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Red Banana (Chenkadali) — Kerala AAA cultivar Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass

Red Banana (Chenkadali) — Kerala AAA cultivar

Red Banana, called "Chenkadali" in Malayalam and "Chevvazhai" in Tamil, is an AAA-genome dessert banana distinguished by the deep red-maroon pigmentation of its pseudostem, leaf midribs and fruit skin. The variety is grown principally in Kerala (Wayanad, Kannur, Idukki), Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli) and parts of Karnataka. Fruit is sold at a sizeable premium to Cavendish because of its perceived nutritional value, attractive appearance and dense aromatic pulp. ICAR-NRCB Trichy and Kerala Agricultural University maintain agronomic packages for the cultivar.

Key characteristics

  • Genome group: AAA, Red subgroup
  • Plant height: 10-12 ft, pseudostem and midribs tinged red-maroon
  • Crop cycle: 14-15 months from planting to harvest (longer than Cavendish)
  • Bunch weight: 15-20 kg with 6-8 hands of medium fingers
  • Finger: 130-180 g, distinctive red-maroon skin turning purplish-red at ripeness; cream to pale-orange pulp with a mild aromatic flavour
  • TSS: 22-25 °Brix at full ripeness
  • Yield: 20-25 t/ha under good management
  • Carotenoid content: notably higher than Cavendish, contributing to the orange tint of ripe pulp

Cultivation

Red Banana is planted at 7 ft x 7 ft or 8 ft x 8 ft spacing on well-drained loamy soils. Sucker-based propagation has been traditional; tissue-cultured plants are increasingly available and reduce viral incidence. Drip-fertigation with balanced NPK and elevated potassium during finger filling is standard in organised plantings; smallholder fields rely on farmyard manure plus basal NPK. The tall pseudostem and heavy bunch make propping with bamboo or casuarina poles essential at bunch emergence. Most plantings are managed as a plant-crop-only system because of poor ratoon vigour.

Pest and disease profile

Red Banana is moderately susceptible to Fusarium wilt Race 1 (Banana Fusarium Wilt Foc Tr4), with the response varying between local sub-types. The cultivar is susceptible to banana bunchy top virus (Banana Bunchy Top Virus), Sigatoka leaf spots (Banana Sigatoka Yellow Mycosphaerella) and corm weevil (Banana Corm Weevil Cosmopolites). Tissue-cultured planting material, soil application of Trichoderma asperellum and rotation away from wilt-infested fields are the principal management levers.

Adoption and use

Red Banana supplies a premium segment of the dessert banana market in urban India, frequently retailing at two to three times the price of Cavendish. The fruit is widely associated in popular nutrition literature with elevated antioxidant and beta-carotene content and is favoured for gifting, religious offerings and traditional ripe-fruit preparations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Exports to Gulf markets are small but growing, often packed alongside Nendran (Banana Nendran Kerala Plantain) consignments.

See also: Banana Rasthali Silk India, Banana Nendran Kerala Plantain, Banana Grand Naine G9 Jain Tc, Banana Fusarium Wilt Foc Tr4, Banana Bunchy Top Virus.

References

  1. Red Banana — Variety profile. ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy.
  2. Red banana cultivation — Package of practices. Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur.