Banana Cultivation One Liner

Banana Cultivation One Liner

“Adam’s Fig”
Or
“Apple of Paradise”

Botanical name	Musa paradisica, M. accuminata, M. balbisiana
Family	Musacea
Origin	South-East Asia
Chromosome number	X = 11, 2n = 22, 33, 44
Fruit type	Berry
Edible part	Mesocarp and endocarp

Also read: Fruit Crop Production MCQ

Banana cultivation

• Banana is self pollinated.
• It is known as Apple of Paradise.
• One acre of banana yields 15 million calories of energy as compare to one million of wheat.

Composition of banana

Water	70%
Carbohydrates	27%
Crude fibre	5%
Protein	1.2%
Fat	0.3%
Calcium	80 ppm
Phosphorus	290 ppm
Iron	6 ppm
Vitamin A	2.4 ppm
Thiamine	0.5 ppm
Riboflavin	0.5 ppm
Ascorbic acid	120 ppm
Energy	104 calories per 100 gm

Area and production (2021)

Also read: List of Major and Minor Fruit-Crops of India

• Total area in India: 916 thousand hectare.
• Production: 33.83 million metric tonnes.
• Highest area: Andhra Pradesh (Times of India).
• Highest production/ha: Andhra Pradesh ((Times of India).
• Banana is fourth important crop in terms of gross value after paddy, wheat and milk products.
• It is also known as desert fruit.
• Calorific value varies from 67 to137/100 gm fruits.
• Rich source of Vit C and minerals.
• In India, banana contributes 31.72 % of total fruit production.
• Largest banana producer in world: India.

Soil and climate

• It is essentially a humid tropical plant.
• Banana can be grown up to 2000 metres above Msl.
• It can be grown with a temperature range of 15-
  35 °C.
• Annual rainfall: 500-2000 mm.
• Mean temperature for optimum growth – 20-30°C.
• Temperature above 36-38°C affects crop growth.
• Optimum soil for banana: Sandy loam soil having a soil pH 6.5-7.5.
• The soil should have good drainage.

Propagation

Also read: Propagation methods in fruit plants

Propagated through suckers/corms/offsets.
Suckers are of two types

• Sword suckers.
• Water suckers.

Sword suckers

• Well developed rhizome.
• Leaves are conical shape or pointed.
• Vigorous growth or faster growth.
• Comes to bearing early.
• Optimum weight for planting: 500-750 gm.
• It is commercially used for planting.
• Water suckers
• They are not used for commercial planting.
• Cut rhizome known as “bits” are also used (Bits or peppers).
• For production of disease free plants: Shoot tip culture.
• Micro-propagation of banana is also used now days because of its faster multiplication rate, uniformity in planting material and disease free material.
• In-vitro propagation with fertigation are also used for commercial purpose.

Planting

• Planting time varies with cultivar, agroclimatic conditions and market demand.
• In general, planting is done during June-July and Dec-Feb in India.
• In hilly areas, planting is done in April-May.

Spacing

• For tall varieties: 2.1 x 2.1 m.
• For dwarf varieties: 1.8 x 1.8 m.
• Planting system
• In India most commonly used system of planting is pit planting.
• Pit size – 60 X 60 X 60 cm.
• Trench planting method can also be practiced in wet land cultivation.

Manures and fertilizers

Banana is a heavy feeder crop (i.e requires large amount of M/F).
Manuring and fertilization accounts nearly 20-30 % of total cost of cultivation.

Amount of Nitrogen

• For normal growth and development 100-250 gm/plant.
• Urea is used as a main source of nitrogen.
• Applied in 3-4 split doses: 150 gm in vegetative phase, 50 gm N in reproductive phase and 25 % N2 as FYM.
• Application of 25 % nitrogen in organic form and remaining 75 % in inorganic form.
• Green manuring crop used in banana cultivation: Cortolaria spp (Ideal crop).

Amount of phosphorus

• Its requirement is low.
• Recommended dose: 50-95 gm/plant.
• Superphosphate and rock phosphate as source of phosphate (except in Acidic soil).
• For acidic soil, triple super phosphate (TSP) or DAP are used.
• Phosphorus is applied in a single dose at planting time.

Amount of potassium

• Potassium is important at finger filling stage.
• In banana, it is applied in two split doses.
• Recommended dose of potassium: 200-300 gm K2O/plant.
• 2 split doses: 1st vegetative phase and 2nd finger filling stage/Reproductive phase.
• MOP is used as potassium source only when soil pH is greater than 7.5.

Water management

• Banana can be grown either as rainfed or irrigated crop.
• Most of the AAA genome and AAB genome are grown under irrigated conditions.
• ABB genome or clones are grown as rainfed crop.
• Water requirement of banana varies from 1800-2200 mm or 180-220 cm.
• Most critical stage for water: Finger filling stage.
• Normally furrow and basin system is useful where water availability is sufficient.
• Trench method: Wetland cultivation.
• Drip irrigation: most economic irrigation method, induce earliness, saves water upto 40-45% and improve yields.
• In India drip irrigation is practiced in Maharastra.

Weed management

• Weed reduces yield by 40-50%.
• Commonly used weedicides: 0.4 % Glycel followed by Gramaxone (Paraquat) 3 gm /l/acre.

Desuckering

• Removal of unwanted or superflous suckers which develop near plant base.
• Desuckering should be done once in 45 days in a banana plantation.
• Propping
• It an important cultural practice in which proper support is given to the plants with, bamboo poles to prevent from high wind.
• It is particularly done in tall cultivar after emergence of inflorescence.
• Inter cropping
• It is commonly practiced in banana orchard to check weed growth, improve soil health and for additional income.
• Commonly used intercrops are soybean, cowpea, beans, onion turmeric and ginger.
• Brinjal and cucurbits should not be taken as intercrops.

