National Banana Day – is it a fruit or a herb?

THE third Wednesday in April marks National Banana Day in the USA, a day to remember the nutritional benefits of the potassium-packed snack that thrives in sub-tropical conditions – like those found on the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. The South Coast, in particular, is known for its banana plantations. We spoke to Southbroom banana farmer Howard Kelly to find out more.

While bananas are classified as a fruit, Kelly said banana trees are classified as herb trees rather than fruit trees.

“The banana tree itself is actually classified as the biggest herb on the planet. The definition of a herb is a non-woody plant that produces something for human consumption,” he explained.

Kelly’s farm, Riverbank Farm, is part of one of the biggest banana farms in South Africa – Outlook Farm.

“The ideal conditions for growing bananas are an area that is not prone to a lot of wind, fairly flat land and very good quality soil,” he said.

Kelly added that banana trees thrive in humid conditions.

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“It is a subtropical fruit so bananas need fairly high rainfall and a mild winter,” said Kelly.

According to Kelly, a banana farm can grow up to 2 200 banana trees per hectare.

“Trees are planted in 3m-wide rows, and the spacing between trees is 1.5m,” he said.

Bananas, also known as ‘fingers’, grow in groupings known as ‘hands’.

“There are approximately 12 hands on each bunch and approximately 18-22 fingers (bananas) per hand,” explained Kelly.

When it comes to growing bananas, the biggest setback is the snail.

“The main issue farmers face is the snails, which damage the fruit. We get other pests, similar to the pests that attack tomatoes, which create rust, a disfiguration of the fruit that looks like rust. There is also a problem with nematodes, which attack the roots of the tree,” said Kelly.

He added that local farmers are currently facing competition from Mozambican banana farms.

“We would encourage consumers to support local farmers,” he said.

More than 200 varieties of bananas

While bananas originated in the East, they thrive in subtropical conditions across the globe.

“Originally, bananas came from China and were taken to places like the Canary Islands before spreading to the rest of the world – flourishing in areas with subtropical conditions,” said Kelly.

There are many varieties of bananas grown around the world.

“You probably get over 200 varieties worldwide. In South Africa, we really only have three varieties. The old variety, which used to be everywhere, was the Cavendish banana. Later, they started farming a variety called the Williams. Now we all farm with a variety that is tissue cultured – this is farmed in 90% of South African farms,” explained Kelly.

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Tips to keep bananas fresh at home

“Bananas are high in potassium, which is important for health. When in the green phase, bananas are effectively green starch. When they ripen and turn yellow, the starch converts into sugar. If the banana begins to rot, the sugar turns into alcohol,” said Kelly.

Kelly shared a few tips to keep bananas fresh at home.

“If you don’t want all your bananas to ripen at the same time, pull the hand apart into single bananas and store them away from each other. If they are together, they ripen very quickly as they release a ripening gas,” explained Kelly.

This ripening gas can come in handy to ripen avocados.

“You can make an avo ripen quicker if you get two hands of bananas and put an avo in the middle. Then wrap it in newspaper and the avo will ripen within three days,” said Kelly.

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