Banana
Banana is very nutritious among all other fruit particularly in
the tropical region. It is
one of the fruit which is available throughout the year. This
crop is widely cultivated
in Bogra, Jessore, Barisal, Rangpur, Mymensingh districts etc.
In Bangladesh, its area
is 53 thousand hectares and production is 8.08 lac metric tons
in a year (BBS, 2011).
The average yield of banana is 15.60 tons/ha. Its nutrient value
such as calorie,
vitamin and minerals is very high. The average yield of banana
is higher than any other fruit and crops.
Production
Technology of Banana
Land and soil
Medium high land to high land with proper drainage facilities
should be selected. For
successful cultivation of banana, soil should be at least 60-80
cm depth, fertile loam
and sandy loam soil with adequate sunlight. It can also be grown
in different types of
soil. The optimum soil pH 6.0-7.5 is suitable for banana growth.
Time of
transplanting
Planting of banana should be done before or after monsoon i.e.
May-June and
September-October. Planting can also be done successfully in
February-March if
irrigation facilities are available.
Sapling collection
Sword sucker having narrow, slender leaf like sword with big
rhizome, vigorous
growth, about 50 to 60 cm height and 1.5-2.0 kg in weight should
be selected for
planting. Nowadays, heading back of tall sucker is beneficial.
Suckers are produced
commercially through tissue culture. The tissue cultured
saplings establish quickly with
low mortality rate and uniform growth. Besides, banana can be
harvested within a short
period compared to normal sucker. Moreover, tissue culture
saplings are virus disease
free. Sapling should be collected from the reliable nursery or
from Government farm.
Transplanting method
Square or Hexagonal system is suitable for plain land and
contour or terrace system
for hilly region.
Spacing: For dwarf varieties 1.5 x 1.5 m (row x plant)
For tall and semi tall varieties 2.0 X 2.0 m (row x plant)
Pit Size: 45 x 45 x 45 cm3
Transplanting: After land preparation
with desirable tilth, clods should be broken and
weeds are removed. Then pits are dug maintaining a distance of
1.5 to 2 m. The pits are
filled with well mixed soil and 10 kg well rotten cowdung or
manure, 400g TSP, 300g
MP, 200g gypsum, 5g zinc sulphate and 5g boric acid per pit at
10-15 days before
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transplanting. Then, selected suckers/tissue cultured plantlets
should be transplanted
into the pit. Irrigation should be done immediately after
transplanting of sucker.
Fertilizer application
Banana responds to both manures and fertilizers. The dosages of
fertilizers depend on
the variety and initial soil fertility. For split application
500g urea and 300g MP per
plant should be applied in four equal installments at two months
interval commencing
from two months up to six months after planting and one
installment of urea and MP
should be applied after flowering. Both urea and MP are mixed
thoroughly and spread
around the plant and incorporate into the soil with spade.
Fertilizer should be applied
30 cm away from the base of the stem and up to area shaded by
the plant. Adequate
moisture should be maintained at least for 15 days after
application of fertilizers.
Irrigation
Banana is a moisture loving plant. During dry season, the plants
are to be irrigated at
10-15 days interval to maintain satisfactory moisture level in
the soil. In fact, it
requires irrigation throughout the year except during heavy
rain. Proper drainage
should be maintained during rainy season to avoid water logging.
4.3 Intercultural
Operation
Desuckering: Desuckering is done after
4-5 months of transplanting. Depending on
the variety it is continued up to flowering at certain interval.
One selected sucker is
allowed to grow as ratoon crop after flowering.
Weeding and
mulching: Weeding is accomplished
as and when required to keep the
crop free from weeds and to keep the soil loose for proper
aeration. Mulching should
be done after irrigation at appropriate time to break the soil
crust and to make the soil
loose as well. In the banana field, it is essential to remove
undesirable materials such
as dried, diseased and decayed leaves, pseudostem after harvest,
male bud, last end of
inflorescence and withered floral parts etc.
Propping: All plants are supported
by bamboo immediately after emergence of
inflorescence for protecting them from bending or falling down
due to heavy bunch
load and damage by storm.
Earthing up: Earthing up is important
particularly during rainy season which
provides support to the base of the plant and also encourages
development of new
root system.
Intercropping: Planting of banana may be
followed by planting of intercrops like
brinjal, chilli, okra, radish, onion, potato, carrot, coriander,
lentil, cabbage,
cauliflower, spinach etc. during the initial growth stage
depending on climatic
condition. During intercropping additional fertilizer should be
applied so that banana
plant does not suffer from nutrient deficiency.
Ratoon crop: The yield of first ratoon
is higher than the main crop. Besides the cost
of production of ratoon crop is less than the main crop and the
crop can be harvested
earlier than the main crop. Continuous three ratoon crop is
recommended. After that,
yield becomes lower with increased insect pest and disease
attack. At the time of
main crop harvesting the plant should be cut down one meter
above the ground level.
Then all the suckers including the rhizome of mother plant
should be removed except
the selected sucker and exposed place should be filled up with
soil mixed with
manure and fertilizer. Immediately after this operation
irrigation should be given.
Other cultural practices should also be adopted as like as main
crop.