Mulching

• It is done for conserve soil moisture and for reduces weed growth.
• Mulching material commonly used are sugarcane trash, paddy, straw and dried leaves.

Tieing of leaves

As the plant grow, lower leaves dried and later on separated from main psedostem and weakening it.

To avoid the separation of leaves from the pseudo stem, we tied all the banana leaves with a dried banana leaves.

Tieing of leaves should be done at bimonthly intervals.

For maximum yield a banana plant should have minimum 10-12 leaves in a mother plant.

Denavelling

• Removal of male bud after completion of female phase is known as denavelling.

Bunch covering

• Practiced in Cavendish to get attractive colour.
• Bunch covering increases yield by 15-20 %.

Harvesting

• Duration 90-150 days.
• Lower temperature delays maturity and higher temperature enhance maturity.
• For long distance transportation, harvesting is done at 75-80 % maturity.
• Uniform ripening can be obtained by ethylene.
• For attractive colour: It can be obtained under controlled conditions with low ethylene concentration in 15 – 180 C. Post harvest treatment
• For increasing shelf-life by 10 days: Skin coating with 12 % waxol.
• For checking post harvest disease: Dipping or spraying of banana with fungicides solution of TBZ (Tetra Benzaldehyde 400ppm).

Varieties

Poovan

Most important commercial varieties of Tamil Nadu, A. P , W. Bengal.
Resistance to panama disease.

Dwarf Cavendish

Panama disease resistant, contributes 58 % of total production.

Robusta

Best variety for export purpose.

Rasthali

Hill banana

Rainfed crop, mostly grown mixed with coffee.

Red banana

• Big attractive fruits.
• Grows well in Maharastra.

Nendran

Used both for table and cooking purposes.

Lady finger

Diploid banana variety

Hybrids

• FHIA-1: Wilt and sigatoka leaf spot resistant.
• CO-1 Kellar laden X M. basbsiana X kadali.
• KLUE (teparod): Natural tetraploid.
• BODLES (cultaford): Synthetic hybrid ( Gross Michael X Pisanglin)

Diseases

Also read: Fruit Crops Physiological Disorders MCQ

Panama wilt

• Fungal disease: Fusarium oxysporum
• Soil borne fungus
• Resistant variety: Dwarf Cavendish, Amritsagar.

Bunchy top

• Viral disease
• Aphid transmissible
• Uproot and destroy affected plants by burning.
• Insecticides: Rogur @ 0.05 %

Sigatoka

• Is a serious fungal disease.
• It was first observed in Sigatoka valley of Fiji in 1913.
• All triploid (AAA) are susceptible to Sigatoka leaf spot and ABB clones are resistant.

Moko disease

• It is a bacterial disease.
• Caused by: Pseudomonas solanacerum

Insect-pests

Rhizome weevil

• Cosmopolites sordidus
• Order: Coleoptera
• Family: Curculionidae
• Presence of bore hills on the corm in banana.
• When grub bore in rhizome plants start wilting.
• Use of carbofuran granules or phorate as soil incorporation at the time of planting.

Banana aphid

• Pentalonia nigronervosa
• Order: Hemiptera
• Family: Aphididae
• Nymph and adult suck from leaves.
• Injection of monocrotophos into the pseudomonas.

Rusty thrips

Chaetonaphothrips signipennis
Oozing of slimy exudation from bore hills from psseudostem.

Some important points

Poovan are preferred in multi storied system.

• Salt water treatment reduces duration of banana fruits.
• Bananas are rich source of K.
• Resistance to cold: Rajapuri.
• Nendran: Remains starchy even on ripening.
• Moongli: Mutant variety of Nendran.
• Edible part: Parenchyma (starchy).
• Brinjal and cucurbits should not grow as intercrops as they attract nematodes.
• India share’s in world production of banana: 31.6 %.
• India’s rank in production among fruit crops: first.
• India’s rank in area among fruit crops: second.
• Calorific value of banana: 67-137 /100 gm.

One liner

• Banana is herbaceous, monocotylednous and monocarpic.
• Weight of sword sucker: 759 gm.
• Finger tip disease: Serious tip disease in banana.
• Tetrazollium test: For bunchy top virus detection.
• Most of cultivated banana are triploid in nature.
• It contains 26 % sugar (ripe banana) Banana cultivar screened for virus by: Elisa test.

• Central banana research station (CBRS): T.N.
• Seedless of banana is controlled by 2,4-D @ 25 ppm.
• Optimum temperature for growth: 2030 °C.
• Variety having highest production: Dwarf Cavendish.
• Frost is a main limiting factor in banana cultivation.
• Water logging condition in banana results in more panama wilt.
• High density planting: 3000-4000 plants/ha.
• Zn deficiency causes: Bouncy top crowns.
• Banana streak virus (BSV): it is a serious problem in banana and transmitted through mealy bug.
• Banana Bract mosaic virus (BBMV): is serious in monthon banana.
• Gross Micheal: is high yielding variety, but susceptible to panama wilt.

Banana cultivation

• International banana and plantation research institute (IBPRI): France.
• Genomic classification of Banana: Symond and Shephard (1955).
• Pollination in banana is mediated by: Bees and birds.
• Banana is a climatric fruit.
• Seedlessness in banana is due to: Vegetative parthnocarpy.
• Edible banana belongs to Musa accuminata.
• Banana variety suitable for making baby fruits: Kunnan.