Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 1 Cultivation techniques / edited by Professor Gert H. J. Kema (Wageningen University and Research,The Netherlands) and Professor André Drenth (University of Queensland, Australia)

This volume reviews key recent research on improving banana cultivation. Part 1 reviews current challenges in banana production. Part 2 surveys ways of improving cultivation practice across the value chain, from propagation to harvesting, packaging and ripening. The final part of the book assesses ways of measuring and improving the environmental impact of banana cultivation. Highlights of the book include: the latest research on banana domestication and genetic diversity; new research on the limitations of current good agricultural practices and how areas such as soil health can be improved; and summaries of best practice in neglected but critical areas such as harvesting and ripening operations. Drawing on an international range of expertise, the collection will be a standard reference for the banana research community as well as banana producers. Contents Series list Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1: Banana production and its challenges 1 The origin, domestication and dispersal of bananas • Hugo Volkaert 2 Understanding the banana industry: monoculture and beyond • Dan Koeppel 3 Banana cultivation in Africa • W. K. Tushemereirwe and J. Kubiriba 4 Challenges and opportunities for smallholders in banana value chains • William Tinzaara, Dietmar Stoian, Walter Ocimati, Gloria Otieno and Guy Blomme Part 2: Improving practices across the banana value chain 5 A functional approach to bunch formation in banana • D. W. Turner and D. J. Gibbs 6 Banana plant propagation methods • Sharon D. Hamill 7 Conserving banana germplasm through field genebanks • Mike Smith 8 Good agricultural practices: an end point or a starting point for more sustainable banana production? • Charles Staver 9 Challenges in cultivation of bananas in the subtropics • Víctor Galán Saúco 10 Nutrition and soil management in banana cultivation • Jetse J. Stoorvogel and Rafael A. Segura 11 Harvesting and packaging of bananas • Juan José Aycart 12 Ripening systems for bananas • Frits Popma Part 3: Assessing and improving sustainability 13 Life cycle assessment and carbon footprint of banana cultivation • Louis Bockel, Laure-Sophie Schiettecatte and Orane Debrune 14 Sustainable banana cultivation: from standards to multiple solutions • Sietze Vellema and Kees Jansen 15 Organic banana cultivation and sustainability • Frans Wielemaker Index Bananas are the world's most popular fruit and, according to the FAO, the fourth most important crop in the developing world after rice, wheat and maize. This volume discusses ways of improving cultivation techniques to make production more sustainable. Part 1 reviews current yields, production trends and constraints. Part 2 surveys ways of improving cultivation practice whilst Part 3 discusses harvest and post-harvest operations. The final part of the book assesses ways of measuring and improving the environmental impact of banana cultivation. Drawing on an international range of expertise, this collection focuses on ways of achieving more sustainable cultivation of banana at each step in the value chain, from propagation to post-harvest operations. This comprehensive collection will be a standard reference for the banana research community as well as banana producers. Bananas are the world's most popular fruit and the fourth most important crop in the developing world after rice, wheat and maize. The volume reviews current production around the world and how developments in cultivation practice can be used to improve yields sustainably.