BANANA – Agronomy

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Banana is a tropical plant which grows best under warm condition and mean rainfall 75 mm per month. Widely adapted, growing at elevations of 0–920 m or more, depending on latitude; mean annual temperatures of 26–30°C; annual rainfall of 2000 mm or higher for commercial production. With the exception of atoll islands, banana and plantain are ideally suited for traditional Pacific island agro-forestry, for inter-planting in diversified systems, and for plantation-style cultivation in full sun.

A suitable banana climate is a mean temperature of 27oC. For the best temperature conditions for the banana shoot growth is between 26-28oC and for the fruit growth at 29-30oC. This is because when the temperature becomes 16oC to 10oC it will slow the plant growth and continuously it can kill the plant. Frost also can kill the leaves and symptoms of chilling injury will occur. Otherwise, temperature at or above 37oC may cause a leaf scorch and this will result in emerging very narrow leaves. Cool weather and prolonged drought retard the growth of banana. In colder areas where banana is used mostly as an ornamental, new plant are obtained and planted each spring season. This includes the failure of the flowering stalks or fruit bunch to emerge from the pseudo-stem that called choking. Beside that, other symptoms such as development of a dull yellow or greenish gray color to ripening fruit, distorted fruit shape, and an increase in fruit rotting.

More effects of temperature on banana as follows:

Temperatures	Symptoms	Effects
37oC	Leaf scorch	– Emerging of new leaves may have very narrow blades
28oC – 26oC	—	– Banana shoot optimum growth
30oC – 29oC	—	– Banana fruit optimum growth
16oC – 10oC	Slowed plant growth	– Kill the plant
16oC – 0oC	Chilling injury to the plant
0oC – -1oC	Chilling damage and irreversible freeze damage	– Water soaked appearance to all above ground parts of the plant- Desiccation- Browning- Death of leaves, pseudostems and fruit
-1oC – -2oC		– Kill plants to the ground

The wind also is one of the common constraints to the banana especially to the sub tropical production areas. The wind can be detrimental to banana leaves. Stronger winds can tear the leaves and shoot off plants. If the wind is continuous in the area of productions, it can cause severe leaf shredding, drying of the leaves and plant crown distortion rendering the plant less attractive. Strong winds, in conjunction with saturated soil and the weight of a stem of fruit, can result in significant blow down unless guying or other protection is provided. Effects of wind are as follows:

Wind Velocity (km/h)	Effect to the Banana Plant
18 – 30 km/h	Cause the split of lamina leaf
More than 50 km/h	Cause serious damage to banana plantation
54 – 72 km/h	Cause an upturn and blow down large plantation
90 – 100 km/h	Can destroy to the banana plantation

A windbreak of 5 meter height can protect the plants exceeding up to 20 meter height from the high velocity of wind. An example of a temporary windbreak is Sesbania aculeate that is suitable for banana plant. Beside that, there is a cultivar that also wind tolerant such as the Dwarf Brazilian banana.

Bananas flourish best under uniformly warm conditions but can survive 28° F for short periods. If the temperature does not fall below 22° F and the cold period is short, the underground rhizome will usually survive. To keep the plants that are above ground producing, protection against low temperatures is very important. Wrap trunk or cover with blanket if the plants are small and low temperatures are predicted.

Banana are shallow rooted, with the bulk of the root system in the top 30 – 40 cm. the crop performs best in well drained soils which are maintained at or near field capacity, that is, after free drainage has stopped, when the soil holds its maximum amount of water. Sandy loams and sandy clay loams are ideal soils for banana production. Sands should be avoided.
Banana grows in a wide variety of soils such as sandy, loamy calcareous marl or rocky soils. Bananas are best grown in well drained and deep soils high with organic matter. Alluvial soil as an example was the ideal for banana growing. In India, commercial crop like banana, are being planted and cultivated in the heavy clay soil of the Cauveri delta and over large tracts of the Gangetic delta in alluvial soil. According to the Durmanov (1974) alluvial and volcanic soils are best for banana cultivation.

