Introduction
Bananas are widely grown in Malaysia as it is highly in demand, it is ranked as the second largest fruit crops produced in Malaysia. Bananas are healthy to be consumed as it contains high vitamins and minerals (Ware, 2014). However, banana production in our country has decreased due to several factors such as the threat of various diseases, high cost of production and lack of diverse planting materials. Jong (2012) mentioned that around 50 % of the banana plantation in Malaysia is cultivated mainly for export, such as Pisang Cavendish.
The conventional way of banana planting are growing the bananas from their vegetative suckers. Nevertheless, this is not considered as an ideal method in banana production as the planting materials may carry viruses and fungal pathogen (Jong, 2012). Therefore, tissue culture is the alternative to the conventional method for banana production. Tissue culture method benefits the production of bananas by producing plants that are free of diseases, faster growth rates, greater yield and safe for human consumption (Increasing banana yields by using tissue culture method, n.d.). According to Tissue Culture (n.d.), the main purpose of tissue culture is to produce healthy plantlets that are free of virus diseases with high yields.
Micropropagation is one of the plant tissue culture techniques which is commonly used in producing banana tissue cultures. Micropropagation is defined as the production of whole plants from cell cultures derived from explants, according to Biotechnology: Tissue Culture (n.d.). It can be further divided into shoot culture, organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis. Shoot-tip culture is the most commonly used method for commercial micropropagation. It has the main advan...
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....). The crop productions of tissue culture bananas are uniformed and can be supplied at any time all year round which is season independent. Conventional farming is depended on the weather and seasons. Besides that, conventional farming is not uniformed as some of the banana plants ripen faster than others therefore resulting an increase in cost of production (Tissue Culture, n.d.). The transportation of tissue culture bananas are also cheaper and easier compared to conventional farming.
Although the bananas produced from micropropagation have many advantages over the conventional method, tissue culture is considered as an expensive method with high production cost. Therefore, it is important to develop a low-cost micropropagation technique in order to make it affordable to the buyers, especially the farmers without compromising the quality of the plants produced.
Paleo, Salvador Aguirre, “Technology Transfer Experiences with Avocado Growers in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico,” World Avocado Congress, Abstracts A-49.
Modern biotechnology was born at the hands of American scientists Herb Boyer and Stain Cohen, when they developed “recombinant deoxyribonucleotide, (rDNA), [1] for medicinal purposes. Subsequently, biotechnologists started genetically engineering agricultural plants using this technology. A single gene responsible for a certain trait, from one organism (usually a bacterium) is selected altered and then ‘spliced” into the DNA of a plant to create an agricultural crop consisting of that...
John Soluri 's Banana Cultures Agriculture, Consumption and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States, (Which for spatial and repetitive purposes, I will refer to as Banana Cultures for the remainder of the paper), introduces the reader to a world of corporate greed, consumption, and environmental change using the history of the common, everyday, fruit, the banana. He explores the various political occurrences, health problems, and changes in mass media through the rise of the consumption of the banana in the United States, and around the globe.
Polyculture is associated with, but not exclusively limited to, the movement in organic farming (Pollan 144). The main drawback is the work required to maintain the different species being grown. Each plant requires its own growing conditions, so maintenance becomes labor intensive. However, this method of farming greatly increases the biodiversity of the fields which reduces susceptibility to disease and pests, and creates genetically diverse species. Polyculture is very different from monoculture in more ways than simply growing more than one crop. Monoculture is the attempt to control a crop to maximize yield. Polyculture is the acknowledgement of nature’s control and the attempt to grow successful crops through changing the process of growing plants based on the ecological system around them. The people who grew early potatoes on the Andes grew a wide variety of different potato species so that not all of them were likely to susceptible to the same disease (Pollan 131). Pollan’s discussion of these methods leans heavily toward the idea that even though monoculture is simpler and more profitable, it is an inferior method to polyculture that is mainly still in use to feed the capitalistic machine of the global food
The broad range of topographical elevations has encouraged agricultural expansion whose diverse production of food constitutes an important part of the Colombian economy. The agricultural sector contributed 14% of GDP, excluding coffee, with a production worth almost 11 billion US. In the hot lowlands of the Caribbean heartland, the inter-montages valleys, and the savannas of Orinoquia, there are immense plantations of bananas, sugar cane, rice, cotton, soybeans and sorghum, and large cattle farms that produce meat and dairy products. (Sited Dennis Hanratty)
Materials used in the experiment included 5-7 g of the potato tissue, 50ml of 2.0M phosphate buffer coffee filter and guaiacol dye.
