Musa Double (Mahoi)

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Contents

Cultivar Name

Musa 'Double'

Synonyms

'Chinese Double'

'Double-Bunch'

'Double Cavendish'

'Double Banana'

Erroneous Synonyms

'Mahoi/Mahoe'

'Hawaiian Mahoi/Mahoe'

'Double-bunched Mahoe'

Pictures

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(credit capthof)


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©

(credit the flying dutchman)

Description

  • Genetic Group - Eumusa, AAA, Subgroup Cavendish

'Double' is a sport or mutation of the common 'Dwarf Cavendish' and grows similarly. This cultivar usually produces a single head of fruit in the first season, but in successive seasons will often produce two large heads of fruit and can occasionally produce more. The mutation has been noted to be unstable, unpredictably reverting to a single bunch at times. Being a variant of 'Dwarf Cavendish' it shares many desirable characteristics with its progenitor, such as being highly productive in a given footprint compared to other varieties. Being from the Cavendish Subgroup, the fruit produced by this variety resembles what can be found in grocery stores. Growing it at home provides ornamental value and potentially better flavor, as grocery store bananas are typically harvested before peak maturity for practical reasons.

Misnomer

It is important to note that this variety is not the same as the Hawai'ian Mahoi/Mahoe. The true Hawai'ian Mahoe hails from the AAB Maoli-Popoulu Subgroup and is currently considered to be functionally extinct, other than diseased tissue samples currently held by the International Transit Centre in Belgium. Plants sold/labelled with this name are almost certainly from the Cavendish Subgroup. As of the 2011 publication by Kepler & Rust, there is no currently known living reservoir of the true Hawai'ian Mahoe. This misnomer likely stems from the fact that both varieties put out 2 or more bunches and that both were historically present in Hawai'i. A more apt name to describe this cultivar would be 'Double Cavendish'.

Origin

  • Date realized in trade - The parent variety 'Chinese/Cavendish' was known in China for centuries, but described and spread in the 1820s by Western horticulturists. While 'Double' mutants were described in Puerto Rico and the Canary Islands, Cavendish Subgroup banana plants were only introduced to Hawai'i in 1855.
  • William F. Whitman introduced a 'Double Cavendish' specimen from Hawai'i to Florida in 1956.

Usage

Dessert banana

Flowering

  • Time To Bloom -
  • Time To Harvest -

Cultivation

  • Mature Height -

7 feet

  • Survival Zone -

10+

  • Fruiting Zone -
  • Cold Hardiness -
  • Wind -
  • Sun -
  • Taste Description -
  • Personal Notes -
  • Growth tips -

Known Afflictions

  • Pests -
  • Susceptible Diseases -
  • Resistant Diseases -

Research Notes

  • Links to useful discussion threads in the forum:
  • Typical Price Range -

Members Growing This Banana

External

  • Sources

Kepler, A.K. and Rust, F.G. 2011. The world of bananas in Hawai'i: then and now. Pali-O-Waipi'o press, Hawaii. 586p. https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-world-of-bananas-in-hawaii-then-and-now/

https://www.promusa.org/Maoli-Popoulu+subgroup

Whitman, W.F. 1968. A decade of banana introductions. Fla. State Hort. Soc. Proc. 80:361-373

USDA - TARS 17172 - "Mahoe" (Double Cavendish) https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1647260

ITC Accession - ITC1170 - Mai'a Mahoe https://www.crop-diversity.org/mgis/accession/01BEL0841170