No Monkey Business: The economic fuel in banana cultivation for Naga farmers

EMN
Dimapur, June 24

The humble banana remains a favorite fruit. The economic potential it has in rejuvenating and adding to income-generation of the local farming Naga population is immense. This point of contention, about why the tropical fruit can be a feasible economic area for farmers, was highlighted during a recent inauguration of a center for banana cultivation.
The Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) of Dimapur inaugurated the “Banana Farm School” in Zhekishe village in Dimapur on June 23. Khekato Kiba, a progressive banana farmer, was appointed its “farm school teacher” during the event the ATMA informed on Wednesday, June 24.
Resource person HD Singh, of the Indian Council of Agriculture and Research in Jharnapani spoke during the program. He spoke on various topics about cultivation methods and associated matter about bananas. Jahaji (Dwarf Cavendish), Chini Champa, Malbhog, and Borjahaji (Robusta) are some of the varieties of the fruit cultivated in Nagaland.
According to HD Singh, the year-round availability, affordability, range, taste, nutritive and medicinal values make the banana a favorite fruit among all classes of people. Banana is basically a tropical crop and grows well in a temperature range of 15ºC – 35ºC with relative humidity of 75-85%, he said.
‘In India this crop is being cultivated in climate ranging from humid tropical to dry mild subtropics through selection of appropriate varieties. Four months of monsoon (June to September) with an average 650-750 mm. rainfall are most important for vigorous vegetative growth of banana,’ Singh was quoted as having said. The soil for banana plants require good drainage, adequate fertility, and moisture, he added.
The ICAR member also highlighted the economic importance of the fruit: banana powder is used as the first food for babies. Processed products, such as chips, banana puree, jam, jelly, juice, wine and halwa can be made from the fruit. Banana fibre is used to make items like bags, pots and wall hangers. Rope and good quality paper can be prepared from banana waste. Banana leaves are used as healthy and hygienic eating plates.
A pit size of 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 m. is normally required and small pits are dug in case of ridges and furrows. The pits are to be refilled with topsoil mixed with 10 kg of FYM (well decomposed), 250 gm of neem cake and 20 gm of carbofuran. Prepared pits are left open for 15-20 days for solar radiation to kill all the insects, soil borne diseases and for aeration before refilling.
Leguminous crops, beetroot, elephant foot yam, ginger, turmeric and sunnhemp may be grown as an inter-crop during the first 3-4 months. The planted crop gets ready for harvest within 12-15 months of planting and the main harvesting season of banana is from September to April. However, to get maximum yield plantation is done at 1.2 X 1.5 m spacing.
Also, Khekato Kiba, a 52 year old progressive farmer, spoke during the event. The farmer said that he first planted banana saplings of the Amritsar variety, in his farm 6 years ago which was brought from Nagaon district in Assam.
Today, the farmer has over 1.5 hectares of land under banana cultivation and the total yield of bananas and its residues from the entire village comes in metric tonnes.
Since then, the banana farmer has been planting and selling his produce successfully. He is looking forward to expanding his farm.
Today, other villagers too have been motivated by him and have started the same cultivation for income generation. This is a good sign that his knowledge about the fruit is being imparted. However, Kiba said, lack of technical and marketing knowledge from the ‘departments in concern’ continues to be one of the main problems farmers are facing. For instance, the farmers sell the produce to wholesalers and other middlemen from Assam and Dimapur who come to the villages and nearby villages to buy at a minimal price.
During the program, Demalu Hasnusa of Niuland block highlighted the concept of a farm school and the role of a farm school teacher. He encouraged farmers from neighboring villages to expand their unused lands in banana farming and self help groups to take up ‘value addition methods’ in banana cultivation.
Later in the day, tissue culture banana saplings of the Grand Naine variety were distributed to all the participants. Farm tools were distributed to the farm school teacher as well.

Citizens’ Factfile: Going Bananas!
The Smell of Bananas May Suppress Your Appetite
Yes, according to a study performed at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, smelling certain foods when you are hungry can trick you brain into thinking that you’ve actually eaten them. One of those foods is bananas. If that’s not enough to convince you that you can enjoy bananas while losing weight, smell one next time you are hungry.
Today’s Bananas at Risk of Going Extinct? Banana expert Don Keoppel wrote in The Scientist that a new variety of the fungal disease that virtually wiped out the Gros Michel banana is now attacking the Cavendish variety. According to Koeppel, “Banana companies such as Chiquita and Dole are reportedly working to develop new varieties,” but Keoppel says that the real answer is for consumers to demand more variety of bananas. “Most banana researchers agree that the real answer—as has been the case with crops like potatoes, apples, and grapes—is to abandon the monoculture that makes the emergence of a disease so devastating,” wrote Koeppel.
Bananas Provide Relief for GI Distress Feeling a little under the weather? Bananas are great because they’re easy to digest and considered non-irritating for the stomach and upper GI tract. That’s why they’re part of the clinical BRAT diet — bananas, rice, applecause and dry toast — which is a diet plan registered dietitians use when patients have acute diarrhea. Bananas are also one of the first fruits that are introduced to young children when they start eating solid foods.
Bananas Are High in Blood Pressure-Lowering Potassium A medium banana has 422 mg potassium while being sodium-free. The high potassium-to-sodium ratio helps to neutralize the blood-pressure raising effects of sodium in your diet. Various studies show that those who have diets rich in potassium are less likely to have high blood pressure and have reduced risk for stroke. Adults need 4,700 milligrams of potassium a day, so a medium-sized banana provides nearly 10 percent of the daily requirement.
Bananas Can Help You Feel Happy. Serious! How about having a banana to help you feel peachy? A small banana provides 27 mg magnesium, which may help boost mood. Men and women need 420 mg and 320 mg of magnesium per day, respectively. Low levels of this mineral are linked to depression, anxiety, irritability and other mood disorders. Since many of us don’t get enough magnesium in our diets, consider a banana as your chill pill.
Trick to Ripen Bananas Quickly at Home If you are at the store, and all of the ripes bananas are gone, don’t fret. Here is a tip to make them ripen faster. Place the bananas in a paper bag with an uncut and unpeeled apple, pear or tomato. The ethylene gas that those fruits emit accelerates the bananas’ ripening process. Check them daily until they are as ripe as you like them.