“Every district in Kerala has its favourite banana,” said Nishanth K, a 49-year-old banana farmer, from Kerala’s Wayanad district, who has over 250 varieties of bananas on his farm. “Wayanad and Kannur like mannan (a type of banana). Chenkadali (red banana of Cavendish variety) is very popular and culturally significant in Thiruvananthapuram and is sold there for a handsome Rs 80 a bunch, whereas in Wayanad, it fetches only one-fourth the price. Peyan, grown mostly in Tamil Nadu, is a favourite in Kollam district but not so much anywhere else,” he explained.

His farm is nothing short of a museum of bananas, showcasing rare varieties from across the globe. Some unusual but native varieties include perumpadali which bears fruit bunches that can grow up to five feet in size, krishnavazha with a black stem and leaves and pachachingan which has fruits that remain green even after they ripen.

Banana farming in India is believed to be chemically intensive but that’s changing, said Nishanth. However, it’s nearly impossible to cultivate it organically. “Bananas are prone to many pests and diseases. I avoid chemicals on the soil as much as possible, but I can’t totally avoid them,” shared Nishanth candidly.

Climate change, too, is posing a challenge to farming in Kerala. “Kerala always followed an agricultural calendar where sowing, ploughing, harvesting, and every such farming activity was done in concurrence with the weather cycle. This has completely changed now with summers getting longer and the monsoon not setting in time. Farmers are often faced with uncertainties,” said Nishanth.

Baburaj, who grows 125 varieties of bananas, proposed the idea to spread 15 Indian and foreign varieties of bananas to 200 farmers. The farmers were given five different bananas and access to a Whatsapp group of 25 technical resource persons trained at the Banana Research Institute, Kannara in Kerala and National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy in Tamil Nadu. “We also developed software to track the suckers and their growth,” Baburaj said.

India leads in the production of bananas in the world with an annual average of 33 million tonnes of bananas (2021 estimate), Andhra Pradesh tops with an annual production of 5,839 thousand tonnes followed by Maharashtra with 4,628 thousand tonnes of banana being produced. Despite this surge in banana production, India has just about 40 varieties of bananas being grown commercially.

Studies have shown the importance of genetic diversity in crops for food security in an increasingly warming world. Considering the unexpected and unknown biotic and abiotic threats like viruses and climate change, banana research centres have been focusing on the ex-situ preservation of banana germplasm. The ICAR-NRCB centre in Trichy facilitates the preservation of around 350 Indian and 112 foreign banana germplasm.

Farmer Backiyarani Vinod believes that science could benefit from collaborating with these farmers since they sometimes have more information about bananas than scientists. “These farmers inspire and educate other farmers to conserve traditional varieties. Such initiatives should be supported,” she added.