Impact, adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate resilient banana production

Abstract

Globally, bananas occupy fourth most important commodity after rice, wheat and corn. In India, banana is grown in the regions from the humid tropics to humid subtropics and semiarid tropics. Banana is a plant of the tropics and subtropics, requiring hot and humid climate. The areas which experience both water shortage and high temperature may pose further problem, in the face of changing climate, in growing traditional banana cultivars. The pests and disease are another area of concern. The banana leaf spot disease may spread and become serious towards northern belt of India as temperature favours this disease development. In Jalgaon, traditional banana growing region of Maharashtra state, India, the leaf spot disease was not observed earlier, and but now, this devastating disease and cucumber mosaic virus disease started appearing. These new developments may be due to climate change. Adaptation strategies through changes in farming practices, cropping patterns and use of new technologies will help to ease the negative impact of climate change.