About 2 months after planting a sucker, which was itself about 7 months old at
planting, it develops a growing point at the base in the heart of the pseudostem
which is transformed into an inflorescence. This is carried up from close to ground
level by the true stem. In this flower head (inflorescence) the first rows of flowers
produced are the larger female ones and the later flowers produced are the smaller
male ones (there may be intermediate types in between, either hermaphrodite or
neuter). The male flowers of most commonly grown varieties serve no useful
function, as pollination rarely occurs. In wild species pollination is done mainly by
bats, and also by birds and large insects.
About 2–4 months after the “shooting” of the bunch it is ready for harvest. The
fruit bunch is sometimes called a “stem”; each cluster of fruits at a node is a
“bunch”, and the individual fruits are the “fingers”.
PLANTING
Propagation: vegetative, except in breeding work. Five types of planting material
are used in different parts of the world:
- Peepers—very young suckers, with scale leaves only.
- Sword suckers—small, pale, pointed leaves, planted out when about 75 cm tall.
- Maiden suckers—taller, with broad leaves. Lifted from the parent plant at 5–8
months old, the central meristem is destroyed, the roots are trimmed, and the sucker - Corms—these are dug up, the aerial parts removed, and pieces of 2 kg or bigger
- Water suckers—originating near the soil surface, with large, wide, green leaves.
The first crop after planting is known as the “plant crop”; subsequent crops are
known as “ratoons”.
Planting hole: should be at least 60 cm deep and wide, and filled with topsoil mixed - Fertile soils
hectare);
Soil: a wide range are suitable, but should be pH 5–8 (pH 5.5–6.5 is optimum,
bananas are classified as “tolerant” to acidity), free draining but still retentive, and
fertile. Fertiliser should be applied even in the most fertile soils. As a rough guide to
fertiliser needs, the critical levels of phosphate and potash are: P 205 20 ppm, K 2 O
300 ppm. About 250 g of ammonium sulphate scattered around the plant, and 30–60
cm away from the stem, is often beneficial, applied once or twice during the rains. A
good crop of bananas usually indicates good soil.
Interplanting: very common, with other food crops such as maize, beans, sweet
potatoes, pumpkins, yams, coconuts, sugar-cane, etc. Bananas are also used as a
nurse crop for cocoa. They are not suitable for interplanting with coffee as the
bananas use up too much of the available soil nutrients.
cut back to 10 15 cm above the corm.
are planted 25 30 cm deep.
–
–
with manure or compost and about 250 g of single superphosphate or equivalent.
Spacing: in pure stands:
—3.6 × 4.5 m between plants (480–750 plants per hectare);
- Less fertile soils and in dry areas—3.6 × 2.7 m between plants (890 plants per
- Dwarf varieties—2.4 × 2.4 m between plants (1680 plants per hectare).