As an added bonus, the Gran Naine variety tastes much the same as the sweet locally grown Dwarf Cavendish kind.

And it grows well in Bermuda's soil type, reaching a height of six to eight feet, which gives it protection in the event of a wind storm.

The Department of Agriculture has imported more than 8,000 specially grown banana plants of the Gran Naine kind, assistant director of the Department Dr.

Roberta Dow said yesterday.

And they should be ready for planting around May.

Environment Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons was on hand to check them out at Government's Tulo Valley Nursery yesterday.

Dr. Dow said the Department went to great efforts to ensure that none of the exotic diseases affecting banana plants elsewhere in the world were introduced to Bermuda along with the new variety.

Bermuda's banana growing industry, on about 80 acres of land, nets about $100,000 through local sales.

But recently, in some years, a disease known as cigar-end-rot has caused considerable loss to growers.

The disease causes the individual banana to look like a burned end of a cigar, with grey ashes at the tip.

One farmer lost 30 percent of his crop last year to the disease.

Mr. Simons said a banana expert had been called in to advise the Agriculture Department on what to do "as part of our continuing improvements to local crops''.

Pre-orders will be filled first, Dr. Dow said, but left-over plants will be made available to the public for $1 each.

The plants were produced in a laboratory in Florida by taking a few cells from a growing mother plant, Dr. Dow explained.

"These cells were then cloned using plant hormones to encourage cell division and differentiation,'' she said.

The tissue was grown in sterile conditions and virus-indexed two times to ensure freedom from diseases.

BUDDING CROP -- Environment Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons checks out part of a shipment of 8,000 disease-resistant Gran Naine variety banana plants, which the Agriculture Department imported to help local growers. Also pictured are Tulo Valley Nursery landscaping foreman Mr. Manuel DeSilva and horticulturist Mr. Gerritt Harvey.