1.) The infrastructure is set up to deliver Cavendish bananas. The boxes, the ripening rooms, and the plantations are all set up for Cavendish. Gros Michel was actually shipped as whole stalks.
2.) Gros Michel yields are low. They still get sigatoka, they are more susceptible to blowdown, and just don't have the genetic yield potential of Cavendish.
3.) FHIA-17 and FHIA-23 are hybrids of Gros Michel that don't have a lot of the same limitations, but they have their own issues such as long cycling time and tendency to split.
Cavendish bananas are awesome from the perspective of mechanization and economies of scale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCraves
Hey everyone!
So I'm new to the banana community, but was wondering about the Gros Michel after reading an article about the possible future extinction of the Cavendish banana due to a new plague that forms in the soil. Apparently this is what happened in the '50s which led to switching from the tastier Gros Michel to the Philippine's Cavendish.
Why have there not been any major importers bringing back the Gros Michel banana? I know the areas where they had originally grown it for US export are still affected by the Panama disease.
Are they still growing the same version of the plant in Southeast Asia, like Thailand and Vietnam, as well as parts of Africa? If so why have they not been reintroduced to markets.
I know that since bananas are a plant that need to be manually pollinated and that the future of the banana might be bleak unless new selective breeding techniques or GMO versions can out thrive the diseases that are happening. But would't diversifying the market not lead to the same global shortages that happened to the Gros Michel if the same thing eventually happens to the Cavendish.
Thanks for your help!
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