Gujarat researchers find new uses for banana plant waste

Gujarat, India-based Navsari Agricultural University said it has been successful in converting parts of a banana that are typically tossed in the garbage into useful products, including edible candy, according to the Press Trust of India today.

Researchers have developed the candy using the central core of the plant’s pseudostem, which they said is rich in fiber and nutritional value.

Gujarat’s farmers could benefit from the project because bananas are grown in large quantities in the state, with net profits projected to increase by 15 percent to 20 percent for pseudostem fibers.

The edible candy is still in experimental mode, although researchers are working on standardizing the process, with potential commercial and industrial applications.

A sample of the candy has been sent to the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysore for certification purposes.

The project, which has been underway for the past year, is intended to find an efficient use for every part of the banana plant.

Other potential uses for the banana waste include fiber for the textile and paper industry, and organic liquid fertilizer.

Last year, renewable energy developers Wuhan Liren Investment of China and Canadian WindFields Solar & Renewable Energy of Toronto announced plans for a series of 15-megawatt biomass plants in the Dominican Republic and Canada. The first demonstration plant was expected to use farm waste from the banana, sugarcane, rice, aloe vera and other agricultural industries (see Chinese energy developer eyes biomass in N. America).

Gujarat has been a highly desirable location for a number of cleantech-related projects (see Seven solar makers eye Gujarat for new production facilities and Zebasolar wins 10 MW Gujarat power station bid).

The western Indian state has become a hot spot for solar projects because of a 25-year plan for fixed-rate tariffs (see Solar farms flock to Gujarat for new tariff plan).

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