Banana plants, like most other agricultural crops, need to be protected from pests and diseases that can affect the quality of the fruit. The Windward Islands are fortunate to be free of the most virulent banana diseases. Panama Disease, which affects the Gros Michel variety, caused havoc to banana plantations in the 1950s. Today, however, the most potent banana disease is Black Sigatoka, an air-borne fungus that affects banana production in virtually all the major banana producing regions. Isolated from this risk by the Caribbean Sea, the Windwards banana industry suffers from a much milder strain of the Sigatoka disease (Yellow Sigatoka) that requires far less spraying of fungicide to keep it under effective control. In general, the Windwards industry requires less use of pesticides, which is good for the farmers and good for the environment. (For more details about banana diseases, an excellent reference is "Diseases of Banana Abaca and Enset" - Cabi Publishing - www.cabi.org)

Historically, all bananas were sold loose both in supermarkets and greengrocers, with customers buying a specific number of bananas, often five or six. During the recent past, as a means of differentiating its bananas from those from other sources, Windward Island bananas were offered in different sizes. In addition to bananas being sold loose, where the customer has to select for the size and quantity, small-size bananas have been offered separately in pre-selected bags. The pre-selected, pre-priced option has now been extended to medium-size and large bananas as well.