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Plants

pome banana

Musa × paradisiaca L.

Family: Musaceae · Genus: Musa

silver banana

Placenta II High Mulch biomass 🪓 Coppices after cutting
Photo by David J. Stang · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

AAB Pome subgroup, tall (5–7 m), bunch 12–18 kg. Slightly tart flavor prized in the Brazilian domestic market. Before Prata-Anã it dominated the southeast and northeast. Occupies the high/emergent stratum in syntropic systems.

📚 Synonyms

Scientific synonyms: Musa AAB 'Pome', Musa AAB 'Prata'

Götsch succession

Götsch stage
Placenta II
Ecological role
Pioneer
Primary stratum
High
Strata
Emergent, High
Biomass class
Mulch biomass

Environment

Light requirement
Full sun
Water requirement
High
Drought tolerance
Moderate
Waterlogging tolerance
None
Soil pH range
5–7
Preferred soil texture
Loamy, Clayey, Sandy
Hardiness zones
9–13
Frost tolerance
0.0 °C

Morphology

Mature height
5–7 m
Recommended spacing
3–4 m
Root system
Fibrous
Root depth
Shallow
Growth rate
Very fast
Lifespan
2–4 years
Time to first harvest
14 months
Productive lifespan
4 years

Biomes & climate

Köppen classes

Where it fits in a guild

Pome banana takes the High stratum in the Placenta II phase of succession — in a guild it shares the line with species from the other strata, each harvesting light at its own height, in its own time.

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Emergent High · ≈7 m Medium Low Ground cover

🪴 Cultivation

Spacing 3×3 m to 4×4 m in intercrop. More tolerant of poor soils than Nanica. Better cold tolerance.

✂️ Management & Pruning

Cut the pseudostem after the bunch is harvested — biomass returns to the soil as mulch. Thin suckers, keeping 1–2 followers per mat to stagger production.

📅 Phenology

Flowering months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Fruiting months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

❓ Frequently asked questions

How long until the first harvest of pome banana?

The first harvest of pome banana comes around 14 months after planting.

What spacing is recommended for pome banana?

The recommended spacing for pome banana is 3–4 m.

How tall does pome banana grow?

At maturity, pome banana reaches 5–7 m tall.

When does pome banana fruit?

Fruiting of pome banana occurs in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

When does pome banana flower?

Flowering of pome banana occurs in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

What stage and stratum does pome banana occupy in a syntropic system?

In a syntropic system, pome banana belongs to the placenta ii stage, occupying the high stratum.

Functions

🌿 Biomass producer 🪴 Nurse plant 🍎 Fruit

Propagation

Division, Runners / suckers, Tissue culture

Citations

  1. Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura — Cultivares de banana (primary_stratum, drought_tolerance, time_to_first_harvest_months)
  2. POWO — Musa × paradisiaca L. (scientific_author, family, genus, external_ids)
  3. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Musa ×paradisiaca L. (2762752) (external_ids)
  4. ITFNet — Banana Agronomy (ph_min, ph_max, waterlogging_tolerance, root_system, root_depth, pruning_notes)
  5. Joshi et al. (2023) — A review on adaptation of banana (Musa spp.) to cold in subtropics, Plant Breeding (frost_tolerance_c, drought_tolerance)

External references

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