Quote:
Originally Posted by venturabananas
It is a relatively small plant, but it is not technically a dwarf, which is defined by leaf length to width ratios, petiole length to blade length ratios, etc. It's a beautiful plant, but a terrible fruit producer for me. Tiny fruit that often fail to develop properly. That's partly attributable to my climate, but even under tropical conditions, the fruit are very small.
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Thanks Mark I appreciate your input, I learn something new everyday.
I did my homework before buying this plant and wanted it because it's a fast grower, (AA) and it's a small plant 6-8'.
I have other banana plants that produce large bunches, for me a large bunch is only 20 to 25 pounds which may not sound like much but I harvest 8 to 12 bunches per year not including a handful that are damaged by cold weather. Next year if I'm lucky my FHIA-3 will produce for the first time. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to eat and share with family and friends the bananas that I grow.
The reason why I mentioned that it's a "dwarf plant" is because the description in this book, Farmers’ Handbook on Introduced and Local Banana Cultivars in the Philippines. There are two members
Gabe15 and
pitangadiego that describe the fruit as sweet and good. You mention "leaf length to width ratios, petiole length to blade length ratios" what is the formula used to identify banana plants as dwarfs?
This is the what I have found and I thought I shared it with everyone.
ROSE
DESCRIPTION:
The slender pseudostem displays a soft reddish color and grows rapidly. The small fruit are very sweet and delicate. Resistant to fusarium wilt. (001) (002) (010) (030) Very fast growing. Pups profusely. Some reddish color in Pseudostem. Doesn't seem to be nearly as cold sensitive as redder varieties (such as Dwarf Jamaican Red and Kru). Leaves are very erect. Sensitvie to pup removal: adjacent plants will show some brown in their leaves for a while. Fruits are very small, but very thin-skinned and quite aromatic and surprisngly, very tasty. Profuse pupping make this a possibility for use as a screening plant. Roots are very tough. (910)
TYPE: DESSERT
GENETICS: AA (006) (028)
HEIGHT: 6-8' (001) >(002) (010) (030) (910)
DISEASE: Fusarium resistant.
HIGHLIGHTS: Excellent landscape/ornamental quality.
Information by
Encanto Farms Nursery
Cv. Rose is a table cultivar. It is a dwarf plant that produces small but sweet fruits.
Agronomic Characters
Plant height (cm) - 243
Pseudostem girth (cm) - 38
Days to flowering - 181
Days to harvest - 303
Days from flowering to harvest - 122
Bunch weight (kg) - 5
Number of hands per bunch - 8
Number of fruits per bunch - 106
Fruit weight (g) - 33
Fruit length (mm) - 88
Fruit width (mm) - 25
Fruit thickness (mm) - 25
Fruit shape - straight in the distal part
Mature fruit peel color - yellow
Flesh weight (g) - 25
Pulp color at maturity - yellow
Flesh texture - firm
Edible portion (%) - 74
Predominant taste - sweet
Pulp TSS (Brix) - 24
Cv. Rose is a short cultivar, with short maturity period. It produces low yield with small fruits with intermediate sweetness of the pulp.
This cultivar is moderately resistant to BBTD and resistant to Fusarium wilt. It is however susceptible to root-knot nematode
Farmers’ Handbook on Introduced and Local Banana Cultivars in the Philippines