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Old 01-24-2014, 12:46 PM   #13 (permalink)
ez
 
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Default Re: Are Saba fruits very small?

According to this Brief Description of Banana Cultivars Available from the University of Hawaii Seed Program pdf file there are two different fruit size.


Saba #1
Dippig
ABB/BBB



‘ Dipping ’, a type of ‘Saba’, was likely introduced into Hawai’i from the Philippines in 1906 . It is the most important cooking banana in the Philippines with great taste . Immature fruits are waxy green, rapidly ripen to golden - yellow color . Fruits tend to ripen simultaneously in discrete blocks of one or two hands rather than individually . Fruit shape straight, plump, strongly ridged longitudinally, highly angular, squashed together sideways, average 6 inches long X 1 . 5 inches in diameter, with blunt tips . The bunch is composed of straight, closely appressed fruits but is less compact than ‘Saba # 2 Compact’ . The bunch stalk is relatively short.

‘Saba # 1 ’ is quite tall ( 14 - 16 feet), with a very large male flower bud . Its bud bracts do not remain on the rachis as in Cavendish bananas . Filipinos cook the male flowers & buds in salads & stews .





Saba #2
Compact
Opu-’ulu
ABB/BBB



‘Compact’ is another type of ‘Saba’ banana . In some communities, it is known as Opu - ’ulu (“fat belly like a breadfruit”) . It is another Filipino import, very popular in the Philippines . This is a cooking banana, tasty but not as tasty as ‘ Dippig ’ . Ripe fruits are small and chunky, 2 . 5 - 3 inches long . The bunch stalk is relatively short . Note that the bunches are extremely compact, with dozens of small angular bananas tightly grown together . Fruit tips are blunt .

This ‘Saba’ is very tall, 17 to > 20 ft in height . Trunks have a unique green color with yellow washes . Leafstalks are waxy pale green and the male flower bud is large . Flower bracts do not remain on the rachis as in the Cavendish bananas . Filipinos also cook the male flowers & buds as above .

Last edited by ez : 01-24-2014 at 12:57 PM.
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