Abstract

The Gros Michel variety ranks as world's No. 1, commerical variety excelling other varieties in the combination of desirable characters, having quality fruits of good length, flavour, attractive skin colour, resistance to bruising, grade, yield, symmetry and strength of bunch. It is a voracious feeder with free suckering habit. Its bunch habit is markedly cylindrical, the bunch hanging down almost ideally. Even in the three-fourth mature stage it has a tough skin and so the bunches can be handled and transported naked across oceans, without bruising, in huge quantities of bunches in a ship load. Above all, this variety has proved to be the best suited variety for refrigerated transport lasting from 15-21 days to the United States of America, Canada, England and to countries on the Continent of Europe. It can be said that the banana industry has attained its highest development in Jamaica due mostly to the excellence of this one variety.

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