Monoculture cropping threatens banana cultivation: Experts

Monoculture cropping has emerged as the most immediate and a big threat to banana cultivation in India, experts told DH even as a report pointed to climate change as the biggest threat face by the country’s go to horticulture crop, grown in about 10 lakh hectare.

The response comes in the wake of a report titled ‘Going Bananas: how climate change threatens the world’s favourite fruit’ by the London-based experts associated with Christian Aid. The report focused on India, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Tanzania.

India is the biggest producer of bananas in the world, with the latest estimates putting the annual production at about 37,000 tonnes in the last two years. Crores of people are directly and indirectly dependent on the crop, grown in 10 lakh hectares.

Experts warn against mono cropping

In ‘Going Bananas’, Dr Kat Kramer and Joe Ware said the Indian staple was under threat from climate impacts in the “nearer term” by the extreme weather events, while rising temperatures and changes to the monsoon posed a threat in the long term. “Indirect climate-related impacts are also being felt. India’s bananas are under threat from fungal diseases like the Panama Disease and banana weevils are also (affecting) yields,” the report said.

R Selvarajan, Director, National Research Centre for Banana told DH that while the threats posed by climate change were real, the immediate danger to India’s banana cultivating belts comes from the monoculture cropping.

Selvarajan expressed concern over farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat and some parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh resorting to mono cropping. “What we have seen in the monoculture cropping of Grand Nain (a cultivar of banana), which is increasingly becoming vulnerable to diseases. As a result, vast fields of the crop are open to devastation. At the same time, monoculture plantations have edged out other varieties,” he said.

372 indigenous
banana germplasms

He said cultivating different varieties will act as a first barrier against diseases. “Farmers can still cultivate Cavendish bananas but need to adopt varieties. Such good practices are adopted in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. India has 372 indigenous banana germplasms. At NRCB, we are screening varieties against diseases to pick the best ones suitable for different agro-climatic regions,” he said.

Before Grand Nain, Gros Michel (known as ‘Big Mike’) dominated banana varieties till it became highly susceptible to fungal disease caused by Fusarium wilt. Selvarajan said adopting varieties will also help in mitigation and climate adaptation.