Bananas

=Bananas on The Island=

Bananas grow in abundance across The Island. The volcanic soils are ideal for growing bananas and combined with the warm temperatues and high rainfall, The Island is ideal for sustainable banana production.

Banana plants mature quickly, yielding their first bunch within 12 months, then one bunch on average every 8-12 months thereafter.

Sustainable banana plantations have been established in six locations on The Island as follows:

Port Plantation (within 2 km of The Port) - total of 2.5 hectares Plantation A - located at B4 - 9.0 hectares Plantation B - located at C7 - 12.4 hectares Plantation C - located at C8 - 1.2 hectares Plantation D - located at C5 - 35.6 hectares Plantation E - located at B6 - 48.6 hectares

The plantations have all used standard planting patterns - all plants are grown in rows 3 metres apart, and spaced evenly every 1.5 metres along the rows.

Yields on The Island are excellent with each bunch weighing an average of 40 kg.

Current export prices for The Island bananas are $994/tonne.

So far The Island is free from any of the diseases that sometimes affect bananas. But there is a concern about the possibility of the recently imported hemp plants spreading the banana aphid. This little insect carries the BBTV or Banana Bunchy Top Virus. If it gets on the Island there are serious ramifications. The aphid life cycle is between 9-21 days, which means that every 20 days (when the aphids go through their winged life stage) a colony could spread. The following resource was taken from the internet on 18/08/2011. PDF from:



__**Banana Problem: **__

1 banana plant at the port has an aphid colony on it.

1 colony (on one plant) will infect two other plants at the colony. Then the two will infect three, then the three four, etc. __**1.0 Diagram of plants per hectare**__  As such there are 5445 at the port (2178 x 2.5). It takes 140 days for the plants at port to be infested (this was figured out by looking at table 2.0 below)
 * 2.0 Table how long it will take for all trees to become infestered**
 * 3. Graph of how long it will take for all plantations to be completely infested **
 * ﻿ **

The island depends greatly on its' trading and exports to support its' population. I estimate the effect the BBTV will have on banana's and their production will affect the Island in a significant way. Seeing as though, the virus spreads rapidly, it would be near impossible to establish other forms of trade in such a short amount of time to make up for the loss of the banana exports. Saying that, they island does not purely rely on banana exports and should be able to support itself with the trade and export of other goods; such as rice, kapok, timber, medicinal goods, jams, honey, yams and fish amongst others. Also, the tourism industry on the Island is a large contributor to the islands income. The islands economy will be shaken and experience some hardship for what I predict to be months, but I believe the Government would be hard pressed to work around the situation and find a solution to 1. Get rid of the BBTV or 2. Increase exporting from other areas of the Island until bananas can be grown safely on the island again.
 * What will happen to the island economy? **

The current banana plantations bring in a substantial income to the island as shown below: Port – 2.5 hectares – 5,445 banana trees Location A – 9 hectares – 19602 banana trees Location B – 12.4 hectares – 27007 banana trees Location C – 1.2 hectares – 2613 banana trees Location D – 35.6 hectares – 77,536 banana trees Location E – 48.6 hectares - 105,850 banana trees TOTAL – 109.3 hectares - 238,055 banana trees
 * __ 1 hectare contains 2178 banana trees __**

238,053 banana trees x 40kg of bananas per tree = 9,522,216kg 9,522,216kg divided by 1000kg (tonne) = 9,522.216 tonnes 9,522.216 tonnes x $994 (export price per tonne) = $9,465,082.70

Within 160 days all 238,055 banana trees will be infested causing a devastating loss to the economy of the Island. As the Bananas generate $9,465,082.70 every 8-12 months for the Island’s economy, then it is vital to contain the BBTV to the port. The devastation would indeed be horrendous for such a small, thriving island and the citizens who live on it. Therefore it is imperative that we eradicate the issue of BBTV immediately and effectively.


 * Prevention**

There is no known cure for the BBTV virus, however we can control it with pesticides and by destroying infected plants early on, before spread to other plantations. Controlling it early on is the best option and minimises loss.

The only way we can prevent the virus is by killing the banana aphids, however if the virus is contracted, there are two methods for destroying infected plants- mechanical and chemical.

The mechanical method requires digging out and removing the plant. To stop the infestation from spreading as quickly as it does, this may be the best option (assuming we have caught it quickly enough). Removing a single tree that produces merely 40kg of bananas would be fundamentally better for the Island versus losing the entire banana crop of 9,522,216kg, which will take over a year to regenerate once destroyed, and bring no income to the Island whatsoever during this time.

The chemical method is a bit more complex. First, you must spray an Aphicide onto infected plants to kill the aphids. They tend to gather around the main stem, just inside the leaf sheaths. This is a very important step as it prevents the aphids from spreading the virus to other un-infected plants. Next you must remove the banana bunch, keeping the stem intact. Thirdly, you use a screwdriver to drill a hole into the main stem of the banana plant, on a 45 degree angle, around one foot from the base of the plant. Lastly, inject each hole with full strength Bananacide in order to kill the plant. Continue to spray the Aphicide on the plant until it dies and turns brown in about 4-6 weeks. You can then remove the plant.


 * Warnings**

Considering we are from the Port, where the virus was first detected, it is our responsibility to warn the government, who can then post a warning to other colonies around the island, instructing them to be on the watch for aphids and any symptoms of the virus in their plantations. Instructions on treatment can then be dispersed, if needed. It is our responsibility to ensure we are diligent in treating the problem where it has begun so the virus does not spread to the other plantations.

Banana Bunchy Top Virus in Hawaii (2006) College of Tropical Agricultural and Human Resources, Retrieved 19 August, 2011 from http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/bbtd/roundup.asp

Need to present answers in a Diagram, Graph and a Table