Bananas are very popular fruits that are loved by many people in the world today. The reasons why people prefer bananas to other fruits are; they are tasty, nutritious, and can be exploited for various purposes.
In groceries, you will see bananas hung in small groups. What you have to know about banana hands is simple. They are a portion of a main bunch.
How Many Bananas in a Bunch?
A bunch can hold up to 200 bananas. The bananas are grouped doubly in row clusters. Every single cluster is called a hand, and usually, it comprises 10-20 bananas. The hands are cut into smaller parts within 4-6 bananas to allow easy packing. Each banana is known as a finger.
The number of bananas in a bunch may vary depending on cultivation. Following the current banana culture, the number of bananas in a bunch also depends on the origin.
The biggest bunch of bananas ever grown consisted of four hundred and seventy-three individual bananas. It was harvested on 11 July 2001 in Spain on the Canary Islands. The bunch weighed one hundred and thirty kilograms.
Anytime you purchase bananas from a grocery store, you actually buy a banana hand and not a bunch. A whole banana bunch is that which you see growing on a tree. A bunch can weigh above one hundred pounds.
In cases where a bunch is with many bananas, a mechanism known as propping is applied. Propping helps in supporting the heavy bunch hence preventing the bananas from falling. Propping also enables the banana plant to stay steady and supply the required nutrients to the bunch.
Bananas fruits are plenty and affordable because they are in bulk and mature within a short time. The overall time taken for a banana to mature is short, and when a bunch produces so many at once, the prices fall.
A banana tree can only produce a bunch in its lifetime, so it can only harvest once. After harvesting, the banana plant can be used as fodder to feed your animals. Meanwhile, the suckers of the banana give rise to young bananas that will grow to replace them.
Why a banana bunch may have few bananas?
You realize there is no exact number of individual bananas in a bunch. The number of bananas produced depends on several factors. The following are the reasons why a bunch may have few bananas;
1). Lack of sufficient water and nutrients in the soils.
Soils that lack the following; potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, and boron lead to premature falling of banana fingers. Only a few fingers that the banana plant can manage to supply with the limited nutrients can develop.
Bananas require an ample and adequate water supply. Water deficit could adversely affect the yields since water is the mode of nutrient transportation. Lack of water can also lead to wilting and thus lowering the quality and quantity of banana fruits.
2). Low temperatures.
Heat and humidity are important factors that affect the production of bananas. A banana bunch will produce more fruits in tropical regions where temperatures and atmospheric humidity are high. Bananas may grow in areas with low temperatures but fail to bear banana fruits. Or, produce only a few fruits in a bunch.
3). Variety of the banana.
Depending on the origin of a banana, the size of an individual banana varies from larger to small. Larger fruits are technically fewer in a bunch compared to smaller fruits. For instance, Cavendish bananas yield few fruits in a bunch because the individual bananas are typically large.
Ladyfinger bananas produce many fruits in a bunch because they are small, hence can be accommodated by the bunch.
4). Soils.
Alluvial and volcanic soils are the most suitable for banana cultivation. Soils should be deep, fertile, well-drained, moisture-retentive, and containing plenty of organic matter.
The range of PH should be between 6.5 and 7.5. Soil without these qualities prevents banana brunch from sowing many fruits.
Amazing facts about bananas.
There are so many fascinating things about bananas that you will not believe. You need to learn and understand these mind-blowing facts that will leave you stranded and questioning.
1). Bananas do not grow on a tree.
The banana plant is not woody. Consequently, it is considered an herb rather than a tree. The banana trunk consists of leaves packed around. They are close and tight.
2). Harvest is only one per year.
A banana herb can produce only one bunch in a year. After harvesting banana fruits, the stem is cut down and fed to animals or used as mulch. Meanwhile, new plants emerge from the suckers and mature after 18 months.
3). Banana plants walk.
Once a banana stool dies, the new plant develops from suckers which are always a distance side way. If this development continues for several years, you will notice that the banana has moved quite a long distance from the point of original growth.
4). Begin by growing downwards than upwards.
When a bunch starts growing, the bananas hang downwards. But as they receive more sunlight, they change direction. Sunlight spurs on their grown hormone which triggers negative geotropism and the fruits turn upwards.
5). Produce their gas.
Bananas generate their natural gas known as ethylene. This gas is produced during the onset of ripening and its main purpose is to quicken ripening.