A variety trial conducted over the past year by University of Guam Cooperative Extension & Outreach tested five varieties of banana — ‘Fiji,’ ‘Blue Java,’ ‘Macao,’ ‘Manila,’ and ‘Saba’ — from planting to harvest to see which have ideal characteristics for being grown commercially in Guam. The study found that ‘Fiji’ and ‘Saba’ would be ideal for expanded production in Guam due to their highly marketable qualities, favorable yields, and ability to be sustainably produced in Guam’s conditions without the use of pesticides.

‘Fiji,’ originally from Saipan, is an attractive and sweet variety of banana that is distinguished by its rapid growth, its short timeframe from flowering to harvest of about three to four months, and its tolerance to local insect pests and diseases.

“At present, consumers in Guam prefer two local dessert bananas — ‘Manila’ and ‘Macao’ — but these varieties are slow-growing and very susceptible to diseases. ‘Fiji,’ on the other hand, is quick to produce and is tolerant of diseases,” said extension horticulturalist Robert F. Bevacqua, who conducted the trial.

‘Saba’ also performed well in the variety trial for commercial production purposes. It exhibited vigorous growth, robust fruit size, disease resistance, and tolerance to adverse conditions, such as drought or flooding. The plant is also very sturdy and could be used as a windbreak for other crops, like papaya. It has a longer timespan to harvest than other varieties of about five to six months.

‘Saba,’ sometimes called ‘Palau,’ is a common variety of banana plant in Guam that is originally from the Philippines. It is versatile as both a cooking and a dessert banana, able to be eaten raw, boiled, fried as banana lumpia, steamed, or cooked in coconut milk.

Varieties available for propagation at Banana Field Day on May 10

An upcoming Banana Field Day event hosted by UOG Cooperative Extension & Outreach on Saturday, May 10, will provide a unique opportunity for farmers and gardeners to acquire a known ‘Saba’ or ‘Fiji’ plant or one of the other types in the variety trial.

The hands-on workshop will focus specifically on banana plant propagation. Individual banana plants only produce fruit once. New plants, called suckers or pups, will grow from the base of the mother tree, and they will be most productive if they are separated.

Participants will get first-hand experience digging up and separating a sucker from a mother plant that they can then take home and plant. They will learn how to select the preferred suckers — called “sword” suckers — what tools and techniques to use to dig up the suckers, and how to trim the suckers to prevent the transfer of insect pests and diseases to the new planting site.

Registration

The Banana Field Day will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, at the Inalåjan Research & Education Center, one of UOG’s three Land Grant experiment stations on island. Registration will be capped at 40 and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. A $10 registration fee, payable at the door, includes one banana sucker for each participant to take home and plant. To register, visit https://url.uog.edu/banana-may-2025 or contact Glenda Hall at (671) 735-2080.

Resources for growing bananas

Publications on propagating banana plants, harvesting, and handling as well as fact sheets on the ‘Saba’ and ‘Fiji’ banana varieties can be found on the UOG Extension publications database at https://www.uog.edu/publications/ceo. Residents can also direct banana growing questions to UOG Extension’s Agriculture & Natural Resources office at (671) 735-2080.

About University of Guam Land Grant

As a federally designated Land Grant university since 1972, the University of Guam provides instruction, research, and community outreach in the fields of agriculture, food, natural resources, nutrition, and consumer science in order to improve life in Guam and Micronesia. Its two Land Grant units include the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center and UOG Cooperative Extension & Outreach, which operate within the College of Natural & Applied Sciences.