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Dwarf Cavendish
Within subtropical regions, Dwarf Cavendish has generally been regarded as the banana cultivar most adapted to extremes of climate, and was grown in South Africa for this purpose. In addition, it is short, making it more stable and management-friendly in subtropical windy conditions. In trials around South Africa, it was discovered that Dwarf Cavendish is not more tolerant to extremes of temperature. On the contrary, it suffers badly from the phemonenon of “choke throat” whereby the emerging bunch cannot be thrown clear in cold weather, causing considerable yield losses. Other disadvantages found in trials, are that the bunches are compressed and tapered, fingers are short especially on the bottom hands, yields are low, and it suffers from “cigar end rot” worse than other cultivars. It’s annual yield potential was found in trials to be consistently lower than all the taller cultivars tested, thus it has been mostly discontinued. Dwarf Cavendish is still grown in areas where winds are very strong and props are not readily available eg. Komatipoort.
NOTE:
DuRoi Laboratory has bred a taller selection of Dwarf Cavendish which is growing in the DuRoi banana mother block. This selection is taller and higher yielding than normal Dwarf Cavendish and does not have the same disadvantages. However, it is still shorter than Chinese Cavendish and Grand Nain, thus it is more easily managed and more tolerant to wind. The yield potential of the taller Dwarf selection is not as high as Chinese Cavendish, Grand Nain or Williams.