v 
HAWAII AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 
HONOLULU, HAWAII 
Under the supervision of the 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 55 
Washington, I). C. 
November, 1926 
BANANA CULTURE IN hawji!(Mt^!J 
By W. T. Pope, Horticulturist 
CONTENTS 
History and distribution 
Nomenclature 
Characters 
Composition and food value. 
Propagation 
Page 
1 
2 
3 
8 
12 
U.S. DEPOSI1QBY 
Cultural requirements — T3" 
Harvesting and shipping 19 
Enemies 21 
Description of varieties 24 
Literature cited 47 
Banana culture in the Hawaiian Islands has received much atten- 
tion since the establishment of the Hawaii Experiment Station in 
1901, and especially since the close of the World War, when interest 
in the crop increased. Banana production now ranks third in im- 
portance of the local agricultural industries, and the fruit surpasses 
all other food crops in yield per acre. The Territory has a dozen 
banana varieties of commercial value, four of which are known to 
export trade, and several others have commercial possibilities. 
This bulletin directs attention to the comparatively easy culture 
of the banana in Hawaii, where large areas can be brought into 
fruit production in a short time. The plant has few enemies such as 
insect pests and diseases and is seldom damaged by the wind, and 
demand for the fruit is growing on the markets of the mainland. 
Local demands for fruit of a higher grade also are increasing. The 
banana is. for these reasons, deserving of greater scientific study 
than it has yet received. 
HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION 
The origin of the banana and the story of its development through 
the centuries is of considerable importance to modern agricultural 
science. The plant is believed to be indigenous to the warm, moist 
regions of southern Asia, and was found in cultivation in vast areas 
in the valley of the Indus as early as 3*27 B. C. by the army of 
Alexander the Great. Bas-reliefs on the monuments of ancient 
Assyria and Egypt indicate its early culture, and recent investiga- 
tions regarding its early history and morphological development 
show that it was one of the first foods of man and also one of the 
earliest plants to be cultivated by him. Eraser (12) 1 states that 
2 Reference is made by number (italic) to Literature cited, p. 17. 
11SG2°— 20 1 1 
