Banana
Banana
Understanding about crop:
Banana (Musa sp.) is a large perennial herb with leaf sheaths that form trunk like pseudo stem.
Banana has its origin in tropical region of South East Asia. Banana is a nutritious gold mine.
They are high in vitamin B6. which helps fight infection and is essential for’ the synthesis ofheme, the iron containing part of hemoglobin.
In recent years, considering the adverse impact of indiscriminate use of chemicals, new trend for’ organic production of banana is increasing in the country. A newname, i.e. “Green Foods” for this has been coined.
Key features:
Banana is the fifth largest agriculture commodity after Cereals, Sugar, Coffee, And Cocoa
India, Ecuador, Brazil, China alone produces half of the total bananas of world
Soil and climate:
Banana can on wide range of type of soil with varying success
The soil should have good drainage, adequate fertility and moisture.
Deep, rich loamy and salty clay loam soil with pH between 6-7.5 is most preferred for banana cultivation
Extreme clayey, Sandy soil, Saline soil and Calcareous soil is not suitable for Banana cultivation.
A soil that is not too acidic & not too alkaline, rich in organic material with high nitrogen content, adequate phosphorus level and plenty of potash are good for banana.
Avoid soil of low lying areas, very sandy & heavy black cotton with ill drainage
Tropical crop is grown throught the year under humid weather condition. 20-30 ºC is optimum temperature range
Land preparation:
Wetlands: No preparatory cultivation is needed.
Garden Lands: Require 2-4 ploughings.
Hill Banana: Clean the jungle and construct contour stone walls before planting.
General Preparation: Before planting bananas, grow a green manure crop like daincha or cowpea and plough it into the field. The selected field must be ploughed 4-6 times and allowed to weather for two weeks. Use a rotovator or harrow to break the clods and achieve a fine tilth. During soil preparation, add a basal dose of FYM (about 50 tones/ha before the last harrowing) and mix it thoroughly into the soil.
Land Leveling: Level the field using a blade harrow or laser leveler. Laser land leveling, a proven technology, is highly effective for conserving irrigation water. This technique involves leveling the field to a precise slope using a guided laser beam, resulting in a uniformly leveled land, even with wide topographic variations. Benefits include better water distribution, water conservation, improved nutrient use efficiency, precision farming potential, and higher crop productivity.
Pit Preparation: Dig pits of 45 cm x 45 cm x 45 cm and refill them with topsoil mixed with 10 kg of well-decomposed FYM, 250 g of neem cake, and 20 g of carbofuran. In areas with nematode problems, add nematicides and fumigants to the pits before planting. Leave prepared pits exposed to solar radiation to kill harmful insects, combat soil-borne diseases, and aid aeration.
Soil Considerations:In saline alkali soil with a pH above 8, modify the pit mixture to incorporate organic matter. This reduces salinity and improves porosity and aeration with the addition of perlite.
Alternative Planting Methods:Instead of pits, consider planting in furrows. Choose the appropriate method, spacing, and depth based on soil strata. In wetlands and hilly areas, no land preparation is needed, and pits are dug directly at the required spacing. For Hill Banana cultivation, clean the jungle and construct contour stone walls before planting.
Furrow Preparation: Form plough furrows lengthwise and breadthwise at the required spacing. At the intersection of these furrows, dig pits of 0.6m x 0.6m x 0.6m sufficiently ahead at points fixed for planting.
Seed treatment:
Trim the roots and remove the decayed portion of the corm. Cut the pseudostem, leaving 20 cm from the corm, and grade the suckers by size.
To prevent wilt disease in Rasthali, Monthan, Virupakshi, and other susceptible varieties, pare the infected portions of the corm and dip them for 5 minutes in a 0.1% Emisan solution (1 g in 1 liter of water).
Perform pralinage using 40 g of Carbofuran 3 G granules per sucker. Dip the corm in a slurry solution containing 4 parts clay and 5 parts water, and sprinkle Carbofuran to control nematodes.
Alternatively, dip the corm in a 0.75% Monocrotophos solution, shade dry for at least 24 hours, and then plant.
Use tissue-cultured banana plants with 5-6 leaves.
Seed and sowing:
Select sword suckers weighing between 1.5 and 2.0 kg that are free from diseases and nematodes.
Trim the roots and remove any decayed portions of the corm. Cut the pseudostem, leaving 20 cm from the corm, and grade the suckers by size.
Alternatively, shade-dry the corms for at least 24 hours before planting. Sow Sunhemp on the 45th day and incorporate it into the soil after about a month to reduce nematode build-up. Use tissue-cultured banana plants with 5-6 leaves. At the time of planting, apply 25 g of Bacillus subtilis per plant.
