Cultivar diversification of banana production in Brazil

Abstract

Bananas fruits are widely consumed in the world. In Brazil, the role of agriculture activities in the economy and society is huge, especially for banana farmers. The most popular variety of bananas in Brazil are Prata, Grand Naine, Williams and Nanicão; however, all of them have at least one undesirable trait such as height, yield, vegetative cycle, pests and diseases tolerances, drought or cold resistance and fruit quality. This literature review aims to evaluate agronomic performance and fruit quality of new genotypes of the Prata and Cavendish subgroups, and to make further recommendations on high quality genotypes to Brazilian banana producers. Therefore, a literature review of previously acquired data was conducted and the outcomes indicated genotypes’ adaptability to specific region that assessed vegetative and productive attributes of new cultivars, in comparison to most commercially exploited ones, which have already shown high vulnerability to pests and diseases. These outcomes will then facilitate banana producers the opportunity to select the most stable and adaptable genotypes according to environmental conditions.