Pisang tanduk (Musa paradisiaca) is one of the popular banana varieties for cooking in Malaysia. It is widely cultivated by smallholders for production of banana chips, a popular snack among Malaysians. The ripened banana is usually deep fried and the under-ripe boiled for breakfast or evening tea. It is the largest variety of banana. Its length ranges from 25 to 40 cm and width 6 to 12 cm. The banana generally has one or two hands in a bunch and a hand comprises of 6-10 fingers (fruits). The skin of the fingers is light green at the unripe stage and turns yellow on ripening. The ripe banana has a light creamy orange pulp with fine texture. It is non-seasonal and is available at the market throughout the year. Under the conventional triangular oil palm planting system, the banana can be integrated for a period of 1.5 – 2.0 years (two planting seasons) after planting of the oil palm (Figure 2). However, under double avenue planting system for oil palm, the banana integration can be extended. In this planting system, the area between the two double avenues can be widened and the light penetration will be increased thus the growth of banana could be enhanced for another two to three years.

Main Research: Hj Suboh Ismail