Organic banana cultivation and sustainability Frans Wielemaker, Consultant (formerly Director of Research at Dole Fresh Fruit International), Costa Rica

The title of this chapter poses the question: what are the practices that make certified organic banana cultivation and exports possible and what are the crucial agronomic hurdles which limit their expansion? The demand for organic bananas seems unstoppable, but can they ever become mainstream (Fig. 1)? These questions are posed because the substantial amounts of fungicides and fertilizers required in conventional production systems of fresh bananas of the Cavendish variety grown in the wet tropics for export have been criticized by many as environmentally unsustainable. The reasons for the banana industry’s focus on Cavendish varieties are varied and involve a desire for standardization in the supply chain, consumer appreciation and their excellent agronomic (high yield) and logistic characteristics (they ship well over long distances).