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GENERAL INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS

All the facts you need to know about bananas, what varieties, the nutrients, the harvesting process and what
happens to bananas when they are damaged on the farm or in transit to your local shop. This information will be
really useful for school projects or if you just want to know all about bananas.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Dubbed "Nature's Wonder Fruit", bananas provide the major vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate,
beta-carotene and they are the best fruit source of vitamin B6. Bananas naturally are a good source of fibre and
potassium while having no fat or cholesterol.
Why is the banana so popular with young people and athletes? Its because bananas are a quick and easy
source of carbohydrate which is needed to provide energy for the muscles and the brain. Let us explain.
BANANA POWER
Muscle power
What are the best food choices before sport? Food that is high in carbohydrate. These are needed to top up the
natural fuel used by muscles in sport. When a muscle is used it burns glucose that has been released from the
muscle petrol tank called glycogen, which is made from the carbohydrate found in food. If meals are low in
carbohydrate, the muscles get low in glycogen, and you will run out of energy before the end of sport.
Favourite high carbohydrate foods are pasta, bread rolls, steamed rice, mashed potato and fruit. The banana is
the favourite fruit of so many active young people. They are easy to eat, rich in carbohydrate, and they help you
to do your best in sport.
Brain power
To do well in school your brain has to be working well. The fuel your brain uses to think clever thoughts is glucose,
the same fuel that your muscles love to use. The glucose in your blood comes mainly from carbohydrate foods like
pasta, rice, bread, baked beans and bananas. The glucose in blood is used whenever you think or learn
something new. Now you can see why the banana with its carbohydrate, fibre and vitamins can help you to learn
better at school.
Nutrition facts about the banana
The banana is the best fruit source of vitamin
B6 (one medium banana provides about
one third of the daily needs of a primary
school student)
The banana is the ideal fruit for the whole
family because it is easy to eat and easy to
peel. Thats why it is a favourite with
children, athletes, grandparents, gardeners,
office workers and anyone looking for a
nutritious snack.
Bananas have fibre to help keep you regular
and your intestines healthy.
Bananas are a good source of the vitamin
folate, which helps protect the heart and
brain from disease as we get older.
Bananas are a very good source of potassium, helpful in keeping your blood pressure normal.
Bananas are ideal for as an energy source for athletes and ideal for the school lunch box to help active children.
DISPELLING THE MYTHS
Myth 1: The banana contains fat.
Despite its creamy texture a banana contains no fat at all. Being a plant food, the banana contains no cholesterol
either (only animal foods have cholesterol).
Myth 2: The banana is constipating.
A medium banana provides around 2.5 g of fibre, which is one tenth of the needs of an adult and about one sixth
of what a 10 year old needs for good bowel health. Rather than being constipating, the banana is a great help in
keeping you regular.
Myth 3: The banana is fattening.
In fact an average banana contains only 376 kJ or 90 Calories, (weight for weight about the same as cottage
cheese). And because it's so filling, the banana is ideal for morning recess or as an after school energy-boost.

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Banana Nutrition
Nutrient

Per 100g of
edible banana

Recommended Dietary
Intake for 9-13 yr olds

Protein g

1.6

40

Fat g

0.1

N/A

Carbohydrate g

21

N/A

Fibre g

2.8

20-24 g recommended

Water g

75

N/A

Energy

376 kJ
(90 Cals)

7300-10000 kJ
(1745-2390 Cals)

Cholesterol mg

N/A

Sodium mg

AI: 400-800

Potassium mg

350

AI: 2500-3000

Magnesium mg

20

240

Iron mg

0.5

Vitamin A
(Retinol equiv mcg)

13

600

Vitamin B6 mg

0.3

Thiamine mg

0.05

0.9

Riboflavin mg

0.1

0.9

Niacin equiv mg

0.7

12

Pantothenic acid mg

0.33

Folate mcg

20

300

Vitamin C mg

12

40

N/A = not applicable

RDI = Recommended Dietary Intake
AI = Adequate Intake (as an RDI not appropriate for that nutrient)

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BANANA INDUSTRY STATISTICS

SOME BANANA INDUSTRY VITAL STATISTICS

About 12,000 hectares of Australia is currently under bananas.
Most bananas are grown in North Queensland (about 80%), approx. 15% in NSW and the
remainder in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

The most common variety grown is Cavendish.

