Northern Agriculture Banana Hybridization

            In early 2016, a box of old classified files brought down from the attic at the Northern Agriculture Research Centre contained, among other files, a report on an early 1950s project on the development of a breed of bananas capable of surviving in a ‘Northern’ climate along the South shore of Lake Ontario around Vineland, Ontario, the province’s ‘fruit belt’. It described the results of efforts by one Dr Helmut Disfarmer (real name a long string of consonants with but a single vowel and hence assigned a simpler name, and who, on subsequent research, turned out to be a Soviet Russian agricultural research scientist captured by the Allies at the end of WWII and put to work away from prying eyes) to develop plant hybrids suited to the climate of Southern Ontario. The work on bananas had been initiated by the craze of the day of having banana splits in malt shops. Concern had been raised about Canada’s lack of a stable domestic supply of bananas. Dr Disfarmer’s work was an attempt to develop such a domestic supply source. Needless to say, the results had not panned out and his report was classified and filed away.

In early 2016 the Disfarmer report was reviewed prior to shredding and in so doing, staff at the Northern Agriculture Research Centre realized that what had not been possible in the 1950s, was now, given advancements in genetic engineering, worth reconsidering, especially since no progress in securing a reliable domestic supplies had, to date  been achieved. It turned out that certain breeds of cherry trees were particularly susceptible to the introduction of banana genes. A high priority program was initiated to inject banana genes into these trees using the latest advances in genetic engineering. The results, surprisingly, created a tree that retained its normal cherry tree characteristics but with the addition of nodules, each of which produced a single banana, as seen here. It was recognized that this had the potential to provide local growers with a dual purpose fruit tree that yielded an early banana crop (while the cherry blossoms were just in bloom) and, later, a normal cherry crop, doubling the yield (and income) in just the original space. Some problems remain to be resolved. These include finding a way to overcome the tendency for the bananas to ripen much too quickly, ensuring a consistent repeat harvest of bananas throughout the season, and verifying cold-weather hardiness. A tentative name has been assigned to the species: Musa Disfarmer.  - JW

Daily Challenge: Flickr Group – We’re Here, Theme: Bananas

Date Taken: 2020-04-28

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Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Vineland Station (show map)

Taken on: April 28, 2020

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Grimsby

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bananas

hybridization

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Sets appears in: • Grimsby, Ontario

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Camera: Nikon D7100, f/5.3, 1/500 sec, 70mm, ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7100
Aperture:	f/5.3
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	70mm
ISO:	250
Exposure Bias:	+1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Fine Weather
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	GIMP 2.10.18
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