Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

Agony, Ecstasy, . . .

Early this year, I had been working with a friend from the Philippines about getting some Philippine native bananas. Around February or March, he told me that he was able to get me several dozen corms of Señorita, Bungulan, Katali, short form Lacatan, and a seeded wild banana from the mountains. We both contacted numerous shippers, both in the US and in the Philippines, and none would accept shipment of the corms because they thought that they were prohibited. This, in spite of his showing a copy of my permit and the USDA regulations. So, in April, my friend decided to plant the corms in his farm while he continued to contact more shippers in Manila. At the same time, he contacted a TC Lab near his farm and contracted to have some of the corms TC’d.

Of the first couple of dozen corms he sent for analysis, 80% had the Bunchy Top Virus, most of which were the Señoritas. So for the next few weeks he had his farm hands go all over his farm (10 hectares or 25 acres) to look for good specimen to bring to the Lab. Unfortunately, his workers did not mark their sources, and he suspected that some of them were removing pups from the same mats, so that they were getting the same percentage of infected materials.

Having finally gotten the ideal number of corms, the TC production went into motion around July. Then in August, he finally found a shipper who requested our documentation for the proposed shipment, and after verifying with the local authorities, agreed to accept our shipment of banana corms. Unfortunately, by this time (mid-August and early September), here are what some of the original corms looked like:
Señorita -

Lacatan –

Williams (for comparison) -

The corms are now too big to ship! So, I'll have to wait for the corms again next year. However, the TC process continues. I was just told that they will be another month or so, because they haven't got enough plants.

I had also sent him a couple of thousand Papaya seeds that he started sowing in May, inter-cropped with bananas. Here is what they looked like in August –

Then in September –

He was so ecstatic with the fast growth and fruiting of the variety. I was ecstatic with the growth of the bananas!

Re: Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

. . . . Then came the worst - Agony in October. Typhoon Ketsana swept through Manila and the immediate surrounding areas, and brought rain in one day that they normally get in a month during the rainy season. My friends farm is next to the biggest lake in the Philippines -



On behalf of my friend, a very special thank you to Harvey and his co-parishoners for remembering my friend and his neighbors with their special intentions during the Masses last Sunday. They could sure use our prayers.

Re: Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

Chong thank your for sharing this story with us. i hope your friend is OK i will pray for a speedy drying up of his farm and for his good health thanks you again Paul

PS the one Musa Margareta is still hanging on its only 4" tall i think its just about the touchiest Banana ever and slow growing!

Re: Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

Very interesting project, but bad luck at the end. I have my fingers crossed for the next year!

Re: Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

When the water recedes will the plants be salvageable, or will he have to start over?

Re: Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

Hearts & thought for a full recovery of Farm & health to your friend & those affected by this flooding!! ~Cheryl

Re: Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

Thanks for sharing all the photos, Chong, I was trying to picture it when we talked and the photos are very dramatic.

Mitchel, Chong told me on the phone last week that it will probably take a month for the water to recede so the plants will be lost. I believe he said some were above water level but I also heard that there were more heavy rains. The CFCA web site I linked on my Nicaragua thread said they got a month's of rain in 12 hours but they've had more since then. Reminds me when our family lost our home to flooding in 1972 just before I turned 15. Looking at a lake over your home and crops is disheartening, to say the least.

We'll continue praying for all of the suffering people in the PI, Chong.

Re: Bananas I was expecting to get this year. . .
 

It all depends on how long before the water finally recedes, and how deep the plants have been submerged. The last word I heard from my friend is that it could take as long as December for the waters to get back to normal level. If the wind directions turns the opposite direction, which according to him, usually occurs towards the end of October, the water will be lowered on his side because the water gets pushed on the opposite side.

As the water is receding, he is already planning to plant new papayas between the bananas, while he's assessing whether the adjacent bananas can be salvaged. That is why I've already ordered another 2000 papaya seeds to help him out. Whatever salvageable bananas he may find may require digging out, airing out the corms, and replanting. So he's got his work cut out for him.