| Cavendish | |
|---|---|
 A bunch of Cavendish bananas | |
| Species | Musa acuminata |
| Cultivar group | Cavendish subgroup of theAAA Group |
| Cultivar group members | Seetext |
Cavendish bananas are the fruits of one of a number ofbananacultivars belonging to theCavendish subgroup of theAAA banana cultivar group (triploid cultivars ofMusa acuminata). The same term is also used to describe the plants on which the bananas grow.
They include commercially important cultivars like 'Dwarf Cavendish' (1888) and 'Grand Nain' (the "Chiquita banana"). Since the 1950s, these cultivars have been the most internationally traded bananas.[1] They replaced theGros Michel banana after it was devastated byPanama disease.
They are unable toreproduce sexually, instead being propagated via identicalclones. Due to this, thegenetic diversity of the Cavendish banana is very low. This, combined with the fact the Cavendish is planted in dense chunks in amonoculture without other natural species to serve as a buffer, makes the Cavendish extremely vulnerable todisease,fungal outbreaks, and geneticmutation, possibly leading to eventual commercial extinction.[2][3][4]
Cavendish bananas were named afterWilliam Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. Though they were not the first known banana specimens in Europe, in around 1834 Cavendish received a shipment of bananas (fromMauritius) courtesy of thechaplain ofAlton Towers (then the seat of theEarls of Shrewsbury). His head gardener and friend, SirJoseph Paxton, cultivated them in thegreenhouses ofChatsworth House. The plants were botanically described by Paxton asMusa cavendishii, after the Duke.[5] For his work, Paxton won a medal at the 1835Royal Horticultural Society show.[6]
The Chatsworth bananas were shipped off to various places in thePacific around the 1850s. It is believed that some of them may have ended up in theCanary Islands,[5] though other authors believe that the bananas in the Canary Islands had been there since the fifteenth century and had been introduced by earlyPortuguese explorers who obtained them fromWest Africa and were later responsible for spreading them to theCaribbean.[7] African bananas in turn were introduced fromSoutheast Asia intoMadagascar by earlyAustronesian sailors.[8] In 1888, bananas from the Canary Islands were imported into England byThomas Fyffe. These bananas are now known to belong to theDwarf Cavendish cultivar.[9]
Cavendish bananas entered mass commercial production in 1903 but did not gain prominence until later whenPanama disease attacked the dominantGros Michel ("Big Mike") variety in the 1950s. Because they were successfully grown in the same soils as previously affected Gros Michel plants, many assumed the Cavendish cultivars were more resistant to Panama disease. Contrary to this notion, in mid-2008, reports fromSumatra andMalaysia suggested that Panama disease had started attacking Cavendish cultivars.[10]
After years of attempting to keep it out of the Americas, in mid-2019, Panama disease Tropical Race 4 (TR4), was discovered on banana farms in the coastal Caribbean region. With no fungicide effective against TR4, the Cavendish may meet the same fate as theGros Michel.[11]
Cavendish bananas are a subgroup of thetriploid (AAA) group cultivars ofMusa acuminata.[12]
Cavendish cultivars are distinguished by the height of the plant and features of the fruits,[7][13] and different cultivars may be recognized as distinct by different authorities. The most important clones for fruit production include: 'Dwarf Cavendish', 'Grande Nain', 'Lacatan' (bungulan), 'Poyo', 'Valéry', and 'Williams' under one system of cultivar classification.[7] Another classification includes: 'Double', 'Dwarf Cavendish', 'Extra Dwarf Cavendish', 'Grande Naine', 'Pisang Masak Hijau' (syn 'Lacatan'), and 'Giant Cavendish' as a group of several difficult to distinguish cultivars (including 'Poyo', 'Robusta', 'Valéry', & 'Williams').[13] 'Grande Naine' is the most important clone in international trade, while 'Dwarf Cavendish' is the most widely grown clone.[13] 'Grande Naine' is also known as Chiquita banana.[14]
Cavendish bananas accounted for 47% of global banana production between 1998 and 2000, and the vast majority of bananas entering international trade.[1]
The fruits of the Cavendish bananas are eaten raw, used in baking,fruit salads, and to complement foods. The outer skin is partially green when bananas are sold in food markets, and turns yellow when the fruit ripens. As it ripens, the starch is converted to sugars turning the fruit sweet. When it reaches its final stage (stage 7), brown/black "sugar spots" develop. When overripe, the skin turns black and the flesh becomes mushy.
Bananas ripen naturally or through an induced process. Once picked, they can turn yellow on their own provided that they are fully mature by the time they are being harvested, or can be exposed to ethylene gas[15] to induce ripening. Bananas which are turning yellow emit natural ethylene which is characterized by the emission of sweet scented esters.[16] Most retailers sell bananas in stages 3–6, with stage 5–7 being the most ideal for immediate consumption. ThePLUs used for Cavendish bananas are 4011 (yellow) and 4186 (small yellow). Organic Cavendish bananas are assigned PLU 94011.[17]
Cavendish bananas, accounting for around 99% of banana exports to developed countries, are vulnerable to the fungal disease known asPanama disease. There is a risk of extinction of the variety. Because Cavendish bananas areparthenocarpic (having no seeds and reproducing only throughcloning), their resistance to disease is often low. Development of disease resistance depends on mutations occurring in the propagation units, and henceevolves more slowly than in seed-propagated crops.[18]
The development of resistant varieties has therefore been the only alternative to protect the fruit trees from tropical and subtropical diseases likebacterial wilt andFusarium wilt, commonly known asPanama disease. A replacement for the Cavendish would likely depend ongenetic engineering, which is banned in some countries. Conventionalplant breeding has not yet been able to produce a variety that preserves the flavor and shelf-life of the Cavendish.[19][20] In 2017, James Dale, a biotechnologist at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, produced just such atransgenic banana resistant toTropical Race 4.[21]
In 2023, thePhilippine Space Agency andBureau of Plant Industry utilizedpest control againstFusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense. In 2022, Philippines was second top banana exporter with Cavendish banana as the top variety.[22]
