Grand Naine (G9)
Planted as tissue-culture plantlets, not true seed. The Cavendish clone behind most Indian banana, with uniform bunches export and retail grade well.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Banana
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- 11–12 months, planting to harvest
- Expected yield
- 483–503 q/ha in Bihar KVK demonstrations (420–431 on local practice)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Resistant to Panama wilt race 1; not resistant to the newer Foc TR4 strain now spreading in parts of Asia
- Release
- Introduced to India from Israel in 1995 as commercial Cavendish (AAA) planting material; not an ICAR-bred release
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Grand Naine — often written 'Grand Nain', French for 'large dwarf' — is a Cavendish-subgroup cultivar of Musa acuminata (AAA genome) that sits at an intermediate height between the shorter Dwarf Cavendish and taller Giant Cavendish clones. It is the most widely traded Cavendish banana in the world and the main cultivar behind Chiquita Brands' fruit. Commercial planting material was brought into India from Israel in 1995. Tissue-culture G9 plantlets (propagated by tissue culture, not true seed) now account for roughly 17% of all banana-planted area nationally. Like every Cavendish clone, Grand Naine is essentially a single genotype propagated by cloning, which leaves it with very little internal genetic diversity to draw on against a new pathogen. That vulnerability is no longer theoretical in India. A Down To Earth report describes Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) first being confirmed on Cavendish bananas — Robusta and Grand Naine — in Bihar's Barari village in 2015, with 2–26.6% disease incidence in that first outbreak. It has since spread to more than 8,474 hectares in Uttar Pradesh and over 3,000 hectares in Bihar. Siddharthnagar district in UP is named as a hotspot. Cavendish varieties (Grand Naine plus Robusta) together cover about 52% of India's banana-growing area and 64% of national production. So this spread is a systemic risk, not a local one. The same report distinguishes infected G9 plants, which reportedly 'break off and give a bad smell', from some traditional varieties that show milder symptoms.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Grand Naine (G9) if you supply a trader, packhouse or modern retailer and your district is free of Fusarium wilt TR4. It is the banana for volume trade because its bunches and fruit sizing grade so evenly, and it gave 483–503 q/ha in Bihar KVK frontline demonstrations (420–431 on farmers' own practice), ready in 11–12 months from planting. Certified tissue-culture plantlets give you clean, uniform starting material. It resists the old Panama wilt race 1 but not TR4, which was confirmed on G9 in Bihar in 2015 and has since spread across more than 8,474 hectares in Uttar Pradesh and 3,000-plus in Bihar. In an affected tract, a resistant type such as Nendran or Red Banana is the safer plan.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJanuary–February or November–December on garden land, which is where most Grand Naine is grown (TNAU)
- SpacingTNAU's high-density layout for Cavendish varieties is 3 suckers per pit at 1.8 x 3.6 m, about 4,600 plants per hectare. Normal planting is 2.0 x 2.0 m, and the paired-row system at 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 m takes 5,200 plants per hectare
- Sowing methodMost Grand Naine goes in as tissue-culture plants — TNAU asks for 5–6 leaves at planting and 25 g of Bacillus subtilis per plant. If you use suckers instead, take sword suckers of 1.5–2.0 kg and grade them to one size
- IrrigationOn drip, 5–10 litres per plant per day from planting to the fourth month, 10–15 litres until shooting, then 15 litres and above from shooting to 15 days before harvest. Under flood, water weekly on garden land
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Uniform, high-volume bunches and fruit sizing that export and modern-retail buyers grade well, the reason it has become India's dominant commercial Cavendish clone
- Confirmed field resistance to the older Fusarium wilt race 1 that wiped out the earlier Gros Michel-type Cavendish predecessors worldwide decades ago
- Widely available as certified tissue-culture plantlets, giving more uniform, disease-screened starting material than sucker propagation
Things to consider
- Grand Naine is not resistant to the newer Foc TR4 strain. TR4 was first confirmed on Grand Naine in India in a 2015 Bihar outbreak and has since spread across thousands of hectares in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with Grand Naine named among the highly susceptible commercial varieties.
- Every Grand Naine plant is the same clone, so there is no resistant plant to pick out from within the variety. In TR4-hit tracts, plant only clean tested material, keep the plot under quarantine, or change variety — replanting G9 in the same soil does not work
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu
- Gujarat
- Andhra Pradesh
Buying tissue-culture plants without buying trouble
Grand Naine is usually planted as certified tissue-culture material, and that is its real advantage over suckers: every plant is the same age and the same size, so the whole field flowers and harvests together and you can plan one buyer and one cutting schedule.
