ABSTRACT
The production of bananas, as with many other tropical crops, is highly influenced by the climate. It is commonly thought that banana production is more suited to a tropical climate than to a subtropical one. However, this only applies when temperatures are in a moderate range, which allows uniform plant development throughout the year and prevents physiological disorders. There are many other severe constraints associated with the tropics (Galán Saúco et al., 2012), which are nearly all due to the heavy rains and cloudy conditions that prevail in these regions, but these will not be discussed here. In the case of bananas, the relatively cool climate of the subtropical areas causes undesirable physiological phenomena and long cropping cycles. However, yields obtained in the subtropics are excellent, and those in countries like Israel or Spain (the Canary Islands), which are well inside the subtropical belt, can be considered among the highest in the world (Galán Saúco et al., 1992, 1998).
