State of São Paulo is responsible for producing 26% of the country's bananas

Today, September 22nd, is the world day of the most consumed fruit in Brazil and in the world: bananas. The date marks the importance of this nutritious and highly relevant food for the economic scenario, especially for agribusiness in São Paulo, as the State of São Paulo is the largest Brazilian producer with 26% of the country's total production.

According to a survey by the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IEA – Apta), the expectation for the 2022/23 harvest is more than one million tons, with a planted area of ​​1,9 hectares in the state. Vale do Ribeira is considered the largest banana producing hub in São Paulo and the main varieties are: silver, dwarf, apple, gold and terra.

Brazil is the fourth largest producer in the world, behind only India, China and Indonesia. According to IBGE data, the 2021/22 harvest was around 7 million tons, in an area of ​​453.273 hectares. A market that generates more than R$13,8 billion per year.

Part of this production is destined for the foreign market. According to the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex), last year, 83 thousand tons were shipped, with revenue of US$37 million. The biggest importers are the European Union and Mercosur countries.

Research

To encourage and further develop the sector, the Department of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo (SAA) contributes heavily with several actions that range from genetic improvement studies in production to phytosanitary measures.

Research carried out by Apta shows that it is possible to increase the productivity of banana plantations by using correct crop management techniques. According to Erval Rafael Damatto Junior, researcher and director of Apta Regional de Pariquera-Açu, the national productivity average is 14 tons per hectare. “In Vale do Ribeira, the average is higher, 22 tons per hectare. However, from our research, we found that it is possible to more than double this productivity with the use of correct soil management and plant nutrition techniques. We had experiments that reached up to 65 tons per hectare,” he says.

In May of this year, SAA published in the Official Gazette a resolution establishing the creation of the State Banana Crop Plant Health Program. “With this standard, we defend phytosanitary sustainability in the State of São Paulo, in addition to defining sanitary defense actions aimed at culture more clearly”, explains Alexandre Paloschi, agronomist and director of the Department of Sanitary Defense and Plant Inspection (DDSIV) .

The program also provides for the registration of all commercial banana production units in the State, aiming to reduce the spread of quarantine pests present; preventing the entry of missing pests; minimize economic damage to the crop through contingency measures against missing pests and establish complementary protocols and standards, aiming to guarantee the traceability and quality of the final product.

For the Secretary of Agriculture, Antonio Junqueira, banana farming is an agricultural sector that deserves increased attention. “We integrate the work of our coordinators with the research of our institutes. Our focus is to improve the profitability of São Paulo producers by encouraging good practices, from soil management to product marketing”, adds Junqueira.

Sustainable and resistant banana tree

In Vale do Ribeira, the Department of Agriculture, through the Apta Regional de Pariquera-Açú, is studying the use of organic compost in the cultivation of banana trees and the selection of new cultivars with resistance to banana fusariosis.

According to researcher Edson Nomura, the project evaluates the effects of doses of organic compost on banana cultivation, aiming at soil health with a balance in the use of chemical and organic fertilizers. “It is an unprecedented assessment of the enzymatic activities of microorganisms and their performance in the soil using compost,” he explains.

The difference in this study is to combine the benefits of using chemical and organic fertilizers for the sustainable cultivation of banana trees.

For research into the selection of new cultivars with resistance to banana fusariosis, the development, production and post-harvest of somaclonal bananas from the Cavendish subgroup (known as nanica banana or water banana in Brazil), under conditions edaphoclimatic characteristics of the Vale do Ribeira region.

“The study can influence the increase in production, with fewer losses of plants attacked by the disease, reducing the cost of production, in addition to less use of agrochemicals”, he concludes.