The banana, Musa paradisica L. ๐๐ฑ, is the oldest fruit in India and a member of the Musaceae family. It is native to Southeast Asia ๐๐ด. In India, it is second only to the mango in terms of fruit consumption ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฅญ. There are banana farms in several Indian states ๐๏ธ. Eastern India (Assam, Bihar) ๐, Western India (Gujarat, Maharashtra) ๐ , and South India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka) ๐ด๐. In this article, the entire Banana POP has been covered ๐๐ฐ.
To develop a healthy crop of bananas ๐ฑ๐, it is crucial to adhere to the recommended measures ๐๐ฑ. In addition to being a significant supply of carbohydrates and vitamin B ๐ฅญ๐, bananas are also a good source of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium ๐๐ฅ. It assists in lowering the risk of kidney illnesses, arthritis, gastroenteritis, heart disease, and gout ๐ชโค๏ธ๐. Bananas can be processed to make chips, puree, jam, jelly, etc. ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฅซ.
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Overview of the banana crop
- Musa sp., also known as Musa paradisica L. ๐๐ฑ
- Common names include "Apple of Paradise," "Adam fig," and "Bale" (Kannada) ๐๐ด๐
- Crop seasons are Rabi and Kharif ๐พ๐ฆ๏ธ
- Type of crop: agricultural crop ๐ฑ๐พ
- 2021 Banana Production: 30.50 tonnes per hectare ๐๐
- 14.20 mt/ha is the estimated annual yield of bananas ๐๐
- 3.78 t will be exported in 2021 ๐ข๐
- Alluvial and volcanic soil, black loam, coastal sandy loams, and red lateritic soil are required types of soil ๐ฑ๐l.
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When to plant the banana crop
- A tropical crop, the banana thrives in temperatures between 15ยฐC and 35ยฐC with relative humidity levels between 75โ85%.
- With a pH range of 6.5 to 7.5, loamy soils are suitable for growing bananas.
- A minimum of 650 to 750 mm of rainfall is required.
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Growing a banana crop
- The delicate and fragile nature of banana roots calls for thorough grinding of banana plantations.
- Use deep plowing and harrowing to get the soil to a fine tilth.ย
- 60x 60x 45 cm trenches are dug, and 0.5โ1 kilogram of neem cake and 5โ10 kg of thoroughly decomposed FYM compost are added to the pits.
- At the time of banana planting, apply carbofuran pit or phorate 10-G @ 10โ12 g/pit.
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Kharif season intervals -1.5 ร 1.5 meters; 2.2 m; OR 2.5 m.
Rabi โ1.5 x 1.2 meters and 1.5 x 1.37
Banana plantation planting seasonย
June through July is the best period to sow bananas. Time your planting so that flowering won't coincide with winter or a cold temperature.
Banana farming irrigation timetable
After planting bananas, immediately begin irrigation.
After planting, provide lighting. On days when it rains, stop irrigation.ย
Create a 45 cm-diameter ring basin to contain each plant.
Use of fertilizers and manures
- By gently digging in a ring pattern, spread fertilizer 5-8 cm below the soil's surface.
- Sl.No. Days following planting
- gm/plant of fertilizer to be used
- Micronutrients Urea SSP MOP MgSo4
- 1 At the time of planting, 100 50 were planted; 2 were 30 50 100 50; 3 were 60 100 100 90; 4 were 90 100 100 90; 5 were 120; 6 were 150; 7 were 180; and 8 were 200.
- During bunch emergence
Micronutrients
- It has been discovered that adding micronutrients like Zn, Mn, and Fe improves yield and bunch quality.ย
- In the third and fifth months, two administrations of micronutrient (with a commercial preparation) consisting of Zn (0.1%), Mn (0.1%), and Boron (0.005%) are to be provided.ย
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Operation across cultures
- Keep weeds from growing in the field.
- To prevent water standing in the row during the rainy season, prepare elevated beds all along the row.
- Before the bunch emerges, remove all side suckers.
- Trim the diseased and dry leaves frequently.
- The final banana leaf is pulled over the cluster to shield it from blazing sunlight.
Crop protection in banana farming
One pest is the rhizome weevil.
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1. Rhizome weevil:
Symptoms:ย
- Before burrowing into the leaf sheaths, young grubs first tunnel along the leaf's surface.ย
- The pseudostem, rhizome/corm, base of suckers, and roots all became infected as the infection spread.
- The affected plants exhibit yellowing, wilting, and reduced fruit production in addition to their leaves.
- To weak to severe breezes, infected plants drop their leaves
Management:ย
- Choose wholesome suckers from a reliable banana farm.
- 2 grams of carbofuran per plant are applied to the soil.
- When growing bananas, use 20gm of furadan 3G or 0.5kg of neem cake per pit.
- Before planting, suckers need to be soaked in a 0.1% quinalphos emulsion.
