What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

I like to get and have some Manzano's to have on hand once in a while.. Now Different hands are like the weather.. Some are Great and some are not so great.. Some have a hard center on the top center of maybe the top 1/4 of a Manzano. It tends to be the same for all fingers in a hand. In previous hands it was smaller on certain hands, so..

Does this have to with them picking the fruit to early?

Does this happen for people who grow them @ home?

Is this only associated w/ Manzano's purchased from a grocery store?

If a finger doesn't has this issue I'm all for that, my current hand I have is just fine, but the previous one had the issue stated above.. Thanks :^)

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

While we are asking....
Is there anyway to prevent or reduce that tough core by better growing practices? There is a large neglected Saba mat here, on some bunches the core is unnoticeable, other fruits need a buzz saw to slice em!

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

I know your serious, but reading this had me cracking up.. :^)

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

Yes I'm very curious as well. I've heard many instances of a corky center for namwah, but I haven't experienced with the ones I harvested a few months back.

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

I thought we might have some input, but I think it may have to do with limited water in the diet of the plant in question where the fruit came from..
People on here have compared plants in their yard most recently Rob w/ better growth and fruit in the yard based on location and attributes of placement. That could be better soil, more sun, or more luck than anything placement near a water gutter drain. Whatcha think? :^)

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

I have no idea really. I can make some educated guesses and postulate some theories, but I think one of the learned and wise on the forum should address this topic. I'm curious to the answer. However if I did have to venture a guess, I tend to think it would related to the variety and the conditions when the female flowers are first formed by the plant (before flowering). Call it a congenital condition if you will. I have nothing really to base that theory on or don't know how to test it easily. For all I know this idea could be laughable at best.

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

The Banana Book mentioned Manzano & its hard spots are from not leaving the bunch on long enough, or cutting to early.
I didn't see anything about how to fix Saba or needing a chainsaw to cut them.. Hopefully its from the same cause.. :^)

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

I don't know what causes the hard spots in Manzano. Many other varieties seem to get a hard core when they don't fill properly, for whatever reason, such as Namwah that have a "corky core". In my yard, it usually has to do with ripening over winter, when conditions aren't great for banana growth. I think anything that keeps them from filling properly can cause the hard core.

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

Well I think the "corky" thing is similar to pineapples that are grown in the cold being sour..
The Hard spots are always at the top of the fingers for me so is that the last part to develop?
I'd like to know why it would take a buzz saw to cut thru a saba as well..

And for those that are wondering the Hard spots I am talking about are in a Manzano, and from what I read in the banana book should not be grown in Hawaii or measures have to be taken to get decent fruit. It has to do with the soil there according to the book.. Its easier just to grow a Brazilian. :^)

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

Does the book specify what's funky about Hawaiian soil? I might have a Manzano plant coming my way and I rather not grow it if I might have a similar condition.

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

It is Hawaii specific or places have acidity soil, but said lime or dolomite applied annually should make the fruit edible. When one of the authors were doing research in PR they thought the Manzano was better than Brazilian till they got to Hawaii. It also stated that if you see a weak sucker knock it off. That goes w/o saying.. People get older & wiser.. I'd grow it just since once it flowers the fruit is ready much faster than Braz..

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

Manzano fruit is sensitive to long periods of dormancy, temperatures below 60° will cause damage. The amount of damage depends on how many months of cold weather, the fruit will be drier than normal with less flavor or have a "hard center".

Cold weather fruit will have no apparent physical damage and in the spring the fruit will mature and look great until you taste it.

Sometimes because of their sensitivity to cold I had to harvest early to avoid severe cold fronts. The fruit was similar in taste and texture with random quality much like your description of store brought Manzano.



Cold weather can affect the way banana fruit develops and in my yard it's the main reason for substandard fruit.

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

OK, I did exaggerate a little about needing extreme power to get through the tough fruit.
But not much!
You all have a very good point about the stress.
The only obvious variable in the Saba patch here is water, as it has been completely untended to. Don't hate us for it, but extreme temps only upper 50's, 90 F. We do have dry periods here, even on the rainy side of Hawaii. Now that I think about it...Saba takes 7 months to ripen, so the current ripe and chewy bunch did set in a very dry, relatively hot time. The first bunch I tasted (I'm new here, the bananas aren't) was smooth and would have indeed set in the cool, rainy period. The neglected mat is on my neighbors place, but I did toss some Potassium on the part I see, as I couldn't bear watching the yellow creep up the leaves anymore. Will let you know if it has any effect on the fruit, in a year or so!

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

ps. Re Hawaii soil, although the soil quality is highly dependent on weathering , the type of volcanic activity that produced it also has an effect. My understanding is that it is all deficient in certain minerals, Boron being most frequently mentioned.

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

Well I hope no one has had this problem w/ Raja Puri & Cold Weather.. My 3 hands look to be in pretty good shape, just had to clean up the ends.. :^)

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

Good luck with that! And keep us posted!

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

I've only had one bunch of Rajapuri in my yard so far. Unfortunately, it did have a bit of the corky-core problem. I hope yours don't. The flavor was still good, and very similar to DB and tall Brazilian.

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

You started this thread asking a specific question about Manzano and then you answered your own question with a book that you have read, I'm guessing you have read this book after your first post.

It's understandable that banana fruit can be affected by soil PH, my high alkaline soil is different than Hawaii and I don't have the same issue.

The fact that bananas need the correct PH to be able to absorb nutrients in the soil and that some cultivars are more sensitive to variations in soil conditions is true.



I hope you're RP fruit fill out and it doesn't disappoint you.:waving:

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

Yes, I did I had the book sitting right next to me the whole time, but since its book of Hawaii's Banana's it wouldn't be there..

Re: What's w/ the hard Center in my Banana?
 

How do you know it's low on K (potassium) ?

If the plant doesn't receive enough water then adding more K won't fix the problem. If any of the elements you mention are in short supply adding K won't make a difference.