Very few could expect the growth of plantain (banana used as vegetable) bunch up to about three metres in height.
Fifty-five-year-old Loa Yai, a woman farmer in landlocked Patuk village in Parsi-Parlo circle of remote Kurung Kumey district who owned the bunch had to support the plantain head with a couple of strong wooden bars to prevent it from uprooting the banana tree itself.
Since there was no market for it for want of road connectivity, the family consumed the plantains, Kurung Kumey Zilla Parishad Chairperson Sangha Tagik told this daily today.
Had there been good road connectivity the product would have reached the market and yielded good price for the peasant. The sooner the double-lane Trans-Arunachal Highway is built the better it would be to boost the local economy, he opined.
"Jahaji kol khabo le bhal, pabale tan (Jahaji banana is tasty but difficult to grow)," commented Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, on being informed about the unique fruiting. It is a feather in our state's crown, particularly when my government has attached top priority to agri-horti and allied sector."
"The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed," Agri-Horticulture Minister Setong Sena quoted Gandhiji to explain the uniqueness of this wonder land. The farmer deserves to be rewarded and he should be encouraged to take up other cultivation if his land is fertile.
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"Such growth of banana has not been recorded in any part of the state so far. Thus, efforts should have been made to enter into Limca Book of World Record and Guinness Book of World Record but for the ignorance of the local people," said Lok Sabha member Takam Sanjoy, who belongs to the district. It is time for those who matter to rise to the occasion to showcase state's potential to the world, the MP added.
This again proves that the horticulture officers of the state are not aware of their duty, commented youth leader Likha Taji.
The picture of an exceptionally huge bunch of banana hanging from a very tall banana tree in July 2008 is available in internet with explanation that: The photograph almost certainly depicts a type of banana that has the binomial Musa chiliocarpa and can be found in various parts of South East Asia. The plant goes by a variety of common names including Pisang seribu and Thousand Fingers. The banana inflorescence (flowering stalk) of Musa chiliocarpa often continues to grow until it reaches the ground, producing large numbers of small bananas. Although small, these bananas are reportedly sweet and pleasantly flavoured.
Although farmers in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea first domesticated bananas but India is the largest producer of banana among 120 producing nations in the world with 30.28 million tons in 2012-13 against 28.46 million tons in 2011-12. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE.
Gujarat with 4,523.49 tonnes is the highest producing state with 18.19 per cent share while Arunachal Pradesh with 18.19 tonnes production has a share of .07% of India's total production, according to APEDA records.
With multifaceted usage like textile as a source of fiber (used for making kimonos in Japan since 13th century); Hindus use it in important festivals and occasions; used in paper making; as adhesive; large leaves as umbrellas and serving food; banana peel used as purification material (In 2007, banana peel powder was tested as a means of filtration for heavy metals and radionuclides occurring in water produced by the nuclear and fertilizer industries.
When added and thoroughly mixed for 40 minutes, the powder can remove roughly 65% of heavy metals; arts (The song - Yes! We have no Bananas - was written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn and originally released in 1923; for many decades, it was the best-selling sheet music in history); a person slipping on a banana peel has been a staple of physical comedy for generations; the poet Basho is named after the Japanese word for a banana plant; the cover artwork for the debut album of The Velvet Underground features a banana made by Andy Warhol; Nang Tani, the female ghost of Thai folklore haunts banana trees; in Myanmar, bunches of green bananas surrounding a green cocoanut in a tray form an important part of traditional offerings to the Buddha and the Nats.