While in South Florida, many of the banana cultivars perform satisfactorily on the sandy, loamy, muck and calcareous marl and rocky soils. Bananas can be grown well in a pH range of 5.5 to 7.5 but if the pH is below 5.0, lime should be applied on the second year from the time the plant was planted. Low pH make rendered banana more susceptible to Panama disease.
Besides that, bananas do best on flat slope 0-1% or up to 20o. Generally, banana is best grown with average slopes less than 12o, preferably between 2-6o for ease in field operations. Soil having deep and good internal and surface drainage is good for banana growth; this is because banana is one of the fruits which has restricted root zone. The effect of poorly drained soil also can be partly overcome by planting in raised beds, as the plant does not tolerate poor drainage or flooding.

Banana and plantain are propagated principally by vegetative division and far more rarely by seeds (usually only for banana breeding, ornamental types and wild species). In addition, tissue culture has become standard for commercial plantations in recent years, primarily because of the advantage of starting with disease-free planting material.

Banana is traditionally propagated through sucker (pups) or pieces of the rhizome. This is the most common propagation materials in banana propagation. Edible bananas are almost always seedless (however, some, such as ‘Pisang Awak’, produce many seeds when growing near a fertile pollen source).

There are 3 types of suckers that can be use in this propagation. First type is the maidenhead or the large non-fruiting pseudo-stem (with roots and some rhizome) and the second type is the water sucker. It produces broad leaves and inferior fruit (not healthy banana clump) therefore not desirable propagating material. It is because these suckers emerge from old deteriorating corms and have a broad leaves from the outset that makes this type of suckers are insubstantial, with very little vigor. The last types of the sucker that use for banana propagation are sword sucker where a sucker attached to the original rhizome (mother plant) with narrow sword – like leaves. Large sword suckers and maidenhead are the preferred planting material for banana propagation.

Suckers are used for propagation, being taken when they have a stem diameter of 5.08 cm to 15.24 cm. Leaves are commonly cut off in nursery trade, but decapitation at 60.96 cm to 91.44 cm is satisfactory. The sucker should be dug carefully, using a sharpshooter or spade to cut the underground base sucker from the side of its mother rhizome. Large sucker can be decapitated at ground level and cut into or quartered (vertically) to increase planting material.

A banana “sword sucker” is suitable for propagation (above). The sword sucker is carefully separated from the mother plant where it is attached to the underground rhizome, and usually planted directly in the field.

Division by rhizomes in banana is referred to as sucker production and collection. This is the most common method used to obtain banana planting material. Sword suckers are preferred to water suckers for planting new fields because of their superior vigor and eventual yield. Sword suckers have narrow, sword-shaped initial leaves and are attached to a healthy, fruiting mother plant. Water suckers are those young plants that no longer have a physical connection with a living mother plant. Water suckers do not have the sword-shaped initial leaves. The sword suckers (with narrow leaves) can be obtained from healthy mother plants that are devoted (either in full or in part) to the production of sword suckers. These sword suckers are not removed during the normal process of thinning out banana clumps, but are reserved for collection and subsequent planting. Suckers to be used for planting can be given extra light (by trimming overhanging leaves) and fertilizer before removing them from the mother plant to enhance their viability. Suckers are ready for removal from the mother plant when they reach a minimum of 15 cm diameter and 50 cm height above the soil (Stover and Simmonds, 1987). The sucker is removed (cut away and out) from the mother plant using a sharp tool such as a narrow-bladed, straight-sided shovel, making sure to obtain an appreciable amount of corm with the sucker. It is not advisable to use “peepers” (suckers less than 30 cm [tall) for propagation material because they are extremely slow-growing, may not survive, and if they do survive will produce small bunches the first year. Banana suckers intended for agro-forestry should be allowed to develop longer on the mother plant, reaching 2–2.5 m in height with 6–7 leaves, and given extra nitrogen fertilizer in the weeks before their collection and use as planting material. These plants are better able to compete in a shaded agro-forestry setting.