There are approx. 2,500 growers in Australia, with around 1,000 in Queensland.

Lady Finger bananas grow better in cooler subtropical climates. Of the 977 hectares of
bananas grown in South East Queensland, over half are dedicated to Lady Finger. In NSW, 2/3 of
bananas grown are Lady Finger. There are also some small holdings of new hybrid Goldfinger and
old favourite Ducasse.
The industry provides around 5,000 direct jobs.

Average farm size in NQ is around 14 hectares compared with around 3 hectares in South East
Queensland and Northern NSW. Only a handful of southern plantations are over 30 hectares.

Topography: the plantations of North Queensland are generally on flat to sloping land,
whereas in southern regions, they occupy steep land with a northerly aspect, to get above the
frost line.

Crop cycle times: 12-18 months in the sub tropic plantations and 12 months in the tropics.

The North Queensland industry has expanded rapidly over the past 10-20 years, due to ever
increasing consumption levels. More recently, low world prices for sugar and high banana prices
induced by crop losses due to cyclone activity have seen many sugar cane growers switch over
to banana

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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A BANANA GROWER

Hello, my name's Benny Banana and my banana plantation is in beautiful, Coffs Harbour
Northern NSW Wales.
I wake up pretty early every morning, around 5am, and after I've caught up with the
early morning news and had my breakfast, it's time to start looking after my bananas.
Bananas grow all year round. We're busiest during harvest time which is between April
and October when I have about 4 workers helping me out, otherwise I can get by with
about 2 or 3.
There's always plenty of work to be done on a banana plantation. When we're not
harvesting, we're busy spraying for weeds between the rows, fertilising or tying blue
plastic covers over the bunches to protect the fruit against wind damage.
As the months get warmer, around August/September, we start our replanting. The
selected baby banana plants like the dry, warmer weather and it brings on the fruit
faster. 14 to 18 months later, the bunches are ready for harvesting.
During the harvest season, 2 cutters and a
driver go around the plantation cutting
down the fruit and stacking them on the
ute, taking great care not to bruise the
skins.
We cut the bunches down when they're
full sized but still green as bananas are
one of those rare fruit that continue
ripening once they're picked.
Back at the shed, we hook up the
bunches of bananas. Most of them weigh
well over 40 kilos! That's the weight of an
average bouncy 10 year old boy!
If you look closely you'll notice that bananas grow off the main centre stem in a series of
fans. We call these sections, "hands". Each hand has 10 to 20 "fingers."
In the shed, I have one or two "dehanders" who cut off the hands of bananas. Every stalk
has about 10 hands, or up to 200 bananas. The hands are put on packing wheels which
work like a conveyor belt where they're rinsed in water to wash off any dust or sap.
I have 2 packers who carefully stack the hands of bananas into cartons which each
weigh 13 kilos.
It takes skilful arranging to get as many hands into a box as possible without the fruit
rubbing against each other as they are trucked to the wholesale markets around the
country.
(As a point of interest, at the markets, the fruit is put in special ripening rooms filled with
ethylene gas. This is the same all natural gas given off naturally during ripening of most
fruit and vegetables! It helps speed up the ripening process and makes the bananas turn
golden yellow. )
By 4.30 it's knock-off time. Unless it's Friday and we finish at 1.30. When it's really busy, we
also work Saturdays.

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GROWING BANANAS

Bananas are the world's favourite tropical fruit.

