Bananas

= Bananas on The Island =

Bananas grow in abundance across The Island. The volcanic soils are ideal for growing bananas and combined with the warm temperatues and high rainfall, The Island is ideal for sustainable banana production.

Banana plants mature quickly, yielding their first bunch within 12 months, then one bunch on average every 8-12 months thereafter.

Sustainable banana plantations have been established in six locations on The Island as follows:

Port Plantation (within 2 km of The Port) - total of 25 hectares Plantation A - located at B4 - 90 hectares Plantation B - located at C7 - 124 hectares Plantation C - located at C8 - 12 hectares Plantation D - located at C5 - 356 hectares Plantation E - located at B6 - 486 hectares

The plantations have all used standard planting patterns - all plants are grown in rows 3 metres apart, and spaced evenly every 1.5 metres along the rows.

Yields on The Island are excellent with each bunch weighing an average of 40 kg.

Current export prices for The Island bananas are $994/tonne.

So far The Island is free from any of the diseases that sometimes affect bananas. But there is a concern about the possibility of the recently imported hemp plants spreading the banana aphid. This little insect carries the BBTV or Banana Bunchy Top Virus. If it gets on the Island there are serious ramifications. The aphid life cycle is between 9-21 days, which means that every 20 days (when the aphids go through their winged life stage) a colony could spread.