Detached suckers are inspected for disease and pest damage. If rhizomes are infested with weevils or nematodes, the affected tissue should be removed before washing and immersing the rhizomes in hot water (54°C for 20 minutes) and/or 10% bleach solution. Roots may be entirely trimmed from rhizomes without significant detriment to the plant.

Treatment of planting material for nematodes:

1. Cut off bottom half of corm and, if discolored, trim off up to 2/3 of the bottom of the corm until only clean white tissue remains.
2. Trim off about 1.27 cm of tissue around the sides of the corm.
3. If bullheads are used, cut off the pseudostem 7.62 cm to 10.16 cm above the top of the corm.
4. Either, (a) Immerse the trimmed corms in a hot water bath at 50 – 52 °C for 15 – 20 minutes. Before planting, place the corms in a transparent plastic bag at room temperature until new roots begin to appear. Otherwise the corms can be coated with parafilm wax prior to shipment or storage.

Trimmed suckers sprout new roots readily if irrigation or rainfall follows planting. Suckers may be planted almost immediately or allowed to sit for a few days without loss of viability. To reduce problems with Erwinia soft rots (bacterial diseases), it is usually a good idea to let the cut surfaces heal over (suberize) for 2 days. Suckers may have disease or pests. Care should be taken not to transfer infested suckers that contain nematodes or other banana pathogens to a new field.

Suckers remain viable for several days after collection and trimming. The sooner they are planted after collection; the better is the recovery and growth after planting.

Suckers are planted directly into planting holes in the field for plantation or agroforestry production. For suckers intended for nurseries, a light, well drained, pathogen-free growth medium will suffice. If suckers are irrigated after planting, they can begin to form new roots within days of planting, and leaf emergence can begin within 7–10 days after planting. Expected survival, if sufficiently irrigated and with proper nutrition and absence of disease, is 90–100%.

Ease of germination depends on species, variety, and environment. Some germinate quite readily; others are more challenging. Store seeds in a cool, dry place. Seeds do not require scarification, although soaking them in water for 24–48 hours before planting is recommended. Sow seeds in a light, well drained medium, place in full sun, and keep moist. Seeds may take several weeks to germinate.

These days, banana is also propagated through micro propagation technique. Micro propagation is a laboratory-based tissue culture technique commonly used to propagate bananas. Tissue culture is the propagation of plant by using plant part or single cell or group cell in test tube under very controlled and hygienic conditions. In this tissue culture technique, the propagation is using part of meristems from the plant. On the traditional cultivar of the sweet banana Grand Nain, plants originated from somatic embryogenesis are true-to-type, with a fruit yield similar to plants derived from in vitro budding.Varieties like ‘Shrimanti’, ‘Gross Michael’ and ‘Grand Naine’ are commonly produced using this technique. Normally disease free plantlets wit 3 to 4 leaves are generally supplied in pots raising secondary nursery. Plants are initially kept in shade (50%) and as they harden, hsade is reduced gradually. After 6 weeks, pants do not require any shade. Normally two months of secondary nursery is good enough before the plants to be planted in the field pits. The advantage of this system is that plants are uniform and free of nematodes and most diseases. Commercially, this technique offers the possibility of a more consistent supply of plants compared with variable seed. The disadvantage is the time it takes for small plants to be grown to a sufficient size for sale from the nursery and in some areas their lack of availability. Besides that, poorly managed of this technique increases the occurrence of bud sports undesirable for propagation but possibly leading to the new ornamental forms.

Good planting system will make very productive plants and also the foundation of a good banana growing banana business. As an example, in Australia the banana industry is based on 2 main varieties – Cavendish and ladyfinger. Banana plants are usually not planted closer than 2.4384 m to 3.048 m apart. It is depend on the banana varieties planted and the management practices. Field recently planted with banana suckers as an example of mono-cropping. Tissue cultured plants are planted deep in the hole then backfilled.

