Musa Kru

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1 Cultivar Name
- 1.1 Synonyms
2 Pictures
3 Description
- 3.1 Origin
- 3.2 Usage
4 Flowering
5 Cultivation
- 5.1 Known Afflictions
6 Research Notes
- 6.1 Members Growing This Banana
7 External

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Cultivar Name

Musa 'Kru'

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Synonyms

Green Kru

Red Kru

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Pictures

(credit MediaHound)

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(credit the flying dutchman)

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(credit Gabe15)

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Description

Genetic Group - Unverified, Lessard suggests it is in the ABB genome group, but Ardent suggests it is in AA.

The 'Kru' is a rare banana in the USA, largely confined to private collections or botanic gardens. Part of this may stem from the fact that this is a particularly temperamental variety, being more sensitive to cold and high winds than average. Initially discovered by George Ardent in the 1960s while working for the New Guinea Research Foundation, specimens were initially retained at a Musa germplasm repository operated by the New Guinea Biological Foundation in Lae, PNG. Albert Will, a former professor at Broward Community College in Florida, was given specimens from the collection at Lae and brought them to Florida in 1970. The collection in Lae, PNG, has since dwindled to nothing. Lessard states that 'Kru' is the designated name of this variety in its native range.

The pseudostem is colored yellow-green with brown blotching at the petiole bases, but in excellent growing conditions can attain attractive red-pink pigmentation. It produces an angular banana with a mottled red-green skin, with many anecdotal reports suggesting it is one of the finer tasting varieties. 'Kru' normally exists in a red form, but it can lose a majority of its red pigmentation resulting in 'Green Kru'. The mechanism by which this happens is not yet known, whether it be environmental or nutritional deficiencies. As of yet there is no evidence of 'Green Kru' reverting back to a red state.

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