ABSTRACT
Banana and plantain belong to the family Musaceae. Although they are not seasonal like other tropical crops, they are classified as perennial and annual crops (Karunarate and Niroshini, 2010). Whilst bananas originated in Southeast Asia, banana cultivation is now widely distributed around the world in more than 120 countries (Robinson and Galan Sauco, 2012). The wide distribution of banana cultivation is related to the fact that they are both one of the most widely traded crops globally and, at the same time, a staple food in the tropical countries where they are produced (Sharrock, 1997). This duality of bananas and plantains, as both a global cash crop and local staple food, can be observed in some mixed-crop-producing areas where export and locally consumed varieties coexist (Fig. 1).
