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The Cavendish or Dwarf Cavendish is the name for the banana cultivar used most commonly in the world banana trade.
It ranges from approximately 15-25 cm in length, and is used in baking, fruit salads, fruit compotes, and to complement foods. The outer skin is partially green when sold in food markets and turns yellow when it ripens. When over-ripe, the skin will turn black and the flesh becomes mushy. Bananas ripen naturally and are at their peak ripeness when the peel is all yellow with a few dark brown specks beginning to appear.
Its accepted name Musa (AAA group) 'Dwarf Cavendish'.
Synonyms include:
Musa acuminata L. A. Colla
Musa nana J. de Loureiro (name accepted at Mobot)
Musa nana auct. non J. de Loureiro
Musa sinensis P. A. Sagot ex J. G. Baker
Musa sinensis P. A. Sagot
Musa sinensis R. Sweet ex P. A. Sagot
The Cavendish cultivar replaced the Gros Michel cultivar as the most common banana, after Panama disease attacked the Gros Michel variety in the 1950s.
Panama disease has begun recently attacking Cavendish banana trees. As Cavendish trees cannot undergo sexual reproduction—they are all genetically-identical clones spread by vegetative reproduction with the help of farmers—they cannot evolve disease resistance. As there is no effective pesticide against Panama disease, this may mean that the Cavendish will cease to be usable for farming, and that a replacement cultival will have to be found (as happened with the Gros Michel).
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