Table of Contents

1: Distribution and Importance 2: Taxonomic Classification, Cultivars and Breeding 3: Morphological Characteristics and Plant Development 4: Climatic Requirements and Problems 5: Phenological and Physiological Responses 6: Site Selection, Soil Requirements and Soil Preparation 7: Establishing a Plantation 8: Systems of Cultivating Bananas and Product Certifications 9: Nutritional Requirements 10: Water Requirements and Irrigation 11: Horticultural Management 12: Diseases 13: Pests 14: Harvesting and Fruit Handling 15: Ripening, Biochemistry and Uses

About the Author

Dr Víctor Galán Saúco is Research Professor (Emeritus) at the Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias (ICIA), Spain where he was Head of Research from 1980 to 2006. He has been President of the Spanish Society of Horticultural Science and is former Chair of the Mango Working Group of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). He has acted as a consultant for organisations such as the FAO, EMBRAPA and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID). Professor Galán Saúco is widely regarded as one of the world's leading experts on mangoes and has published widely on mangoes and other tropical fruits.

Reviews

"As a banana researcher, I have used John Robinson's Bananas and Plantains book regularly since its publication in 1996. This second edition, co-authored with Victor Gal�n Sa�co, is most welcome. It looks like I will be using it well into the future. This book should be on the shelves of everyone interested or working in banana and plantain production and marketing."--David W. Turner, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.