Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Amérique Latine - Caraïbes / Latin America - Caribbean : J. Orozco Romero
Table 3. Main Musa cultivars and production by States in Mexico.
State Area Production Area per cultivar (1000 ha)
Hectares Tons Giant Dwarf Macho Dátil Manzano Pera Valery
(1000) (1000) AAA AABp AA AAB ABB AAA
Chiapas 21.9 788.8 19.7 2.2
Veracruz 14.2 401.8 9.3 2.8 2.1
Tabasco 12.9 349.8 12.6 0.3
Nayarit 6.6 146.1 1.0 1.0 3.3 1.3
Michoacán 4.7 130.3 4.4 0.2
Colima 4.2 70.0 4.0 0.2
Oaxaca 3.9 62.3 0.4 3.6
Guerrero 2.5 48.5 2.0 0.5
Jalisco 1.8 30.1 1.7 0.1
Total 72.9 2 027.7 55.1 10.3 2.1 3.3 1.3 0.3
19%, and Dátil (AA), with 14.7%; the latter is very important to this region, since it is the
only place in Mexico, where it is produced commercially.
Tabasco. According to the cultivated area, this is the third most important State
occupying 17.6% of the total area. This region is characterised by being one of the
rainiest, with annual rainfall between 2 300 and 3 900 mm, distributed throughout the
year, and only two months with less than 60 mm. The average annual temperature is
26-27°C. This region is located at an altitude 50-55 masl. The banana production zone is
divided into two regions. The first is called La Sierra and represents 43.5% of the bananacultivated
area in the State. It has 100 producers, 70% of them possess plantations of
approximately 70 ha and use a high technology production system, hence, the average
production exceeds 50 tons/ha/year. Thirty percent of farmers have plantations of
approximately 20 ha, and their productivity potential is lower than of the first group. The
other region is the Centro Chontalpa, which represents 56.5% of the State’s area. Ninetyfive
percent of the farmers are community producers, with 7 ha gardens and the
remaining 5% have plantations of about 30 ha. This region is less productive than the
first one.
Oaxaca. This State presents similar climatic characteristics as Veracruz State. It is
the seventh most important State in terms of cultivated area, with 5.3% of the total area.
The production of Horn plantain or Macho occupies the largest area in the country. The
production system is under rainy conditions. Since the precipitation is not sufficient and
its distribution is not regular during the year, plantations suffer lack of water during a
period of about three to four months, which causes yield losses of about 20 tons/ha/year.
Pacific region
At national level, this State has the highest average yield per area (36 tons/ha). Due to
its climatic characteristics, this region can be divided into two sub-regions: South Pacific
and Central Pacific.
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