Cardava banana

Cardava bananas, also spelled cardaba or kardaba, is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is commonly confused with the more ubiquitous and closely related saba banana because they are used identically in traditional Filipino cuisine. Their common names can be interchanged in everyday usage though they are different cultivars.[1]

Musa 'Cardava'
Cardava bananas from Mindanao
Hybrid parentageMusa acuminata × Musa balbisiana
Cultivar groupABB group
Cultivar'Cardava'
OriginPhilippines

Description

Like saba bananas, cardava bananas have very large and robust pseudostems, growing up to a height of 4.5 m (15 ft), and a diameter of 68 cm (2.23 ft). It takes around 339 days to flower, and 479 days for the fruits to be ready to harvest. Each bunch contains around 150 fruits in 9 hands. The fruits are distinctively larger than saba bananas and have a rounder more pentagonal cross-section. They are typically harvested while unripe since they are used as cooking bananas, but they can be eaten as is if allowed to ripen.[1]

Taxonomy and nomenclature
Cardava bananas from Cebu

The cardava banana a triploid (ABB) hybrid of the seeded bananas Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata. It was formerly believed to be a triploid M. balbisiana cultivar (BBB), which is now known to be incorrect. Its official designation is Musa acuminata × balbisiana (ABB Group) 'Cardava'.[2][3]

Cardava bananas are also spelled as "cardaba" or "kardaba" in Philippine languages. It is also known as pisang chematu or pisang kepok besar in Indonesia, and chuối mật in Vietnam.[3]

Uses
See also: Saba banana

Cardava bananas are used in the same way as saba bananas in Filipino cuisine. However they are deemed more suitable for processing into banana chips due to their larger fruit sizes.[1]

Pests and diseases

Cardava bananas are highly resistant to black sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fifiensis). However it is vulnerable to the "bugtok" disease which causes the fruit pulp to harden and become inedible.[1]

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cardava banana.

References
  1. FS dela Cruz Jr.; LS Gueco; OP Damasco; VC Huelgas; FM dela Cueva; TO Dizon; MLJ Sison; IG Banasihan; VO Sinohin & AB Molina, Jr. (2008). Farmers’ Handbook on Introduced and Local Banana Cultivars in the Philippines (PDF). Bioversity International. ISBN 9789719175186.
  2. Randy C. Ploetz; Angela Kay Kepler; Jeff Daniells & Scot C. Nelson (2007). Banana and plantain—an overview with emphasis on Pacific island cultivars (PDF). Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry. Bioversity International.
  3. Michel H. Porcher; Prof. Snow Barlow (2002-07-19). "Sorting Musa names". The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
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