Bananas were first domesticated 7,000 years age in South America and have not looked back since. Currently, the most popular fruit in the world (cultivated in over 130 countries), they rank a close fourth after rice, wheat and maize in terms of human consumption.
Bananas are eaten raw, used for fibre and as ornamental plants. In many countries, bananas are dried and ground into cooking flour. Their medicinal and aphrodisiacal qualities are steeped in tradition. In Washington, an entire museum is dedicated to bananas and their by-products.
India is the largest producer of bananas, with a staggering 18 million tonnes cultivated in 2005, while Ecuador leads the world in exports, accounting for over one-third of the international supply.
In Pakistan, 30,000 hectares are dedicated to the cultivation of bananas. Their production, however, has been a sorry story. In 1978, the fruit was grown on over 60,000 hectares in Sindh alone, then productivity slipped sharply due to the unavailability of disease-free plant cultured tissue, with the result that the ravages of the infamous bunchy top virus (BBTV) carried by aphids stunted plant growth and made trees impotent and fruitless.