Plant at the right spacing is a requirement to get the best productive banana. Plant spacing of 3.0 m x 2.4 m for Cavendish and for the ladyfinger is 3.6 m x 3.6 m. Besides that, closer plant spacing also can leads the production of small bunches of small fruit, slower plant cycling and increased disease problems and poor fruit quality. While for the ornamental purposes, bananas may be planted as close as to 0.6096 m to 0.9144 m apart, but those planted for fruit production should be spaced about 2.4384 m to 3.048 m. Planting of banana can be done in May to June or in September to October. Spacing varies according to the cultivar, soil fertility and season of planting.

The following are some common spacing schedules for the different cultivars.

Cultivar	Spacing (m)	No. of Suckers (Per ha)	No. of Suckers (Per acre)
‘Poovan’ ‘Monthan’ ‘Rasthali’ ‘Kali ( Nadan)’ ‘Nendran’	2.13 x 2.13 or 2.1 x 2.1	2150	870
Dwarf Cavendish	1.7 x 1.7 or 1.8 x 1.8	3550	1440
(‘Basrai’, ‘Kabuli’)	1.7 x 1.7 or 1.8 x 1.8	3000	1210
‘Robusta’ (Harichal)	1.8 x 1.8	3000	1210
‘Nendran’	1.8 x 1.8 or 2.4 x 2.4	1700	684
‘Hill Banana’	2.4 x 3.04.1 x 3.64.8  x 4.9	1350670420	545270170
Dwarf Cavendish Basrai	1.65 x 1.65	3600	1440
Robusta, Poovan Amruthapani	1.8 x 1.8	3025	1210
Export quality banana

Cultivar	Spacing (m)
Karpura Chakkarakeli	2.0 x 2.0
Tella chakkarakeli	1.8 X 1.8
Amruthapani (Rasthali)	2.0 X 2.0
Robustra	1.8 X 1.8
Dwarf Cavendish	1.4 X 1.4
Bontha, Kovur Bontha	2.0 X 2.0

While for the tissue culture plantlets a spacing of 1.65 m x 1.65 m is adopted. In India, recommended spacing for banana tissue culture are 1.828 m x 1.828 m, 1.828 x 1.524 m or 2.1336 m x 1.524 m.

Methods of Planting

Pits of 0.5mx0.5mx0.5m are dug for planting the rhizomes. However this method is very laborious and expensive. The only advantage is that no earthing up is required as planting is done at the required depth. This practice is not very popular at present.

This is a very common method in which furrows of 20-25cm depth are opened by a tractor or ridges at a distance of 1.5m and rhizomes are planted in the furrows. In this method, it requires ‘earthing up’ to be frequently done to cover the exposed rhizomes.

The banana plant, is native to the tropical regions require daily water supply, from rainfall or irrigation all year around (vary between 1200mm in the humid tropics to 2200mm in the dry tropics). Prolonged drought retards the growth of banana. Irrigation is an important in banana planting to get a best result in plant growth and optimum yield. According to Robinson 1986, in the subtropics where annual rainfall insufficient to supply the water requirement of bananas, supplementary irrigation is probably the most important management factor influencing yield. In the top end climate, April to October are usually dry months and rainfall varies greatly during November to March.

The large leaves of bananas use a great deal of water. Regular deep watering is an absolute necessity during warm weather. Do not let plants dry out, but do not overwater. Standing water, especially in cool weather, will cause root rot. Plants grown in dry summer areas such as Southern California need periodic deep waterings to help leach the soil of salts. Spread a thick layer of mulch on the soil to help conserve moisture and protect the shallow roots. Container grown plants should be closely watched to see that they do not dry out. An occasional deep watering to leach the soil is also helpful. As an example in Israel, water is probably the most important limiting factor in banana production in semi arid areas. In Israel, it is definite that water with good quality and low salinity are preferred for optimal banana production. Bananas are irrigated there all year round.

In Australia, especially for the Cavendish and ladyfinger variety (most common in Australia Banana Industry) banana need up to 50 mm of irrigation each week at the height of summer. Like at South Africa, an evenly distributed rainfall of 100 mm per month is the minimum requirement for bananas. Most of the production areas in South Africa would fall short of this requirement in at least 7 months of the year and it is therefore not surprising that irrigated bananas in KwaZulu-Natal out yielded dry land plantations by 50%. While in India, near Jalgaon (Maharashtra) irrigation is given at interval of 3-4 days uring the hot weather. After the rains, both the number of irrigations and the quantity of water are reduced. Besides that, in South Florida,March to May are the best months for planting if irrigation available this is becaused the onset of the rains untill June and during the time the irrigation can be delayed.

