Barney Oatmeal

After having bought some rather strange-acting bananas, I've been reading all that I can find on adulteration of bananas........

Found that some growers are injecting the plants with Oxytocin to increase yield and yield weight.

Are there any other adulterants being commonly used for market-bound bananas?????

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"We Dig Our Fingers In The Ground, Heave And Turn Our World Around" (Tom Waits)

Kat2

A link or 2 would be nice. Personally I wouldn't think the cost of "adulterants" would be recovered; bananas are not a very expensive fruit to purchase. This reminds me of the "Can I plant grocery store potatoes?" discussions. Invariably someone says they won't grow because they've been treated not to sprout Again a low priced and widely available crop for which the cost of preventing propagation would never be recovered thus it isn't done.

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kizanne

http://www.umaine.edu/umext/potatopr...rs-section.pdf

here is one from the university of Maine for potatoes. These kinds of chemicals are sprayed on commercial crops not to stop you from growing your own but to increase their storage life span. Sprouted potatoes won't sell.

Sweet potatoes are also sprayed.

I don't know about banana adulterants but many crops have as many as 50 different chemicals that get used at one time or another from neonics to prevent seed rot, to herbicides to prevent weeds, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, mold and mildew prohibitants, growth regulators. While it improves crop yield and improves the look it is also the reason many people go organic or choose to grow their own. Many times it has nothing to do with cost.

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Plants in flower: double mahoi
Pups successfully removed: double mahoi

Other banana's I own:
orinoco
dwarf red
ice cream (maybe a Namwah)
goldfinger
california gold
raji puri
manzano apple

Kat2

I'm well aware methods/chemicals to inhibit sprouting are available; available doesn't mean common usage. No spuds I've ever purchased failed to sprout (unless they spoiled 1st). The slips for my sweet potato vines came from Aldis and are producing nicely.

ETA: Using chemicals to ensure a crop is quite different than "pumping" up fruits. The former costs are part of doing business; the latter are an enhancement thus expenses need be evaluated.

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Barney Oatmeal

I have also farmed hogs in addition to bananas, so perhaps I'm more in the know on the costs that one of us keeps insisting would be too high.... Oxytocin is cheap - really cheap. How many bananas do you farm there in Jacksonville? I propagated 80 acres near Indiantown.
Also, let's not hijack the thread - my query had nothing to do with sprouting potatoes.

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"We Dig Our Fingers In The Ground, Heave And Turn Our World Around" (Tom Waits)

Kat2

I used potatoes as an example of adding chemicals which are not required to produce a profitable crop; any farmer holds costs down whenever possible or they are soon not farming. I'm just starting bananas here; I've raised livestock and food in other areas without hormones, pesticides or chemical fertilizers because I'm cheap and lazy.

I'd honestly like to see links from your research.

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dana mastro

I say you buy some and use some on your pups just incase it doesn't go well and make your on hypothesis I wouldn't do it to a lot of them just in case something goes wrong but u could be the first on this website to do something like that! it would be cool to see the pics from before and after lets just not get any mutants! gold finger bananas seems to be so genetically modified it mutates on its own sometimes so don't use gold finger cuz that would be cheating

and to actually answer your question no they are not using anything like that in any local supermarket when u have perfect climate so u don't have to regulate it 50 poor workers that get paid dirt constantly pulling bananas and pesticide's being sprayed big corporations don't really care about what they are selling just how cheap they can put it on the shelf's
AND IF THEY DO USE that oxytocin I looked it up its the cheapest thing available so why would they want to spend more money on other adulterants

Abnshrek

This reminds of Peaches, yes peaches since the one's they sell up North like @ Walmart; have to sprayed since they don't mature just rott from the inside out..

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

dana mastro

ok I lied XYLITOL is the cheapest thing but it cant be used properly in soil due to sugar compounds being altered but hell its worth a try

Kat2

I grew wonderful peaches in the DC area (down to zone 6a) that most certainly didn't rot from the inside out though I sprayed nothing. I grew up a mile or so from Peach Orchard Road out in the country--named because, you guessed it, they grew peaches there and had for generations. Again zone 6a. Those old country farmers were just as cheap as me--proper pruning and natural controls gave great yields. Peaches sold in the stores up there were touted as being local 1st then from GA even if a lot of those were from SC. Farmers do not spray without good cause; they cannot afford to do so even if the chemical costs a penny an acre--their time is worth more than that.

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Abnshrek

Michigan has a cold hardy peach that is really good.. :^)

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

Kat2

I wouldn't be at all surprised. And I'll bet they don't have to spray the fruit because the plants are zone proper... Me? I'm looking for gooseberries and currants you can grow in zone 9...ideally outside which is a dream so in pots I need to "fool"...I hate buying a fridge or dedicating a cold room with the A/C running full blast in "winter" (maybe build a walk in?) to put things in to get enough chill hours...if that's even possible...but I do love them both and just might!

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Richard

Where did you read this?

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Kat2

I've asked 2x for links and am again now. Fat chance they'll ever appear. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sk...ng_%28fable%29

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merce3

there are a lot of hybrid peaches that we can grow in florida too. I have three different ones developed by the university of florida

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dana mastro

don't peaches rot normally because the peaches push away from the seed causing an air pocket and if that air pocket gets cold it rots? just a thought don't mind me

merce3

I've never had that happen and I've been growing peaches for a few years

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Kat2

And there are some low chill apples available also! But apparently no hybridizer shares my love for gooseberries and currants.

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kubali

GO GATORS,ROMP IN THE SWAMP! (GOTTA LOVE THEM PEACHES)

Anna & Dorsett love em >>>>>sweet....

Richard

Actually flavorful peaches rot easily because they are rich in both protein and carbohydrate glutens that provide the savory flavor. Commercial peach varieties bred for shipping over distances have purposely less glutens, and thus less flavor. When I say bred, I do not mean HMO -- just normal hand-pollinated hybridization techniques.

The same agricultural approach to shipping logistics was historically taken with tomatoes, and nowadays it is common knowledge about how tasteless many supermarket tomatoes can be.

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