Irrigation management:
Irrigate immediately after planting and provide life irrigation after 4 days. Subsequent irrigations should be given once a week for garden land bananas and once every 10-15 days for wetlands. Irrigate the fields thoroughly after every manure application.
Drip Irrigation Schedule:From Planting to 4th Month: Use drip irrigation at a rate of 5-10 liters per plant per day.
From 5th Month to Shooting: Use drip irrigation at a rate of 10-15 liters per plant per day.
From shooting to 15 Days Prior to Harvest: Use drip irrigation at a rate of 15 liters per plant per day.
Nutrient management:
General recommendations for garden land, wetland banana and hill bananas
Varieties other than Nendran – 110:35:330 N:P:K,
Nendran -150:90:300 N:P:K
Hill banana: After forming semicircular basins on the uphill side, apply 375 g of a 40:30:40 NPK mixture and 130 g of muriate of potash per clump during October, January, and April. Prior to the chemical fertilizer application, apply 20 g each of Azospirillum and Phosphobacterium at planting and again in the fifth month after planting.
Fertilizer Application:- Nitrogen (N) : Apply as neem-coated urea.
N and Potassium (K): Apply in three splits during the 3rd, 5th, and 7th months.
Phosphorus (P): Apply at the 3rd month of planting.
Bio-fertilizers:
Apply 20 g each of Azospirillum and Phospho bacterium during planting and five months after planting. This should be done before the chemical fertilizer application.
Fertigation:
Follow the fertigation technique to maximize productivity. Apply 200:30:300 g N:P₂O₅:K₂O per plant using water-soluble fertilizers along with 25 liters of water per day.
Cost-Efficient Fertigation:To economize on fertilizer costs, fertigate using normal fertilizers (urea and muriate of potash) at 50% of the recommended dose, along with the recommended dose of phosphorus as a basal application at the 2nd month after planting. Fertigate at weekly intervals as per the following schedule:
3rd Month: Apply the first split of N and K.
5th Month: Apply the second split of N and K, and the second application of Azospirillum and Phosphobacterium.
7th Month: Apply the third split of N and K.
Intercultural operations:
Desuckering: Desuckering in banana cultivation involves removing surplus suckers by cutting, destroying the sucker’s heart, or using kerosene. It is done monthly in garden and wet land cultivation. For hill bananas, two bearing plants and two suckers per clump are optimal, with excess suckers removed. One sucker is retained per plant for ratooning, with apical growth arrested at 2 months to enlarge the rhizome. At first crop harvest, the set sucker is ready for the next crop.
Propping: At bunch emergence, banana pseudostems need support, especially tall varieties with heavy bunches. Propping is commonly done using bamboo or casuarinas poles, which last 3-4 years. Coir or polythene wire can also be used for support.
Mulching: Mulching helps conserve soil moisture, increase feeder roots, improve nutrient and water use efficiency, suppress weed growth, and enhance banana yield by 30-40%.
Removal of withered styles and Perianth: Removing dead leaves reduces disease spread, prevents shading of suckers, and avoids fruit scarring. At flowering, maintaining six to eight healthy leaves ensures maximum bunch development. Severe leaf removal or damage reduces bunch weight and the green life of harvested bananas.
Pruning of Leaves: In some banana varieties, persistent styles remain until maturity and can be easily removed by light brushing a few days after flowering. Delayed removal makes it difficult as they turn brown and shriveled. This practice helps prevent saprophytic fungal infections, particularly finger tip disease.
Earthing up: Earthing up is crucial for supporting the plant base and enhancing root formation. It should be done during the rainy season to prevent waterlogging and ensure proper drainage.
Wind Break: Windbreaks like Shevri (Sesbaniaegyptifolia) can be planted along the field’s East-West border to protect against damage from heavy and hot winds.
disease management:
Sigatoka; To combat Sigatoka leaf spot, promptly remove affected leaves and incinerate them. Begin spraying fungicides such as Carbendazim (1 g/l), Benomyl (1 g/l), Mancozeb (2 g/l), Copper oxychloride (2.5 g/l), Ziram (2 ml/l), or Chlorothalonil (2 g/l) starting from November and continue monthly. Rotate between fungicides for each application to prevent resistance. Enhance spray effectiveness by adding 5 ml of a wetting agent like Sandovit, Triton AE, or Teepol per 10 liters of spray fluid.
Panama Disease :For managing Panama Disease, uproot severely affected plants and apply 1-2 kg of lime in the pits after removal. Employ corm injection methods in the field, where a gelatin capsule containing 60 mg of Carbendazim or 3 ml of 2% Carbendazim solution or 50 mg of Pseudomonas fluorescens is injected into an oblique hole made at a 45° angle, using a “corm injector” at 2nd, 4th, and 6th month after planting.