- Release predatory ants since Tetramorium spp. and the bigheaded ant are the main enemies of the banana weevil.
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2. Lesion Nematode
Symptoms:
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Reddish-brown to black, elongated lesions that are easily seen when the roots are torn apart are caused by lesion nematode infection. Eventually, roots turn black and perish.
- Nematode attacks cause secondary rot organisms to become infected and damage or weaken a large portion of the root system.
- Plants that are infected become weak and produce poor fruit.
- Such plants are easily blown over, exposing the roots to the strong wind.
Cultural Control:
- To stop the primary source of infection in the banana farm, stay away from infected suckers.
- Remove all dark or discolored patches from the corm tissue with a spoon, leaving only the white, clean tissues behind.
- Hot water heated to 53โ54ยฐC should be applied to the cleaned suckers for 20โ25 minutes.
- Grow marigold as an intercrop to act as a trap and repellent crop.
- After tilling and irrigation, covering the field for 6 to 8 weeks with plastic increases soil warmth, which kills nematode eggs and juveniles.
- Apply Furadan 3G @ 20 g, Phorate 10G @ 12 gms, or neem cake @ 500 g/pit when planting bananas.
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ย Diseases
1. Anthracnose
Symptoms:
- Ideally at the distal end of the newborn banana fruits, the fungus first assaults them.
- On the diseased fruits, tiny, round black dots first appear. The patches then get larger and turn brown in color.
- The banana's outer peel darkens and shrivels before developing the recognizable pink acervuli. In the end, the entire finger is impacted. Later, the disease spreads and impacts the entire group.
- Fruit that is infected with pathogens begins to ripen before it is ready, shriveling the fruits that are coated in pink spore masses.
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Management:
- Spray the fruit with a 1% Bordeaux mixture while it's still young.
- Spraying four times at fortnightly intervals with carbendazim 0.1% or chlorothalonil 0.2% before banana harvest is very successful.
- Fruits should be dipped in mycostatin (440 ppm) or carbendazim (400 ppm) after harvest.
- Following harvest, the bunches are carefully preserved at a temperature between 7 and 100 ยฐC while being transported to the storehouse.
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2. Banana Bunchy Top
Symptoms:
- Dark green streaks first form in the veins of the lowest part of the midrib and stem of the leaf.
- Zones of light green can be visible between the lamina and the midrib.
- New leaves may occasionally appear, although they are often smaller, wavy rather than flat, and have yellow (chlorotic) leaf margins due to the older plants' BBTV infection.
- The illness is known as "bunchy top of banana" because they seem to be "bunched" at the top of the plant.
- Banana hands and fingers that do bear fruit from severely infected banana trees are likely to be deformed and twisted.
- Avoid growing bananas near sugarcane fields and other locations with cucurbitaceous plants because these plants are good breeding grounds for the cucurbit mosaic virus or sugarcane mosaic virus.
- Give a 4 ml injection of Fernoxone solution (50g in 400 ml of water) to the diseased banana plant.
- Place the Fernoxone capsules, each of which contains 200โ400 mg of chemical, within the pseudostem.
3. Panama Wilt:
Symptoms:
- The bottom leaves of the majority of types turn light yellow and wilt, with the margins becoming particularly conspicuous. They finally turn brilliant yellow, their leaf edges turning lifeless.
- Affected plants may have a spiky appearance in the later stages of the illness as a result of large upright apical leaves that contrast with the skirt of dead lower leaves.
- A cross-section of an infected plant reveals a circular pattern of discoloration around the rhizome's center.
- When the plant is sliced longitudinally, consistent lines of discoloration are visible as symptoms advance into the pseudo-stem.
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Management:
- Develop hardy cultivars like Poovan and Nendran.
- Avoid vulnerable cultivars including Rasthali, Monthan, Karpuravalli, Kadali, Rasakadali, and Pachanadan, among others.
- Particularly during the wet season, provide good drainage.
- Application of Carbendazim 2% as an injection or 50 ml of a capsule.
- Paring and pralinage, which involves removing the roots and outer layer of the corm and dipping the suckers in a solution containing 0.2% carbendazim plus 14 ml per liter of water, is an efficient method for getting rid of the infection. Suckers may be coated in clay slurry and dusted with 40g/corm of carbofuran granules.
- Beginning five months after banana planting, soil drenching with Carbendazim 50% WP solution alternated with Propiconazole 25% EC around the pseudostem should be done every two months.
- Neem cake application at a rate of 250 kg/ha.
- Software Pseudomonas
Yielding and Harvesting
Depending on the cultivar, bundles mature 100 to 150 days after flowering.
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Varieties |
Average yield (Tones/ha.) |
Grand Naine |
65 |
Andhapuri, Meanyham |
55 |
Hiral, Safed Velchi, Red banana, Lal Velchi |
45 |
Poovan |
40-50 |
Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta Champa & Chini desi |
50-60 |
Nendran |
30-35 |
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