Banana 'Dwarf Ducasse' at LCG (photo credit: Graham Bond)
Banana 'Dwarf Ducasse'
Musa acuminata x M. balbisiana
Musaceae family
The Dwarf 'Ducasse' Banana is also known as the Sugar Banana. This small-fruited Banana is a winner on taste and texture - creamy, sweet and fragrant, with a cinnamon/apple kind of flavour. They ripen to a bright yellow when they are at their creamiest.
The fruit is ready to be harvested once the bananas lose their ridges, become more rounded, and when the black withered remains of the flowers at the end of the bananas are dry and crumbly. Choose between harvesting the whole bunch at once, or stagger the harvest over time by cutting hands from the bottom of the bunch. Colour change indicates ripening - the bananas will taste better if left to ripen on the tree, but there will be more risk of being eaten by marauders.
Bananas are high in fibre and potassium and low in fat; they’re also high in vitamins B6 and vitamin C as well as magnesium, manganese and copper.
Tree Maintenance
Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV)
BBTV is the most devastating viral disease of Bananas worldwide, spread by the Banana Aphid. Using a magnifying glass, regularly inspect the back of the banana leaves for darker lines hooking into the ribs. When the disease is more advanced each new leaf becomes shorter, narrower and stands more upright giving a bunched-leaf appearance. Detection of BBTV is required to be notified to the Department of Primary Industries – if unsure, call the Bunchy Top Hotline on 1800 068 371.
Musa acuminata x M. balbisiana
Musaceae family
The Dwarf 'Ducasse' Banana is also known as the Sugar Banana. This small-fruited Banana is a winner on taste and texture - creamy, sweet and fragrant, with a cinnamon/apple kind of flavour. They ripen to a bright yellow when they are at their creamiest.
The fruit is ready to be harvested once the bananas lose their ridges, become more rounded, and when the black withered remains of the flowers at the end of the bananas are dry and crumbly. Choose between harvesting the whole bunch at once, or stagger the harvest over time by cutting hands from the bottom of the bunch. Colour change indicates ripening - the bananas will taste better if left to ripen on the tree, but there will be more risk of being eaten by marauders.
Bananas are high in fibre and potassium and low in fat; they’re also high in vitamins B6 and vitamin C as well as magnesium, manganese and copper.
Tree Maintenance
- After the fruit has been harvested the main stem should be cut down to around 2m high (it will continue to feed the rest of the plant). Once the stem has started to disintegrate, cut it off close to the ground.
- Cull all suckers close to the ground except one to two ‘sword suckers’ to replace the main stem (a ‘sword sucker’ will have narrower leaves than the broad leaf suckers). This means the plant will put energy into fruit production instead of excess leafy suckers, as well as ensuring succession of stems.
- Remove dead and yellowing leaves (a sign of fungus) regularly.
- Banana plants are heavy feeders; use a balanced organic fertiliser, compost or slow release chicken manure every few months during the spring and summer months.
- Bagging the bunches is optional but will help keep the birds and bats off, keep the bananas clean, and will enable quicker ripening.
- Banana plants need lots of water and they should be watered every day during periods of extreme heat or drought.
Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV)
BBTV is the most devastating viral disease of Bananas worldwide, spread by the Banana Aphid. Using a magnifying glass, regularly inspect the back of the banana leaves for darker lines hooking into the ribs. When the disease is more advanced each new leaf becomes shorter, narrower and stands more upright giving a bunched-leaf appearance. Detection of BBTV is required to be notified to the Department of Primary Industries – if unsure, call the Bunchy Top Hotline on 1800 068 371.
Banana 'Dwarf Ducasse' at LCG August 2022 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
