Will fruit of unusual banana plant survive?

Can a plant without branches or leaves bear fruit?

Well, that is what SEARCHLIGHT reporter Audwin Andrews is watching to see after a banana plant he felled three weeks ago began flowering.{{more}}

Plants need leaves for photosynthesis — a process for converting light energy captured from the sun into chemical energy that can be used to fuel the organism’s activities.

This plant, however, has four hands of luscious green bananas that seem to continue to grow healthily on a daily basis, although it doesn’t have any leaves.

Andrews spoke to an official at the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday, who informed him that it is “somewhat unusual” for the fruit on a banana plant in that state to survive.

The agriculture officer said that before the plant was chopped down, it might have absorbed enough nutrients to assist in the growth of the fruit.

“However, it’s highly unlikely the bunch will continue to full growth,” the agriculture official added.

The banana plant sprang up from previous suckers that were planted one year ago in Redemption Sharpes.

The agricultural officer advised that the plant be monitored to see if the fruits survive.

If the bunch of banana survives, “then that’s an unusual case,” the agriculture official said.