The Environmental Impact of Banana Processing Wastewater.

Bananas are an important crop grown on many thousand hectares in all countries of the Caribbean basin, for export and for local consumption. Part of the genus “Musa” they are some of the largest herbaceous plants. To maintain an erect posture without lodging, Musaceae hold a very high turgor pressure. Wounded banana tissue exudes the phloem contents as a liquid known as “latex.” 

If allowed to dry on the fruit surface the latex forms an unsightly dark sticky coating and consumers reject fruit purely because of its appearance, so banana farmers have to wash off the exudate with large volumes of scarce fresh water before packing for export.  Wastewater from banana processing usually drains into downstream ecosystems, so the exudates have a significant impact on dissolved oxygen levels, dissolved solids and nutrient availability. High phosphorous levels have been found in initial studies.

This study determines the amount of exudates produced per kilo of export fruit processed, their composition, and the effect in vivo on downstream waters, making a case for recovery and return of these plant nutrients to the farms, which would incidentally conserve freshwater resources.