4 ms·
If memory serves, bananas are only profitable as a monoculture. In addition to bananas being triploidy and unable to seed, it’s basically impossible to grow and
by chewbacha 7y ago
If memory serves, bananas are only profitable as a monoculture. In addition to bananas being triploidy and unable to seed, it’s basically impossible to grow and establish the seedless variety of plant by any other means other than cloning.
It’s a pretty unique fruit and it’s economy has tumbled in the past already got these very reasons.
- mort96 7y agoWhy do bananas have to be seedless?
- bipson 7y agoPeople hated the seedy variants. It was more seeds than fruit and messy to eat. Note: you could not eat the seeds it seems (large and hard)
- Shorel 7y agoThere are a lot of sizes for the seeds. I have never seen the 'more seeds than fruit' you mention. I do remember eating bananas where the seeds where all about 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm.
- chewbacha 7y agoThose aren't viable seeds. Cavendish bananas (or other bananas that are cross-breeds) have 3 chromosomes (triploidy) since they are cross bread between a diploid (2) and a tetraploid (4). These triploidy cells cannot perform mitosis and thus do not enlarge in the banana. They still have "seeds" but they are so tiny that they pass right through our digestive track and don't break our teeth. If you see a viable seed it's going to be quite large, looking like 5-10 mm each: https://www.quora.com/Diploid-bananas-have-seeds-How-many-seeds-are-present-in-a-banana https://www.quora.com/Diploid-bananas-have-seeds-How-many-se...