Plissken

I don't grow bananas but I just read the book Banana: Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World and had some questions about how new hybrids come about.

I'm mainly confused about pollinization. Some questions:

Do banana plants self-pollinate?
What does self-pollinization mean? Does it mean that the male and female parts are able to touch each other, thus self-pollinating?

Which part of the plant produced pollen? The male part?

Are hybrids created (conventional/old-fashinoned way) by taking pollination from one plant and transferring it to the other?

What about banana plants that do not self-pollinate?

I understand how they reproduce: either through seeds and taking sword-sucker w/corm and planting them elsewhere. I just am wondering HOW hybrid bananas are created.

Thank you.

Gabe15

Edible bananas do not self pollinate, nor do they need pollination at all. They are parthenocarpic, meaning the fruit forms and matures without pollination. The trigger for the fruit to grow which would normally be present by the growth of seeds after pollination and fertilization is replaced by an autonomous auxin release. Seedless bananas are the result of a coincidence of sterility (which varies in presence, but generally prevents seeds from forming) and parthenocarpy (which causes the fruit to grow without the formation of seeds).

Some wild bananas do self-pollinate, they have male and female flower parts on the same flowers, but these are not edible bananas. Pollen is produced on the anthers of either the male or hermaphroditic flowers.

Hybrids are created by applying pollen from the male flowers to female flowers, and then collecting and growing the seeds that form in the fruit. It is not simple to produce the hybrids though due to high levels of sterility which leads to the need for many attempts and then evaluation and selection of progeny. The hybrid bananas are not produced by one crossing event either, usually a superior fertile variety is bred with the traits they want to incorporate into the more desirable variety and then that fertile variety is repeatedly crossed with the good edible banana until a suitable progeny selection is obtained.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Plissken

Thank you!

Plissken

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