Most Nutritious Fruit

The Banana is one of the oldest known fruits in history. It is mentioned in mythology that the great Hanuman had an extensive plantation of plantain! The ripe fruits are presented to deities in temples as special offerings from immemorial times.



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It is believed that the home of banana is Assam, Burma, Indo China and other parts of East Asia. Wild varieties are seen in the Western Ghats of the Indian peninsula. The largest number of varieties are found even today in Kerala.

It spread to the West through trade and commerce first by the Arabs who considered banana as a "paradise tree"! early in the 16th century a priest named Father Tomas de Berianga took some chunks of the rhizome to the Americas. He hoped to win over the original inhabitants of the region with this mellow, golden fruit and convert them to Christianity. From the few chunks of rhizome so introduced developed all the thousands of acres of banana plantations which now exists in the tropical regions of the Americas!

The family Musaceae consists of several genera. The plants are all tree-like in form. The stout trunks are encased in the stems of large leaves which rise from the base of the plant. Each plant produces only one fruit. Fully ripe fruits are the most nutritious and most easily digested fruits. It ranks first in the amount of carbohydrates, proteins and calories.





The leading banana produces are Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Brazil and other countires. Most cultivated varieties have lost power of producing seeds. It is the largest plant in existence without a woody stem.

Banana cultivation is extensive in Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka etc. There are about 14 species under cultivation. A great majority belong to Eumusa variety. "Nendran" is the leading commercial variety while "pooven" and "champa" are also equally popular.