CHAPTER ONE
1.1       INTRODUCTION
Banana may be defined as a personal seed plant that produces an edible fruits, usually seedless, belong to the species M.  acuminata, or are hybrids M. acuminata, M. balbisnna.  They are perennial herbs with long, the bases of these leaves (petioles) remain tightyly fused and form the trunk (Pseudostem) of a plant 2-9m (6-30-ft) in height (Ploetz, 1994),
            “Banana” is a general term embracing a number of species or hybrids in the genus musa, family musceae. In some areas of the world bananas are grown only as ornamental plants or for fiber.
            It is found in tropical regions.  The banana is monocarpic, flowering and setting fruit once before sit dies.  The inflorescence protective flag leaf.  The flower stalk of most banana varieties  is positively geotropic and bends from the vertical until its stip points towards vertical flower stalks are from 30 – 90 cm (1-3ft) along, tapered and covered in a sheath of over- lapparing bracks the flower are parthenogenic (self-fertile).  And occur in group of 12-20 beneath the bracks.
            At first, individual fruiots called fingers, make up the groups (hands) which are arranged in a spiral around the flower stalk, forming a bunch.
            At fruit set, a healthy banana plant will have 8-12 leaves, fruits mature in 60-100 days after flowers first appears depending on the season and cultivan.  New banana plants arise as suckers from an underground rhizone.  As old planted die and new sucher are formed the rhizome expands and is called a mat.  Banana are propagated by suckens, pieces of the Bluzome and by tissue culture  (Ploetz 1994)
USES   
Bananas contain about 74% waterm 23% carbohydrate, 1% protein and 0.5 %.  A 4 – ounce banana without the peel is a good source of  vitamin Bb, Potassium, and fiber.
Banana fruit may be   eaten raw or as a cooked vegetable.   The fruit can also be processed for a number of food products.
            Ripe fruits can be pulped for puree for in a variety of products including ice cream, yoghurt, cake, bread, nectar, and baby food.  Ripe banabas can be dried and eaten, or sliced canned with syrup, and used in bakery products, fruits salads and stoppings.  Green (unripened) bananas can be sliced and fried as chips. Whole green fruits can also be dried and ground into flour. Vinegar and alcoholic beverages can be made from fermented ripe bananas. Other parts of the banana plant are consumed besides the fruits. The heart of the growing pseudostem is eaten in India.   In Southeast Asia, the male bud is eaten as a boiled vegetable.
            The banana leaves are not eaten but may be used for wrapping food in cooling. The banana foliage and pseudostems are used as cattle feed during dry periods in some banana producing areas.  Culled bananas are used sto feed cattle and hogs.  Bananas are a good energy source but need to be supplemented with  protein.  But not all micro-organisms associateeed with fruits are harmless”.  This  includes the lactic acid bacteria, coryne forms, pseudomonads, xanthomonads  micrococci, amny fungi and coliforms.  These microorganisms do play an important role in the spoilage of food and dictate the shelf life of fresh fruits. Most healthy raw produce will have on them anywhere from a  few thousand to millions of miucroorganisms per gram.  The presence of many of these microorganisms is a concern for causing product spoilage.