The Grand Nain banana (also spelled Grande Naine) is a

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

of ''

Musa acuminata ''Musa acuminata'' is a species of banana native to South Asia, Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are from this species, although some are hybrids with ''Mus ...

''. It is one of the most commonly cultivated bananas and a member of the commercial

Cavendish banana Cavendish bananas are the fruits of one of a number of banana cultivars belonging to the Cavendish subgroup of the AAA banana cultivar group. The same term is also used to describe the plants on which the bananas grow. They include commercially ...

cultivar group. It is also known as the Chiquita banana because it is the main product of

Chiquita Brands International Chiquita Brands International Sàrl (), formerly known as Chiquita Brands International Inc. and United Fruit Co., is a Swiss-domiciled American producer and distributor of banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botan ...

Taxonomy

Taxonomically speaking, the Grand Nain is a

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

and belongs to the genus ''

Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province *Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaijan ...

''. Species designations are difficult when considering bananas because nearly all banana cultivars are descendants or hybrids of the ''

'' or ''

Musa balbisiana ''Musa balbisiana'', also known simply as plantain, is a wild-type species of banana. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas, along with ''Musa acuminata''. Description It grows lush leaves in clumps with a more upright habit th ...

'', wild species that have been propagated for agricultural use. The Grand Nain is a

of the

Cavendish Cavendish may refer to: People * The House of Cavendish, a British aristocratic family * Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), British poet, philosopher, and scientist * Cavendish (author) (1831–1899), pen name of Henry Jones, English auth ...

bananas. This group of bananas is distinguished from other groups by their AAA genotype. The AAA

genotype The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...

refers to the fact that this group is a

triploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...

variant of the species ''M. acuminata''. There are 33 chromosomes present in the AAA cultivar and all produce seedless fruits through

parthenocarpy In botany and horticulture, parthenocarpy is the natural or artificially induced production of fruit without fertilisation of ovules, which makes the fruit seedless. Stenospermocarpy may also produce apparently seedless fruit, but the seeds are ac ...

.Randy C. Ploetz. "Banana and plantain—an overview with emphasis on Pacific island cultivars". ''Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry'', Feb. 2007 ver. 1 This fact means that the plants are spread by conventional vegetative methods and lack sexual reproduction. This lack of genetic diversity makes Grand Nains as well as other AAA cultivars vulnerable to diseases and pests.K. P. Martin et al. "RAPD Analysis of a Variant of Banana (Musa Sp.) Cv. Grande Nain and its Propagation Via Shoot Tip Culture". ''In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology – Plant'', March–April 2006 42:188–192 The accepted name of Grand Nain is ''Musa acuminata'' ( AAA Group) 'Grand Nain'. 'Grand Nain' or 'Grand Naine' literally translates from French as "Large Dwarf".

Appearance

The name Grand Nain refers to its relative height compared to other Cavendish cultivars. It is shorter than the Giant Cavendish and taller than the

Dwarf Cavendish The Dwarf Cavendish banana is a widely grown and commercially important Cavendish cultivar. The name "Dwarf Cavendish" is in reference to the height of the pseudostem, not the fruit. Young plants have maroon or purple blotches on their leaves but ...

cultivars. The Grand Nain cannot typically be distinguished from other Cavendish cultivars without growing the plants side by side and comparing the heights. The plant, like other banana plants, is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

"tree" that produces large oblong leaves. The leaves often become torn or tattered at the ends as a result of mechanical stresses such as wind. Being an

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

, the Grand Nain produces large

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s that develop into the edible fruit.

Economic relevance

Bananas are ranked as the fourth-most cultivated crop in the world and constitute a significant portion of many populations' caloric intake. While this includes all cultivars, the Grand Nain has become one of the most popular varieties for commercial plantations. Its characteristic medium height and large fruit yields make it ideal for commercial agriculture. The moderate height allows easy harvesting and some resistance to windthrow (plants breaking due to strong winds). Plantations growing Grand Naines range from the tropical regions of Central America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. In many tropical communities, entire local economies are based upon banana production and exportation. Cavendish-type banana

Because of its importance as a

staple crop A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...

as well as a

cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...

, much botanical research has focused around the Grand Nain. Furthermore, its lack of genetic diversity eliminates unwanted experimental variables, thus increasing the validity of observed results. Of particular interest is banana plant sensitivity to aluminum, which slows growth and causes leaf abnormalities. Researchers found that introducing different species of

mycorrhizal fungi A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...

can increase aluminum toxicity resistance.

Ecological impact

Because bananas are such a large and important crop in many tropical regions, their cultivation has several ecological ramifications, the most obvious of which is the clearing of rainforest. In the past, these ecological impacts as well as accusations of employee abuse plagued large corporations like

Chiquita Chiquita Brands International Sàrl (), formerly known as Chiquita Brands International Inc. and United Fruit Co., is a Swiss-domiciled American producer and distributor of bananas and other produce. The company operates under a number of su ...

, Del Monte, and

Dole Dole may refer to: Places * Dole, Ceredigion, Wales * Dole, Idrija, Slovenia * Dole, Jura, France ** Arrondissement of Dole * Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska * Dole, Ljubušk ...

(the three of which control two-thirds of the banana market). Within the past 10 years though, companies like Chiquita have taken steps to improve public relations by introducing more sustainable agricultural techniques. These include the utilization of kidney weed, which discourages weed growth without adversely affecting banana plants. Chiquita has also established a reserve in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and now recycles many waste materials associated with the industry. These efforts have reduced but not eliminated ecological concerns associated with banana plantations. Issues discussed apply to all banana cultivars commercially farmed of which the Grand Nain constitutes the majority.

References

{{Banana Banana cultivars

Taxonomy

Appearance

Economic relevance

Ecological impact

See also

References