Sirumalai Hill Banana is a type of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

grown in the Sirumalai region in the

Palani Hills The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin with t ...

of Western Ghats in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It was declared as a

Geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

in 2008–09.

Description

The

is cultivated at altitudes of along the Western Ghats. It is often grown as a rain-fed crop on loamy soil with a pH range of 5.5 to 6.5. The plantain trees are grown during July–August during the

South-west monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

season and may be grown along with other plants in

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

plantations. The trees grow up to tall and the crop is harvested after eight months. Over the past decade, the variety has been severely affected by

Banana bunchy top virus Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family '' Nanoviridae'' known for infecting banana plants and other crops. It is aphid transmitted. Definition Banana bunchy top is a viral disease caused by a single-stranded ...

with various steps taken to alleviate the same. The fruits are known for its unique smell and flavor. The ripe fruits are yellowish in color with a thicker peel. The fruits can be stored for up to ten days at the right temperature conditions. The fruit pulp is slightly harder with has less moisture content, large

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

content (230

brix Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid, based on its specific gravity, and is commonly used to measure dissolved sugar content of a solution. One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose solute dissolved in 100 grams ...

) and high

potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...

References

{{Kongu Nadu Agriculture in Tamil Nadu Bananas Banana cultivars GI Tagged banana varieties of India Geographical indications in Tamil Nadu Kongu Nadu Dindigul district