That advantage only holds if the plants are genuine and properly hardened. Buy from a recognised tissue-culture nursery and ask for the certification and a bill, rather than taking plants from a trader at the roadside. Take plants that have been hardened in a shade net and are of even height with four to five healthy leaves, not thin and stretched. Plant them quickly rather than keeping them standing, give them light, frequent water for the first weeks, and keep the field free of other banana trash. Because every plant is the same clone, there is no resistant plant to fall back on — so in a TR4-affected tract, clean material and quarantine discipline are the whole defence.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This crop is raised from suckers taken off the mother plant, so you can multiply it yourself. Pick sturdy suckers of even size from healthy, well-yielding clumps, and never from one that looked diseased or stunted — the new plant inherits whatever the mother had. For a clean start, take planting material from a registered nursery or a government farm.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Banana variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwarf Cavendish (Basrai) | Windy fields and a nearby market, on the most familiar banana of all | 12–14 months | High | Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh |
| Grand Naine (G9)this page | Uniform export and retail-grade bunches, away from TR4 districts | 11–12 months, planting to harvest | 483–503 q/ha in Bihar KVK demonstrations (420–431 on local practice) | Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh |
| Nendran | Kerala's chips and cooking trade, and wilt-sick soil | 9–12 months, planting to harvest, by ecotype | No institute per-hectare figure found; bunches 12–15 kg | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| Poovan | A sour-sweet dessert banana for the Tamil Nadu fresh market, on clean land | 11–14 months (TNAU) | 400–500 q/ha a year (TNAU) | Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
| Rasthali | A premium Silk-type dessert banana, for a farmer who can watch the crop closely | 12–15 months | Medium | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar |
| Red Banana | The highest-priced banana, for a grower who can wait 16–18 months | 16–18 months | Medium | Tamil Nadu |
| Robusta | Heavy Cavendish bunches for the south Indian fresh market | 12–13 months | High | Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Banana is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Banana plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Banana variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Banana into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Banana rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Banana seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Where did Grand Naine (G9) originally come from?
It is a Cavendish-subgroup clone (AAA genome) brought to India from Israel in 1995 for commercial cultivation — not an Indian-bred variety — and tissue-culture G9 plantlets now cover roughly 17% of India's total banana area.
Is the TR4 threat to Grand Naine real in India today, or just a risk elsewhere?
TR4 was first confirmed on Grand Naine and Robusta in Bihar in 2015 and has since spread to over 8,474 hectares in Uttar Pradesh and 3,000+ hectares in Bihar, with Siddharthnagar district in UP flagged as a hotspot.
How do I know if TR4 has reached my area?
Ask your horticulture officer or KVK, and look at nearby plantations: TR4 kills in patches, with yellowing older leaves, a split pseudostem base, and infected G9 plants reported to break off with a bad smell. Siddharthnagar in Uttar Pradesh has been named a hotspot. Never bring suckers or soil from a field you have not checked.
Can I just replant G9 after a wilt-hit crop?
That is the one thing not to do. Every G9 plant is the same clone, so there is no resistant plant to select from within the variety, and the fungus stays in the soil for years. In affected tracts, use only clean planting material, keep the plot under quarantine, or change variety.
Why buy tissue-culture plantlets instead of suckers?
Because suckers carry whatever was in the mother field, including wilt and viruses, while certified plantlets are disease-screened and uniform, so the plot flowers together and the bunches grade together. With TR4 spreading, clean planting material is the cheapest protection you can buy.
How long does Grand Naine take to its first bunch?
About 11–12 months from planting to harvest; Bihar KVK demonstrations recorded 324 to 358 days. With tissue-culture plantlets going in together, the field also comes to harvest together, which is what makes the uniform export and retail grading possible.
How does Grand Naine's yield compare with Nendran and Poovan?
There is no like-for-like comparison. Grand Naine gave 483–503 q/ha in Bihar KVK frontline demonstrations and 72–75 t/ha in an ICAR-CISH Lucknow trial at 1.8 x 1.5 m on its best planting dates. TNAU lists Poovan at 40–50 t/ha a year, and we found no institute per-hectare figure for Nendran. Sites, spacing and years differ, so do not read the gaps as a ranking. Grand Naine also carries no cover against Foc TR4, while Nendran is the one grown on wilt-sick soil; in a TR4 district none of these figures is the one you will get.
Sourced from: Grand Nain — Wikipedia, On slippery peel: Can India's banana cultivation face Panama wilt — Down To Earth, Banana production guide, TNAU Agritech Portal: planting systems and plant population for Cavendish varieties, tissue-culture planting, season and drip irrigation schedule, Impact of front-line demonstrations on productivity and profitability of banana (var. G-9) under Koshi zone of Bihar — KVK Saharsa and BAU Sabour, J. Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 9(3), 2020, Response to phenological manipulation through planting time for productivity of banana (Musa AAA, Grand Naine) under subtropics — ICAR-CISH Lucknow, Indian J. Agricultural Sciences 91(11), 2021. editorial policy.