Crop rotation: Banana should not be
cultivated more than four times including
ratoon crop in the same field, because of highly exhaustive in
nature. As a result of
banana cultivation the soil loses its fertility and yield
becomes lower. Other crops like
vegetables or fruits (except banana) are recommended in banana
field to improve the
soil health and good yield.
Pest Management
Major insects and
control measures:
Banana leaf and
fruit beetle
Adult beetle feeds the green parts of young
leaves and skin of young fruit. As a result, small
patches appear on the young leaf and fruits.
With the increasing size of fruits, the spots
become larger and turn blackish brown in
colour. The skin of banana looks like pox spot
which reduces the market price.
Control measures:
• Clean cultivation. The
inflorescence should be
covered with perforated polythene bag
(transparent/ blue) immediately after shooting.
• Spray with Diazinon 60 EC
@ 2 ml/l of water
or Fenfen 20 EC @ 1.5 ml/l of water three
times starting from emergence of
inflorescence, after opening of first hand and
after complete opening of banana bunches.
Major diseases and
control measures:
Panama disease or
Banana wilts
This is the most harmful disease of banana. It causes due to
fungus (Fusarium
oxysporum) which is soil borne and
gets entry into the plant body through roots. It is
most serious in poorly drained soil. Affected plants show sudden
yellowing of lower
Blackish brown like pox spot disease
Covered with perforated polythene bag
to protect banana
leaves, including leaf blade, petiole and later they
hung around the pseudostem and wither. Black
streaks appear on rhizomes and pseudostems.
Sometimes, pseudostem splits longitudinally.
Acidic alluvial soils favour the spread of disease.
Sabri banana is very susceptible to this disease.
Control measures:
• Uproot all affected
plants and destroy them.
• Use disease free planting
material.
• Avoid banana planting on
infested soil at least 3-4 years.
• Use disease resistant
cultivar/variety.
• Apply lime by mixing with
soil (1:3) in the pit and near the base of the plant.
Leaf spot or Sigatoka
disease
Symptom: It is a fungal disease. The first symptom
of infestation is the presence of light yellowish
spots on the young leaves. After that the spots
enlarge, become oval and the colour also changes
to dark brown. In severe cases, the numerous spots
coalesce and covering large parts of the leaf. The
yield may reduce up to 10-15%.
Control measures:
• Use disease resistant
cultivar/variety.
• Remove severely infected
leaves or parts of leaves and destroy them.
• Proper spacing should be maintained
so that all the plants can get sufficient air and
sunlight.
• Spray with Score or Tilt
@ 0.5 ml/litre of water or Nowin or Bavistin @ 2 g/l of
water or Aconazol/Folicor @ 0.1 ml/l of water 2-3 times at 10-15
days interval
immediately after disease symptom appear on leaves.
Bunchy Top
It is a virus disease and is spreaded by aphid. Infected plants
show short, narrow and
upright leaves at the top of the pseudostem, bunched together
into a rosette form.The
margin of the leaves become wavy and slightly rolled upward.
There is an extreme
reduction in size of the
leaves and leaf petiole. The
results are stunted growth of
whole plant, which does not
produce bunch of any
commercial value.
Panama disease
Leaf spot disease
Bunchy Top virus disease affected plant parts
Control measures:
• Remove all affected
plants along with complete rhizome and destroy.
• Use any resistant
variety/cultivar (BARI Kola-3) or virus free planting material.
• Spray with Emidacloprid
(Admire 200 SL) @ 0.25 ml/l of water or Ripcord 1 ml/l
of water at 15 days interval to control banana aphid.
• Avoid using sucker from
affected plant.
Heart rot:
It is a minor bacterial disease. The flag leaf of the plant show
blackish and decays.
Control measure:
• Remove all affected
plants and destroy.
• Use disease free suckers.
• Ensure good drainage
facilities, proper spacing and sufficient air and sunlight.
Nematode
The burrowing nematode lay eggs in the root tissue, after
hatching out, larvae also
feed on root. Small dark black spots appear on the roots and
decays. Fungus and
bacteria easily enter into root and affect
the plant. Affected banana plants are
unable to uptake nutrients and water
from the soil. Plant growth and yields are
affected adversely.
Control measures:
• Follow crop rotation for
2-3 years.
• Use nematode resistant
variety.
• Adopt phytosanitary
measures.
• Apply Furadan 5G or
Bistaben 5G @ 45-60kg/ha or Ragby 10G @ 30 kg/ha 3-4
times per year.
4.4 Harvesting and
Fruit preservation
Fruits are harvested when they are green but fully mature.
Maturity symptoms are:
the colour of the fruit changes from deep green to a lighter
green; shedding of floral
ends of the fruits with slightest touch i.e. when it dry; the
angle or ridges of the fruits
become less prominent or round i.e. after the attainment of 3/4th full stage. Depending
on season generally all seedless or less seeded banana varieties
mature within 11 to
15 months after planting. But seeded variety requires 20-24
months for maturity.
Harvesting is performed by cutting the bunch, retaining 15-20 cm
stalk, this will help
in handling. Bunch should not put in hard place or soil after
harvest to avoid black
spots on banana because the spotted banana is rotten quickly
during ripening and
consequently the market value is reduced.
