Cultural Preservation Committee Banana Information
Mai’a Huamoa
Hey everyone, I love bananas and I’m obsessed with Hawaiian varieties. I’ve written up a few, haha it’s overwhelming, things to remember when growing these bananas. The cultivar is Huamoa and it is from the genetic line of Popo’ulu. This cultivar is endangered.
This is actually our most productive variety here in HPP and it can produce from planting to harvest in 10 months! This is very beneficial to beat the pests here. This is my most recommended Hawaiian variety for people to grow.
Bananas are extremely hard to grow here due to pests and human pressures, especially Hawaiian varieties. It is very common to lose plants and lose genetics, there are few things I’ve learned from other banana experts to be able to grow these endangered genetics and allow them to flourish.
Moʻolelo
This information is taken from the book, The World of Bananas in Hawaii: Then and Now.
https://www.nativebookshawaii.org/products/the-world-of-bananas-in-hawai%CA%BBi-then-and-now
Details for growing
Bananas are extremely hungry and thirsty! And Popo’ulu are even more hungry than most varieties due to their quick cycle and large quantities of food they produce. If you don’t feed them well they will become stagnant and or will produce tiny racks. We buy most of our fertilizer at the Farm Supply Cooperative in Hilo.
We feed them Nutri-rich chicken manure pellets monthly. About 3-4 cups per dose.
Four times per year, and when the flower bud appears, add the following to the soil:
2 teaspoons Borax
1 cup Dolomite
½ cup Ammonium Sulfate 21-0-0
½ cup Sulfate Potash 0-0-52
If you have ash, give it to it when it is pushing its flower bud! Make sure to water fertilizer in.
Managing deficiencies:
Managing Banana Bunchy Top Virus
Culling to stop infection:
Keeping genetics in your hands:
Proper propagation techniques
Treat them as annuals:
Carving corm after digging to check for weevils:
Cooking
These bananas are my favorite when peeled green, with a knife, and then sliced thin and fried to create chips!
They are very good steamed yellow ripe with just a little bit of dark spots. Like a yummy tangy pie filling. Eat them warm!
If you want to preserve the bananas for their longest shelf life, then process them and get them into the freezer. At this stage we use them like potatoes.
Hope y’all can get them to grow and produce for you!