12 
BULLETIN 55, HAWAII EXPERIMENT STATION 
for a considerable time. That the dried fruit compares favorably 
with other dried fruits is shown in Table 5. 
Table 5. — Average composition of dried bananas and other dried fruits * 
Kind of fruit 
Refuse 
Water 
Protein 
Fat 
Carbo- 
hydrates 
Ash 
Fuel 
value per 
pound 
Per cent 
Per cent 
29.2 
15.4 
18.8 
14.6 
26.1 
29.4 
Per cent 
5.3 
2.1 
4.3 
2.6 
1.6 
4.7 
Per cent 
2.3 
2.8 
.3 
3.3 
2.2 
1.0 
Per cent 
57.9 
78.4 
74.2 
76.1 
68.1 
62.5 
Per cent 
5.3 
1.3 
2.4 
3.4 
2.0 
2.4 
Calories 
1,240 
1 615 
10.0 
Figs 
1,475 
1,605 
1,350 
1,290 
10.0 
i U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 293, p. 14. 
PROPAGATION 
Seedless bananas are propagated by asexual methods, three differ- 
ent parts of the stem being used: (1) Large suckers, 4 to 6 months 
old, having well-developed basal bulbs (pi. 4, B) ; (2) small suckers, 
a few weeks to 2 or 3 months old and 8 to 30 inches high; and (3) 
old stumps of plants that have fruited (pi. 5, A). 
Large suckers, 4 or 5 feet high, are the forms most commonly used 
to propagate the banana in Hawaii. The b'ulbs contain a large 
supply of concentrated food, have tissue ready for root development, 
and have started to take on the characters, of adult foliage. Care 
should be taken, however, to see that the flower cluster has not jet 
begun to form in the trunk. Large suckers should be carefully re- 
moved from the plant after the fully developed bunches of fruit 
have been severed. All fibrous roots should be removed, 'the ex- 
panded leaves cut back to prevent excessive transpiration, and the 
suckers allowed to dry for several days to heal the cut surfaces 
before planting. Some growers place the suckers in heaps 8 to 10 
deep, cover them with trash to protect them from the rays of the sun, 
and allow them to remain for about a month. Large suckers have 
been found to be very satisfactory in local commercial plantings of 
the Cavendish and Brazilian varieties and to produce earlier and 
more desirable bunches of fruit than smaller suckers or heads. In 
some countries the large suckers are cut back to within a few inches 
of the solid corm or bulb, the central or heart bud is cut out, and 
all surface buds are removed, excepting one which then takes its 
strength from the parent bulb. When the heart bulb is not destroyed, 
a new bulb forms on the top of the old one, producing a plant which 
may be the more easily blown over. 
" Peepers," or small suckers less than two or three months old, 
should be handled with great care to guard against bruising, and 
should be allowed to dry for several days prior to planting, as a 
precaution against decay. Small suckers may not prove wholly 
satisfactory, but can be used in time of scarcity of propagating 
material. 
Old banana stumps are sometimes dug up and cut back to heads. 
They may be planted whole or in longitudinal sections, each of which 
should have one good bud (pi. 5, A). After the cut surfaces have 
