Patna, 16 November (IANS). Banana cultivation is profitable for the farmers of Bihar. The climate here is considered quite favorable for banana cultivation. Hajipur area of Bihar and the banana here is famous in the country. According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India for the year 2022-23, banana is grown in 998.55 thousand hectares in India, resulting in a total production of 36,666.87 thousand metric tons. The national productivity of banana is 36.72 metric tons per hectare. In the year 2022-23, banana was grown in 44.08 thousand hectares in Bihar, resulting in a total production of 2004.27 thousand metric tons.
The productivity of banana in Bihar is 45.46 metric tons per hectare. In such a situation, the productivity of Bihar is more than the national productivity. Banana is an important agricultural product in Bihar, which contributes to the economy of the state and provides livelihood to a large number of farmers. Banana cultivation is spread across different regions of Bihar, with variations in climate and soil type affecting planting and harvesting times.
Professor Dr. S.K., Head of the Department of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur and Principal Investigator of All India Fruit Research Project. Singh says that two types of bananas are cultivated in the country, red banana and yellow banana. Red banana is very popular in South India. Where yellow bananas are sold for Rs 60-70 a dozen. Whereas red banana is sold for Rs 100 to Rs 150 a dozen. People in South India are well aware of the medicinal and nutritional properties of this banana.
On the contrary, most of the people in North India are unfamiliar with this banana. Keeping this in mind, under the All India Fruit Research Project, research was started two years ago at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University. Its main objective is to make red banana popular in North India also. Due to this, continuous research is being done regarding this.
Scientists say that banana is a tropical fruit, which thrives well in hot and humid conditions. Therefore, the summer season lasting from March to June is an important period for the cultivation and sale of bananas. At this time, temperatures are favorable for banana growth, leading to peak production and market availability.
He said that banana cultivation is very profitable for the farmers in Bihar. In Bihar, banana is grown in Vaishali region (Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Vaishali, Hajipur) and Kosi region (Khagaria, Purnia, Katihar, Bhagalpur). In Vaishali region, mostly tall varieties of bananas are cultivated, the farmers here do multi-year farming (10-30 years) in a traditional manner, on the contrary, the farmers of Kosi region cultivate dwarf varieties of bananas scientifically.
However, scientists also say that in view of the demand for long species bananas, there is a need to prepare plants of long species bananas like Malbhog, Alpan, Chiniya, Kothiya, and Doodh Sagar etc. through tissue culture and produce them to the farmers. If given to, it will increase the banana production in Bihar.
–IANS
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