Saba Banana (saging na saba): Fruit and Tree Characteristics
Saba is a registered banana variety, also sold or known as saging na saba or cooking banana. The Philippine Seed Board approved it in 1991. Institute of Plant Breeding bred it.
If you came here looking for saging na saba or cooking banana, this is the same banana. Its seller and farm sources add notes, listed at the end. Compare it with the others in our banana variety finder, or see every crop variety we list. For the crop itself, read our guide: banana farming in the Philippines.
- Plant height: about 4.8 meters.
Key facts about Saba banana
| Trait | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| Registration | Philippine Seed Board |
| Year approved | 1991 |
| Breeder or owner | Institute of Plant Breeding |
| Also known as | saging na saba, cooking banana |
| Plant height | 4.8 m |
| Fruit weight (g) | 80 to 150 |
| Fruit length (cm) | 10 |
| Fruit width (cm) | 4.5 |
| Fruit shape | Ellipsoid Angular |
| Skin color | Yellow |
| Flesh color | Creamy and White |
When does it bear, and how much?
A registered tree variety is described from its mother tree, not from trial plots. A grafted or marcotted tree bears years sooner than one grown from seed, and its yield climbs as the tree grows.
anee.io keeps the records of each block of trees, from fertilizer to harvest, with the growth stages and weather beside them.
Is it resistant to pests and diseases?
No pest or disease ratings are published for this variety. So treat it as untested, and scout every week.
The pests and diseases that hit banana fields most often: anthracnose, Banana aphid, Banana bunchy top, Banana weevil, black sigatoka. Our pest finder and disease finder help you name what you see.
What the fruit is like
A fruit of Saba weighs about 80 to 150 grams, and its shape is ellipsoid angular. The flesh is creamy and white.
What its seller and farm sources say
- Fruit: Angular fingers 8 to 13 cm, 80 to 150 g, creamy white starchy flesh, bunch 26 to 38 kg.
- Uses: Cooking, processing (chips, ketchup), banana heart and leaves.
- Registered in 1991 with the Philippine Seed Board.
- Tall plant, 4 to 5.5 m in registry trials.
- Highly resistant to black sigatoka, tolerates drought and poor soils.
- Still hit by Fusarium wilt, Moko and bunchy top.
Why farmers know it: the cooking banana of Filipino food: banana cue, turon, maruya, halo halo, banana ketchup and banana chips, the country's main processed banana export. Check these against what farmers near you have seen, because the same variety can do differently from one town to the next.
Where and when to plant Saba banana
Lakatan and latundan sell fresh, saba goes to cooking and banana cue, and Cavendish goes to export. Fusarium wilt and bunchy top end many farms, so plant clean tissue cultured plantlets, and a tolerant selection where wilt is known. A registered tree variety is a selection from one proven mother tree, and only grafted, budded or marcotted plants carry its traits. A seedling grown from its seed can turn out quite different. So buy from a nursery accredited by the Bureau of Plant Industry, and ask which mother tree the scions came from. Before planting, get the field ready with our guide: Land preparation for banana.
Before you buy planting material
- Buy grafted or budded plants from an accredited nursery, with the variety name on the tag.
- Ask your municipal agriculturist or nearby farmers how it did in your area last season.
- Plant a few trees first if the variety is new to your area, before you fill the whole farm.
- Write down the planting day, inputs and harvest, so you can compare varieties on your own ground. anee.io keeps these records for you.
Set the planting day of each lot and anee.io dates every task to harvest, with the weather beside it. Free on the Libre plan.
Start freeBanana varieties like this one
These are the closest matches among the banana varieties we list. So if seed of this one is hard to find, compare these first.
- Lakatan: 1991
- Latundan: 1991
- Saba Cardaba: 1991
- Mapilak: 2017
Is saging na saba the same as Saba?
Where can I buy planting material of Saba?
See how Saba will do on your farm
With Libre + Anee, see its full record: how it yields, its strengths and weaknesses against pests, diseases and the weather, and whether it fits your farm, your season and your soil.
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