Fusariumwilt :To manage Fusarium wilt, select resistant varieties like Poovan, Robusta, and Moongil, while being cautious with susceptible varieties like Rasthali, Monthan, and Karpooravalli. Implement flood fallowing in infected fields and raise paddy for one season to suppress the pathogen. Address nematode issues by treating with carbofuran 40g/rhizome and 10g of Pseudomonas fluorescens. Remove infected trees, apply lime at 1-2 Kg/pit, and utilize capsule application or corm injection methods with carbendazim or Pseudomonas fluorescens at specified intervals. Additionally, spot drench with carbendazim 0.1%
bunchy-top: The Banana Aphid Pentalonianigronervosa is the vector of Bunchy-top virus disease. Spray Phosphamidon 1 ml/lit or Methyl Demeton 2 ml/lit to control it. The sprays may be directed towards crown and pseudostem base upto ground level at 21 days interval atleast thrice.1) .Use virus-free suckers 2)Paring and pralinage: Pare the corm and sprinkle 40 g of Carbofuran 3G over the Corm (Before sprinkling, corm should be dipped in mud slurry).3) Destroy virus affected plants.Insert a gelatin capsule containing 200 mg Fernoxone (2,4 – D) into the corm 7 cm deep using capsule applicator or inject 5 ml Fernoxone solution (125 gm/lit of water) into the pseudostem by using the injection gun. The plant collapses and topples in 3 – 5 days
Pest management :
Corm weevil: Apply carbaryl 10 – 20 g/plant in the soil around the stem.
Stem weevil (Odoiporuslongicollis)Remove dried leaves periodically and keep the plantation clean. Prune the suckers every month, Alternatively,pseudostem at monthly interval from 5th to 8th month.Do not dump infected materials in the manure pit. Infected trees should be uprooted, chopped into pieces and burnt.
Banana aphids; The pest is the vector for Bunchy top virus disease. Spray any one of the following systemic insecticides to control it. Phosphamidon 2 ml/lit or Methyl demeton 2 ml/lit or Dimethoate 30 EC 2 ml/lit. The spray may be directed towards crown and pseudostem base upto ground level at 21 days interval atleast thrice. ml/plant (1 ml diluted in 4 ml of water) at 45 days interval from the 3rd month till flowering is very effective
Thrips and lace wing bugs :Spray Methyl demeton 20 EC @ 2 ml/lit or Phosphamidon 40 SL @ 2ml/lit.
Nematode: Pre-treat the suckers with 40 g Carbofuran 3G. If pre-treatment is not done, apply 40 g of Carbofuran around each plant one month after planting (refer selection and pre-treatment for alternate technology) or pare and dip the corm in shade dry and plant. Then grow Sunhemp after 45th day and incorporate one month later. Press mud application @ 15 t per ha one month after planting and neem cake 1.5 t per ha one month after planting will also control the nematode infestation.
Harvesting and yield:
The crop is typically ready for harvest 11-12 months after planting. The first ratoon crop is harvestable 8-10 months after the main crop harvest, and the second ratoon crop follows 8 months after harvesting the first ratoon crop. This allows for three harvests within a span of 27-30 months: one main crop and two ratoon crops.
Yield (t/ha/year)
Do’s and don’ts :
When taking suckers from mother plants, gently separate them using a spade or iron bar to break the connecting tissue at the sucker’s corm. Ensure the sucker has its own root system. Overwatering can cause corm rot. Separation is more challenging if the mother plant is deeply planted.
For dwarf bananas, identify emerging suckers by their first or second narrow leaf. Avoid confusion during desuckering.
Bananas generally need 20 months without freezing to produce fruit. Proper transplanting and desuckering are crucial to avoid plant death.
The “Banana Bunchy Top Virus” (BBTV), spread by banana aphids, is highly dangerous. Infected plants, including suckers, become stunted. Preventing the spread is essential.
If a newly planted banana is damaged but still alive, cut it in half to encourage regrowth.
To grow bananas organically, avoid chemical fertilizers and use compost or organic fertilizers.
Cut off the main flower once bananas start sprouting to redirect nutrients to the fruit, resulting in healthier and larger bananas.
Wear old clothes when cutting banana plants, as the sap can cause difficult-to-remove black stains.
Avoid using diseased plants from infected mother plants. In areas with BBTV, only buy disease-free plants from reliable sources and do not share suckers.
Stop irrigation a week before harvest to facilitate labor, harvesting, and loading.
Erect temporary shades near banana fields for proper storage. Apply fungicidal paste under the shade to protect the produce from insects and infections.
Select green, three-fourths ripe bunches that are free from damage and blemishes. Reject bunches with malformed or damaged fingers.
Cut bunches 20-25 cm above the first band or 7.5-10 cm from the first hand’s finger tips in one stroke. After 15 minutes, when latex flow ceases, carry bunches to the packing shed using stretchers without letting them contact soil.