takes up the challenge and begins a new cycle. The perennial nature of the banana tree is thus ensured by this mode of vegetative reproduction.

Harvest
The banana harvest takes place by cutting down the whole bunch of bananas with a machete before they are fully ripe.