Banana is a major fruit crop of Pakistan. It is grown on 34,800 hectares with production of 154,800 tons. It is mainly grown in Sindh province where the soil and climatic conditions are favorable for its successful cultivation. The total share of Sindh province alone in its cultivation is 87 per cent.

Banana is the premier fruit of Asia and the Pacific. It is one of the most cultivated fruits in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh, the South Pacific island countries, India and Pakistan. Banana also occupies an important position in the agricultural economy of Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and Southern China.

Scientifically classified in the genus Musa, bananas are fast-growing giant herbs from the same family as lilies and orchids. They are the largest plants on Earth without a woody stem like that of a tree trunk.

A cultivated banana plant does not grow from a seed, but rather from a bulb-like structure called a corm. The “trunk” of the plant, called the “pseudo stem,” rises from the corm and is made of sheaths of overlapping leaves tightly wrapped around each other like celery stalks. Emerging from the centre of the pseudo stem, 4-15 frond-like leaves unfurl at a rate of one per week in optimal conditions as the plant grows. The leaves extend upward and outward, forming broad glossy blades up to 9 feet (2.7 m) long and 2 feet (0.6 m) wide.

Once the plant has produced a certain number of leaves, the flowering stem, called the “inflorescence,” also grows up through the pseudo stem. At first, it is a large tapered purplish bud. As the bud opens, groups of tubular white flowers are revealed. Both male and female flowers are present, and the fruit (technically a berry) develop from the females without pollination. As the young bananas grow, they resemble slender green “fingers.” A cluster of mature fruit becomes a “hand,” and under the weight of the bananas the stem bends down toward the ground. As bananas ripen, they turn from green to yellow or red depending on the variety. A single banana plant can produce 100-300 individual fruits, and can reach a height of more than 30 feet (9 m).

The time for a plant to grow and bear fruit varies, depending on climate and variety, but generally can take anywhere from 10 to 15 months, it takes approx. 9 months in case of 2nd generation and so on. During that time, the plants are susceptible to drought and wind damage because the pseudo stem is 93 percent water. Severe windstorms can knock down acres of plants, and many growers will prop their crops with sturdy poles or overhead cables. Growers may also cover the fruit with a transparent plastic bag, which provides protection from insects, birds, and leaf damage, yet allows sunlight to penetrate. Once a banana plant bears fruit, it dies, and new shoots grow from the corm. Thus, bananas can be grown and harvested year-round.