Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – December 27, 2020 – Science
Japan, the unique planet, has developed a new method of growing fruit plants that mimics the conditions of the ice age and allows you to get bananas with edible skin. This method can be applied to many other plants, which will help solve the problem of food shortages and get earlier and tastier fruits without the use of genetic modification.
Mongee banana (the name means “incredible”) has an edible peel. Company D&T Farm grows it in Okayama Prefecture in Japan, using the method of “freeze-thaw”, which simulates the temperature and growing conditions during the ice age.
Unlike the present time, when bananas are tropical fruits, plants of the ice age withstood long periods of hibernation and grew at temperatures up to 12-13 ° C. To recreate the environment as it was 20,000 years ago, D&T Farm farmers first freeze banana seedlings to -60 ° C, then thaw them and replant them.
Such temperature changes stimulate very fast growth of seedlings and as a result fruits turn out much sweeter and completely edible. An added bonus is that the freeze-thaw method does not require the use of pesticides or genetic modification.
Given that Mongee bananas reach maturity in about 4 months (unlike regular bananas, which require two years), this technology is very popular, but not cheap, so in Okayama, only about 10 such bananas are sold each week. Their cost is about $ 5.70 per kg.
Such temperature changes stimulate very fast growth of seedlings and as a result fruits turn out much sweeter and completely edible. An added bonus is that the freeze-thaw method does not require the use of pesticides or genetic modification.
Given that Mongee bananas reach maturity in about 4 months (unlike regular bananas, which require two years), this technology is very popular, but not cheap, so in Okayama, only about 10 such bananas are sold each week. Their cost is about $ 5.70 per kg. According to D&T Farm, banana peel is high in vitamin B6, magnesium and tryptophan, which is a component of serotonin, which is important for healthy sleep.
Mongee bananas have attracted the attention of various companies, including the multinational company Dole Foods. In addition to bananas, D&T Farm successfully grows and harvests papaya, cocoa, mangosteen and cashew nuts using the same method.
The company eventually hopes to create improved varieties of wheat, soybeans and corn by awakening the seedlings in the freeze-thaw process. They can be grown in Siberia and other regions with cold climates.
