The Evolution of the Bananas


Book Description

Systematics. Distribution and ecology. Cytogenetics of the wild bananas. The evolution of the wild bananas. Fruit development and edibility. The effects of polyploidy. The classification and breeding behaviour of the edible bananas. The evolution of the edible bananas.




Banana


Book Description

"Award-winning journalist Dan Koeppel navigates across the planet and throughout history, telling the cultural and scientific story of the world's most ubiquitous fruit"--Page 4 of cover.




Banana Wars


Book Description

DIVThe history of banana cultivation and its huge impact on Latin American, history, politics, and culture./div




The Banana


Book Description

The Banana demystifies the banana trade and its path toward globalization. It reviews interregional relationships in the industry and the changing institutional framework governing global trade and assesses the roles of such major players as the European Union and the World Trade Organization. It also analyzes the forces driving today's economy, such as the competitiveness imperative, diversification processes, and niche market strategies. Its final chapter suggests how the outcome of the recent banana war will affect bananas and trade in other commodities sectors as well.




World of Bananas in Hawai'i


Book Description

Winner of the 2012 Ka Palapala Po'okela Award for Excellence in Natural Science The World of Bananas in Hawai'i: Then and Now--unique, comprehensive, colorful, authoritative, readable and with over 1,900 color illustrations--culminates nine years of exhaustive library research coupled with painstaking field and agricultural investigations in Hawai'i and other Pacific islands. It is the first book about bananas in Hawai'i and a major contribution to Hawaiian culture. It is also the first attempt to trace banana/plantain evolution within the Pacific. Truly a "banana bible," it is written in highly accessible prose embracing a broad array of topics. Lavishly illustrated, it covers virtually every edible and inedible banana in Hawai'i, Polynesian introduced and international, including the spectacular ornamentals and fe'i. The World of Bananas reflects a deep respect for Hawaiian oral history and esteemed post-contact literature, reviving long-forgotten traditional foods, chants, crafts, and everyday clothing woven from bananas. As a result of Angela Kepler's 30-year Pacific-wide ecological research, readers will encounter original ideas (e.g., how migrant seabirds likely guided Marquesan seafarers to colonize Hawai'i) and delight in the multihued tapestry of true-to-life banana tales from the nebulous dawn of Hawaiian history to the present (e.g., the rediscovery of legendary banana groves). The authors shed fascinating new light on Hawai'i's little-known "pregnant" banana, mai'a hāpai, and resurrect a long-forgotten minor goddess, Hina-'ea, whose curative mai'a lele banana once healed vitamin A deficiencies in children. Interweaving extensive original research with judicious gleanings from a tiny worldwide network of banana specialists, this book provides new, dependable, and pictorial descriptions for 140 living varieties and 22 kinship groups, illustrated keys separating similar cultivars, hundreds of name synonyms, and information on pesticide-free care and maintenance, nutritional deficiencies, and troubleshooting pests/diseases. The mouth-watering recipe chapter includes savory dishes such as banana mayonnaise and meat-plantain casseroles.




Banana Breeding


Book Description

With the current world population growth of 1.2%, the earth can expect to house 9-10 billion people by 2050. Food production, too, must increase to accommodate these numbers. Easy growing, high calorie, nutritious foods, such as bananas are the top priority as a solution to this imminent problem. The first comprehensive compendium on bananas in rec




Musalogue, a Catalogue of Musa Germplasm


Book Description

This is the second edition of Musalogue to be published by INIBAP. This Musalogue covers most of the diversity in the genus Musa and is intended to be educational in nature. Through this publication, INIBAP aims to inform a wide audience about the vast range of diversity to be found in both cultivated bananas and their wild relatives. The publication is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the wild species, covering the sections Eumusa, Australimusa, Callimusa and Rhodochlamys, while the second part provides information on cultivated varieties (cultivars). A list of the species and main groups and subgroups ofcultivars in the genus Musa is provided on page ix-xi (international classification).




Handbook of Banana Production, Postharvest Science, Processing Technology, and Nutrition


Book Description

A comprehensive guide that covers the banana's full value chain — from production to consumption The banana is the world's fourth major fruit crop. Offering a unique and in-depth overview of the fruit's entire value chain, this important new handbook charts its progression from production through to harvest, postharvest, processing, and consumption. The most up-to-date data and best practices are drawn together to present guidelines on innovative storage, processing, and packaging technologies, while fresh approaches to quality management and the value-added utilization of banana byproducts are also explained. Additionally, the book examines the banana's physiology, nutritional significance, and potential diseases and pests. The book also Edited by noted experts in the field of food science, this essential text: Provides a new examination of the world's fourth major fruit crop Covers the fruit's entire value chain Offers dedicated chapters on bioactive and phytochemical compounds found in bananas and the potential of processing byproducts Gives insight into bananas' antioxidant content and other nutritional properties Identifies and explains present and possible effects of bioactive and phytochemical compounds Handbook of Banana Production, Postharvest Science, Processing Technology, and Nutrition offers the most far-reaching overview of the banana currently available. It will be of great benefit to food industry professionals specializing in fruit processing, packaging, and manufacturing banana-based products. The book is also an excellent resource for those studying or researching food technology, food science, food engineering, food packaging, applied nutrition, biotechnology, and more.




Reinterpreting the Banana Republic


Book Description

In this new analysis of Honduran social and political development, Dar degreeso Euraque explains why Honduras escaped the pattern of revolution and civil wars suffered by its neighbors Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Within this comparative framework, he challenges the traditional Banana Republic 'theory' and its assumption that multinational corporations completely controlled state formation in Central America. Instead, he demonstrates how local society in Honduras's North Coast banana-exporting region influenced national political development. According to Euraque, the reformism of the 1970s, which prevented social and political polarization in the 1980s, originated in the local politics of San Pedro Sula and other cities along the North Coast. Moreover, Euraque shows that by the 1960s, the banana-growing areas had become bastions of liberalism, led by local capitalists and organized workers. This regional political culture directly influenced events at the national level, argues Euraque. Specifically, the military coup of 1972 drew its ideology and civilian leaders from the North Coast, and as a result, the new regime was able to successfully channel popular unrest into state-sponsored reform projects. Based on long-ignored sources in Honduran and American archives and on interviews, the book signals a major reinterpretation of modern Honduran history.




The Banana Girls


Book Description

Two talented high school girls, who are also best friends, have resolved to eat bananas everyday. Together with their devotion to the truth and idealistic spirit, this addiction slowly propels them far into the lands of ideas and action. From reserved science students, they evolve to be steadfast fighters for justice, and ultimately find themselves behind bars, convicted of terrorism related charges. This action packed novel traces that evolution through a wide cast of characters that range from school mates, teachers, family members, street vendors to state officials and businessmen, both national and international. It is a story, based in Africa, of true friendship and the struggle for a decent human existence in the face of powerful adversaries. Though otherwise entirely fictional, it derives from existent and historical realities. Interspersed within its pages, you will find enticing entities from the plant kingdom as well as songs, photos and mathematical ideas relating to bananas. The supplementary material at the end provides an introduction to the factual basis of the story.