The fruits are rich in fibre, potassium, vitamins A,
B6 and C. But it's also about flavour - and you just
can't beat the taste of a home grown banana.
Bananas have been cultivated for so long that
they have lost the ability to reproduce by seed.
They need gardeners to survive. They are propagated either by division or by tissue culture, and
that means they are all genetically identical
clones. They're not true trees, in fact the stems
are made from layers of tightly-packed leafbases, and each new leaf is forced through the
centre of the stem. At maturity they flower and
the first part of the flower to open is male - thats
called the bell. Then the spirally arranged female
flowers come out and develop into fruit. Anyone
can grow backyard bananas, but bananagrowing in Australia is highly regulated and a
permit is needed to plant or transplant a banana. There's a good reason for this. Banana
plants are susceptible to serious diseases and
plants can only be bought from government
approved, certified disease free sources.
Bananas are best suited to a warm, frost-free,
coastal climate and usually grow well as far
south as Perth and Sydney. They need all day sunshine and moisture. Before planting, thoroughly
loosen the soil. For each plant I've added three buckets of compost, plus a bucket of blended
organic manure and mixed a handful of lime thoroughly into the soil surface. This creates a
slightly raised planting mound to improve drainage around the roots.
If you're planting several bananas, keep them four to five metres apart. Mulch and water them
well. Bananas are hungry plants. Each one will need a bucket of blended organic fertiliser, applied four times a year, and water them regularly, particularly in dry weather.
They're suckering plants. But producing too many suckers will reduce yields. Just go for a leader
and two followers or two strong suckers - and remove the rest.
Performance with bananas is connected to food and maintenance. Remove any dead material
and when a stem has finished fruiting it will die. Cut it out and remove the dead leaves regularly
compost them for the garden.
Bananas often produce large bunches of fruit. Don't let them all ripen together. To avoid gluts try
cutting them off as individual hands, put them in a paper bag, and ripen them indoors.
The fruit bunches are heavy so be careful, and whenever you're working around banana plants,
wear old clothes because the sap will stain permanently.
With some effort and regular attention you can share the pleasure of growing your own bananas. Just remember to get them from government approved sources and don't forget a
permit.

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STAGES OF RIPNESS

Stage 1 - Hard and Green.

This is how bananas are when freshly
picked.

Stage 2 Green with trace of yellow.

The maturing process has begun, however
there is still some time before they are ready
to eat.

Stage 3 More yellow than green

The ripening has begun in earnest and the
fruit is now increasing its natural sugar content, the flesh is changing from the chalky
hardness of under ripe fruit.
Stage 4 - Yellow with Green hint
That familiar creamy texture is developing
now, and as the natural sugar content rises
the fruit is getting ready for eating.
Stage 5 All yellow with green tip on crown.
Ready to eat! The fruit is sweet, creamy and
on the firmer side. Even though it is yummy it
still does not have its complete full sweet
flavour.
Stage 6 All yellow.
At the peak of freshness now, and delicious
to eat. The fruit is also starting to soften as it
ages heading towards its top sugar content.

Stage 7 - Yellow with brown sugar spots.

The sugar content is now at its peak, the
flesh is perfect and has softened for easy
mashing and blending.

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THE HISTORY OF BANANAS

The true origin of Bananas, world's most popular fruit, is found in the region of Malaysia. By way of
curious visitors, bananas travelled from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali
writings dating back to the 6th century BCE. In his campaign in India in 327 BCE, Alexander the
Great relished his first taste of the banana, an usual fruit he saw growing on tall trees. He is even
credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world. According to Chinese historian
Yang Fu, China was tending plantations of bananas in 200 CE. These bananas grew only in the
southern region of China and were considered exotic, rare fruits that never became popular with
the Chinese masses until the 20th century.
Eventually, this tropical fruit reached Madagascar, an island off the south-eastern coast of Africa.
Beginning in 650 CE Islamic warriors travelled into Africa and were actively engaged in the slave
trade. Along with the thriving business in slave trading, the Arabs were successful in trading ivory
along with abundant crops of bananas. Through their numerous travels westward via the slave
trade, bananas eventually reached Guinea, a small area along the West Coast of Africa. By 1402
Portuguese sailors discovered the luscious tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and
populated the Canary lslands with their first banana plantations. Continuing the banana's travels
westward, the rootstocks were packed onto a ship under the charge of Tomas de Berlanga, a Portuguese Franciscan monk who brought them to the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo from the
Canary Islands in the year 1516. It wasn't long before the banana became popular throughout the
Caribbean as well as Central America. Arabian slave traders are credited with giving the banana
its popular name. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast Asia were not the
eight-to-twelve-inch giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were
small, about as long as a man's finger. Ergo the name banan, Arabic for finger. The Spaniards, who
saw a similarity to the plane tree that grows in Spain, gave the plantain its Spanish name, platano.
It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in
their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in
Pennsylvania in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Instructions on how to eat a banana appeared in the Domestic Cyclopaedia of Practical
Information and read as follows: "Bananas are eaten raw, either alone or cut in slices with sugar
and cream, or wine and orange juice. They are also roasted, fried or boiled, and are made into
fritters, preserves, and marmalades."
Note: The banana plant is not a tree. It is actually the world's largest herb!