This complete update of Simmonds's 1966 2nd Edition provides a comprehensive description of the banana industry and of new knowledge about the banana plant that has developed since that time. It gives the first descriptions of modern banana plantations and the operations of the current banana export industry, and covers many of the farming systems employed world-wide in the production of bananas and plantains for local consumption. The accomplishments of banana research are outlined, along with research problems that remain to be resolved. There are 22 chapters--all but five are completely new. Major topics covered include botany, horticulture--including phenology and pomology, classification, cultivars, breeding, soils, cultivation systems, plantation and farm management, diseases and disorders, pests, packing stations, plantation infrastructure, transportation, quality evaluation, fruit physiology, marketing, history and research.