JoeReal

They are more than OK to use. Not only speaking from my actual tested experience in the tropics and here, I also came across several scientific articles in very credible scientific journals discussing the merits and advantages of using the sword-sucker types of pups over the umbrella types. This is the practice done by most banana growers when replacing plants damaged in-situ as they grow very quickly. They grow several times faster than a the same height tissue-cultured plant, and also bloom much earlier, and with tremendously bigger bunches of fruit than either the tissue cultured plantlets or umbrella types of pups. Of course in time, the tissue cultured plants or umbrella types of pups will produce sword sucker pups of their own and after the clump has matured or mat has grown wider, the differences between the two types should no longer be noticeable except that the other one gets established much faster, perhaps 6 months to 2 years ahead.

When you take out sword sucker type of pup, make sure to chunk out with it, the biggest portion of mother corm that you can get away with, without dramatically damaging the mother plant (if it is still there in the clump).

Other people also confused the definition between sword-sucker, umbrella, and water types of pups and wouldn't know what they are throwing away.

Joe