venturabananas

Keith, I have tried them both, though I'll qualify that statement by saying that I wouldn't swear that all of the tall Pome varieties were really the "Brazilian" Prata clone. I've tried fruit from tall Pome clones from Hawaii (almost certainly "tall Brazilian", the Cook Islands (more likely the tall Pome "Lady Finger" from Australia), and some tall Pomes in my yard that were obtained misidentified under two different names. I grow Prata Ana (Dwarf Brazilian) from two sources, and they seem to be the same thing and are properly identified.

OK, with all that prologue, I don't discern any difference in taste or texture between the tall Pome clones that I've tried and Prata Ana. Given that climate and other growing conditions can affect the fruit characteristics, the best comparison is between Dwarf Brazilian and the tall Pomes in my yard. Those fruit are so similar to me that if I was blindfolded and fed each, I don't think I could tell them apart. Maybe someone with more refined tasting abilities could. But they aren't hard for me to distinguish from the FHIA varieties I've tried that have Prata Ana parentage; and of course, other subgroups.

You mentioned textural differences among some, and I am in complete agreement that the hybrids (e.g., FHIA-01 and FHIA-18) have a different texture than the Pome clones. At least in my yard, the hybrids are much softer.

I don't know how well my impressions of the fruit grown in my yard translate to fruit grown in more typical banana growing regions. Even within a single Pome cultivar (say Prata Ana), fruit grown in the tropics/subtropics that I've tried have been slightly softer and more "earthy" (maybe "vegetal") in flavor than those grown in Southern California.

Keith, I'd be interested to hear what differences in taste or texture you or your friends notice between the different Pome cultivars, and the hybrids. I've read good things about Pacovan, but I haven't been able to track it down in the hobby trade.

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Nicolas Naranja

I have been to my share of international produce meetings and have had the Hawaiian and Brazillian version, and of course the semi-commercial Florida versions

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

robguz24

I can't taste the difference between Tall ones grown next door and Dwarf ones I grow 10 feet away.

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Lau

I just harvested a small bunch of ? I thought they were DC's but maybe they are not. They look ripe but taste kind of tart. The last 3 pictures are from another banana plant same mat.

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	DC? 6.jpg (790.2 KB, 21 views)

venturabananas

Susan, this one is Rajapuri, almost certainly. Those colorful female flowers wouldn't be found on a Cavendish variety. The fruit are also too short and stubby to be DC, and DC wouldn't be tart. The two varieties are basically the same height in my yard. Another giveaway is that on DC, when the flower emerges it is relatively long and slender, whereas Rajapuri has a massively fat flower.

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Lau

Thanks for your help with the ID. It is a good banana plant the mat produces several bunches every year. I still have 3 bunches to harvest.

I got a Raja Puri from Armstrong's about 4 years ago and it hasn't flowered yet. I'm not sure what that banana plant really is. Maybe it will be a DC.

Its nice to know the true name of at least four of the banana plants in my collection.

Raja Puri
Reds
Pisang Awak (Namva)
Dwarf Giant (Enano Gigante')

Thanks again Susan

Nicolas Naranja

1 Williams
2 Goldfinger
2 Nam Wah
2 Mysore
1 Pisang Ceylon
1 Hua Moa

I think I got a Manzano and a few more hua moa that need to be cut too.

I've got a researcher from Auburn coming to pick up some fruit to do a nutritional analysis on different varieties.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

JCA433

Does Pisang Ceylon require propping?

kubali

yes, you will more than likely need to prop it.

Nicolas Naranja

The bunches are fairly large, the plant is fairly tall. I used a bungee cord to tie it to another pseudostem for support

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

servatusprime

How high up do you go and do you just use one cord? This would definitely be more aesthetically pleasing than pvc/timber supports.

Nicolas Naranja

If I can I tie to the peducle, sometimes I will use trailer straps especially when I have plants fruiting on opposite sides of the same mat.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

PR-Giants

The semi-commercial Florida version is semi-funny and the Brazilian version must have been from way back. According to the records, in 1980 the Pacovan & Prata Ana were the commercial Pome cultivars in Brazil and by the early 1990's those two were quickly being replaced by the new synthetic hybrids.

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15,000+ Varieties

PR-Giants

I think you'll be able to tell them apart, but maybe not know which cultivar. A side by side taste comparison is the only way to do it. Recently I harvested a Verdin and thought it tasted like a Morado, I wanted to be sure so I harvested a Morado for a taste comparison and they were not as similar as I had originally thought. Even two Williams grown side by side can taste distinctively different depending on irrigation/rain, in my case terrain slope.

I'd have to find my notes but recall all of the descriptions being inline with the research. I was mainly interested in one of the hybrids and some mutants, although they did have good opinions of the hybrids with the Jamaican diploid M53.



Do you know when the Pacovan became widespread?

Is it possible the ones in your yard are Pacovans?

The synthetic hybrids in TARS are from Phase II in 1992, but you should be able to order the current hybrids directly from Brazil. I saw a classified section online that had them for sale.

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15,000+ Varieties

crazy banana

Very interesting,. Never thought of that. Can you please post a photo for reference?

I_GROWER

Wild manzano

venturabananas

Sure about that? They look more like Namwah to me.

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Lau

Hi everyone should I cut this bunch of unknown down or should I wait until they start to turn yellow? I think the bunch was too heavy.

Attached Images

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	unk f.jpg (859.1 KB, 7 views)
	unk d.jpg (834.5 KB, 7 views)
	unk b.jpg (718.6 KB, 8 views)
	unk g.jpg (827.1 KB, 15 views)
	Unk banana 2.jpg (433.8 KB, 6 views)
	Unk Banana 4.jpg (507.4 KB, 9 views)

JCA433

I would harvest now. The bananas may split if allowed to ripen on the plant.

venturabananas

Looks to me like they could fill more, and p-stem isn't severed through, so I'd wait. What's the worst that can happen? They start to ripen prematurely. If they start ripening and splitting the peels, harvest them.

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