james.world

I tried to search before posting this and couldn't find an answer so I hope you guys can help.

Is the yield in a dwarf Nam Wa equal to the yield in a tall Nam Wa? or any other variety for that matter.

raygrogan

Let's wait for answers from people who know what they are talking about, but my backyard observation is that dwarf (Brazilian) out-yields the talls by a whopping double or something. I still prefer the talls for taste and how they ripen, but for bunch size and volume per space (and not to mention easier harvests) you just can't beat the dwarfs. This is if you have the dwarfs in their own beds, not if they have to compete with the talls for sun.

james.world

Well that is just fascinating, you would think it's the opposite for obvious reasons.

Would you care to elaborate please, Do you mean they take longer to ripe thus the sugars have longer time to develop?

Nicolas Naranja

Yield, per plant, is equal for dwarf Nam Wah and regular Nam Wah. You can plant a lot more dwarf plants per acre, so in a commercial setting dwarf plants are preferred. However, I have noticed that tall plantains tend to produce longer, cleaner fruits. From a quality side, that is important. That being said, the dwarf varieties are just so much easier to manage.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

james.world

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks Nicolas, that was very helpful.

Akula

Oh, yeah!!!

I cut down and chopped up four big tall namwahs this past week on the same day and it was a job. I used a saw and a machete and I was exhausted after chopping those pstems up into mulch. I lift heavy in the gym three days a week but swinging the machete when you are not use to it gets tiring fast. It was more fun as kid. So having less stuff to saw, chop, and otherwise clean up is a big deal. Plus its much easier to put frost cloth on the dwarfs vs. tall ones if you are in Zone 9/8 and have to deal with winter frost/freezes.

SoFloBanana

It might be worth investing in a chipper/shredder if you're chopping a lot of old P-stems (and other yard debris).

raygrogan

Ripening - dwarf Brazilian tend to go off all at once more often, meaning all the bananas in a bunch get ripe at the same time. Talls can do it too, but less often for me. I prefer a gradual ripening, giving the household a week or so to eat 'em up.