Brazil nuts are harvested at plantations and in the wild. Plantations are being developed in various parts of the Amazon. Fazenda Aruana is the owner of a 12,000 hectare former cattle ranch, partially converted to a Brazil Nut plantation in 1980. By January of 1990, 318,660 Brazil nut trees were planted on 3341 hectares of land. Fazenda's original intent was to plant Brazil Nut trees in a 20 by 20 meter grids and allow cattle grazing between the trees. The trees in the Aruana plantation are the result of grafting high yield clones from the region of Abufari Amazonas were Brazil nuts are know for their large fruits and seeds. As a result of fertilization from the same clones, the fruit production among clones has been low(2). Another danger in using so few clones is the ability to resist attack of disease and insects.
First, bananas are grown in large monocultures that enable the large-scale production but cause a bunch of environmental problems. Second, the large companies are concentrating on marketing and distribution. In this way, they exacerbate the situation of the dependence of the producing countries such as Colombia and create social problems.... ... middle of paper ... ...
I believe that Soluri chose bananas because they are so widely known throughout our culture. Who has not seen a banana? Most people have played that game with their bananas of trying to figure out how long before they go black. Usually, it is a game of wait three days for them to turn from green to yellow; on the fourth day, have a banana for breakfast when they have finally reached to the point of golden goodness, only to come home from work on the fourth day to find the remaining bananas covered in black spots. I digress. Bananas have stood as symbols for many societal views. For the US, the banana has stood for their cultural and societal dominance over Honduras and other countries that supply the banana for consumption (3). For the Europeans however, the banana was a symbol of the "Crass popular culture of the United States shaped by both mass consumerism and
Plants are grown under controlled and sterile conditions which reduce the risk of being exposed to pests, pathogens and diseases.
2. Cook, A. A. 1975. Diseases of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits and Nuts, Hafner Press,
Opara, U. (2013). Postharvest Responses of ‘Malindi’ Cavendish Banana to Various Storage Conditions. International Journal of Fruit Science, 13(4), 373. doi:10.108/15538362.2013.748378
Carbohydrates and dietary fiber which is present in bananas are known to control the bowel movements which ultimately help in proper digestion. Banana is known to be good for those who are trying to get away from chronic constipation which is due to the pectin contents. Banana also is known to aid those who lessen stomach ulcers and lessening the possibility of developing gastric cancer. This fruit also is best possible and natural treatment for those suffering from acidity due to the antacid effect it has.
Asexual propagation is the process through which reproduction without passage through the seed cycle occurs. The advantages of asexual propagation are that it preserves genetic makeup, propagates seedless plants, disease control, rapid production, the plants are identical, cheaper, faster and easier reducing or avoiding juvenility. The disadvantages of asexual propagation are that it increases disease and insect susceptibility, plants are bulky, and the mother plants could become contaminated. The goal of this experiment was to determine the development of adventitious roots and shoots, and observe these plants over a period of five weeks. Due to auxin being produced in the tip, tip cuttings should root faster than any other cuttings. Auxin is a plant hormone that is responsible for cell elongation and enlargement, root formation, and growth. There are two forms of auxins; phototropism, which is produced in the tip and moves downward on the side away from the light and gravitropism, which is where plant roots grow downward and plant shoots grow upward.(Plant Auxin 201...
Biotechnology in food uses genes of plants,microorganisms and animals that have desired production or nutrition related characteristics. The tools that are used in food biotechnology include traditional breeding ,such as cross breeding,and many modern techniques that have to do with using what is known about genes or orders for specific traits to better the quality and quantity of plant species. Food biotechnology modifies the production of fruits and vegetables that ripen on the vine for a better fresher taste. Different type of foods also benefit from food biotechnology .Foods that are developed using biotechnology are studied very carefully and judge by many governing agencies, health expects and scientists all over the world. Biotechnology can assist in the improve ment of the safety of food by reducing the naturally occurring toxins and allergens in different types of food .Food biotechnology is one of many tools farmers and food producers can use to give a food supply that is affordable,safe,convenient and sustainable