Therefore, irrigation management very important for banana planting and the aim of irrigation management is to ensure that the crop attains maximum yields and quality. Incorrect irrigation management of bananas can lead to reduced bunch size, weight and plant vigor. Because bananas are inefficient users of soil moisture, careful irrigation management is required if maximum yields are to be achieved.
There are many ways to make a good and practical irrigation system for banana plants areas, such as micro sprinkler or drip irrigation system is recommended for the area with frequent flash flood or construction of in field drainage and tissue culture banana respond very well to drip irrigation system. Drip irrigated plants have more vigorous growth, resulting in early and better yield. In the case of flood irrigation, once week irrigation is recommended. The basin method irrigation commonly practiced by growers in India (like Jalgaon, Maharashtra). In this method, water is supplied to the palnts themselves and not to the interveins spaces that do contain roots and as general precaution avoid connecting one basin with another during irrigation

Their rapid growth rate make bananas heavy feeders. During warm weather, apply a balanced fertilizer once a month–a 8:10:8 NPK fertilizer appears to be adequate. A mature plant may require as much as 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of the above fertilizer each month. Young plants need a quarter to a third as much. Spread the fertilizer evenly around the plant in a circle extending 1.5 – 3 m from the trunk. Do not allow the fertilizer to come in contact with the trunk. Feed container container plants on the same monthly schedule using about half the rate for outside plants.

Manuring Schedule of Banana by Department of Agriculture, Perak, Malaysia

Months after Planting	Type of Fertilizer	Application Rate “Pisang Emas”g/plant	Application Rate “Berangan, Rastali and Cavendish”g/plant
At Planting	CIRP	100	100
	8:8:8	60	60
	GML	100	60
1	15:15:15	60	100
2	15:15:15	100	150
3	15:15:15	100	150
4	15:15:15	150	150
5	15:15:15	150	150
6	15:15:15	100	75
9	15:15:15	50	250
12	15:15:17:2	150	–
	15:15:15	–	250
13	GML	1000	1000
15	15:15:15	150	150
18	15:15:17:2	180	–
	15:15:15	–	250
21	12:12:17:2	180	–
	15:15:15		300
	MOP	50	100
24	12:12:17:2	180	–
	15:15:15	–	400

CIRP – Christmas Islands Rock Phosphate
MOP – Muriate of Potash
GML – Ground Magnesium Limestone

Pruning of suckers: Only one primary stem of each rhizome should be allowed to fruit. All excess shoots should be removed as soon as they are noticed. This helps channel all of of the plant’s energy into fruit production. Once the main stalk is 6 – 8 months old, permit one sucker to develop as a replacement stalk for the following season. When the fruit is harvested, cut the fruiting stalk back to 30 inches above the ground. Remove the stub several weeks later. The stalk can be cut into small pieces and used as mulch.

Leaf pruning: Old and diseased leaves are pruned off using a sharp knife soon after planting. Removed leaves are placed in between the rows.

Tree support: Leaning tree must be supported with a bamboo or wooden stake to prevent it from falling over or snapping of the trunk besides holding heavy load from thr fruit bunch

Fruit Bunch Wrapping: An early step to safeguard the fruit quality is to wrap the fruit bunch. Wrapping ensure good quality fruit preventing it fom being bitten by insects, mechanical rubbing of fruit against each other, leaves or timber supports. It also prevent scratching and bruising of the fruit during harvesting, fruit collection and transportation to the processing and packing house.Before wrapping, the unopened inflorescence located at the distal end of the fruit bunch is cut off. The bunch is then wrapped fully with polythene bag and securely tied beyond the first comb. The wrapping date is written on the wrapper to ensure the exact harvesting date.

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