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Ney Poovan banana — cardamom-flavoured AB cultivar Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass

Ney Poovan banana — cardamom-flavoured AB cultivar

Ney Poovan, also marketed as "Elaichi" banana for its cardamom-like aroma, is a slender-fingered dessert banana belonging to the rare AB genome group. The name "ney" means ghee in Tamil and refers to the smooth, firm, ivory pulp; "poovan" denotes the broad family of acidic-sweet dessert bananas of south India. Commercial plantings are concentrated in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and southern Andhra Pradesh, with smaller volumes in Gujarat and Maharashtra. ICAR-NRCB Trichy and TNAU maintain agronomic packages for the cultivar.

Key characteristics

  • Genome group: AB (one of few commercial AB-group cultivars)
  • Plant height: 8-10 ft, slender pseudostem
  • Crop cycle: 12-14 months from planting to harvest
  • Bunch weight: 12-18 kg with 10-14 hands of small slender fingers
  • Finger: 60-90 g, thin yellow skin, firm ivory pulp with characteristic cardamom-like aroma
  • TSS: 24-26 °Brix at full ripeness (among the sweetest Indian bananas)
  • Yield: 25-30 t/ha under good management
  • Price premium: typically 30-60% higher per kg than Cavendish in retail urban markets

Cultivation

Ney Poovan is planted at 6 ft x 7 ft or 7 ft x 7 ft spacing, generally as a sucker-propagated crop in smallholder fields, with tissue-cultured plants gaining ground in organised plantings. The variety responds well to drip-fertigation with balanced NPK and elevated potassium during bunch filling. Because the pseudostem is slender and bunches carry many small hands, propping with bamboo poles at bunch emergence is recommended. The fruit must be harvested at the right physiological maturity to avoid splitting; staggered harvesting of hands rather than the whole bunch is common.

Pest and disease profile

Ney Poovan is highly susceptible to Fusarium wilt Race 1 (Banana Fusarium Wilt Foc Tr4), which has been a major reason for its limited expansion in some belts. The variety is moderately susceptible to Sigatoka leaf spots (Banana Sigatoka Yellow Mycosphaerella) and to banana bunchy top virus (Banana Bunchy Top Virus). Corm weevil (Banana Corm Weevil Cosmopolites) and nematodes are recurrent below-ground constraints. Tissue-cultured planting material is the principal disease-management lever.

Adoption and use

Ney Poovan supplies a premium dessert segment in urban markets, sold by the kilogram rather than by the bunch and prized for festival meals, weddings and gift baskets. The fruit retains its quality during ripening and travels reasonably well, supporting an organised supply chain in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The variety is also used in temple offerings across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where the cardamom aroma is culturally valued.

See also: Banana Poovan Mysore Tn, Banana Rasthali Silk India, Banana Fusarium Wilt Foc Tr4, Banana Sigatoka Yellow Mycosphaerella, Banana Grand Naine G9 Jain Tc.

References

  1. Ney Poovan — Variety profile. ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy.
  2. Banana cultivars of south India. TNAU Agritech Portal.