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I.TILLAGE PRACTICES

Field preparation and planting methods

Field Preparation Prior to planting banana, green manure crops like daincha, cowpea etc. may be grown. The land can be ploughed 2-4 times and leveled. Rotavator or harrow is used to break the clod and bring the soil to a fine tilth. During soil preparation basal dose of FYM (about 50 t/ha before last ploughing ) is added and thoroughly mixed into the soil.

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Planting

 Planting Material

About 70% of the farmers are using suckers as planting material while the rest 30% of the farmers are using tissue culture seedlings.Sword suckers with well developed rhizome, conical or spherical in shape having actively growing conical bud and weighing approximatel450-700 gm are commonly used as propagating material.Suckers generally may be infected with some pathogens and nematodes.Similarly due to the variation in age and size of sucker, crop is not uniform, harvesting is prolonged and management becomes difficult Therefore, in-vitro colonal propagation i.e. Tissue culture plants are recommended for planting. They are healthy, disease free, uniform in growth and early yielding.

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Wet lands : No preparatory cultivation

Garden land : 2 – 4 ploughings required

Padugai : One deep spade digging

Hill Banana : Construction of contour stone walls

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Growing green manure crops viz.,

Daincha

Cowpea

Sunhemp

and ploughing them into the field 2-4 times ploughing and leveling FYM 50 t/ha before last ploughing

S. S. NoNo System of PlantingSystem of Planting Planting Planting

DistanceDistance

Plant Plant population /population /

haha

1.1. Dwarf CavendishDwarf Cavendish 1.5 x 1.51.5 x 1.5 44404440

2.2. Robusta and NendranRobusta and Nendran 1.8 x 1.81.8 x 1.8 30803080

3.3.Rasthali, Poovan, Rasthali, Poovan,

Karpooravalli, MonthanKarpooravalli, Monthan2.1 x 2.12.1 x 2.1 22602260

4.4. Paired rowPaired row 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.01.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 52005200

5.5. 2-Suckers /hill2-Suckers /hill 1.8 x 3.61.8 x 3.6 32003200

6.6. 3-Suckers/hill3-Suckers/hill 1.8 x 3.61.8 x 3.6 48004800

Source: TNAU Agritech portal-2008

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3 suckers /pit at a spacing of 1.8 x 3.6m (4600 plants/ha) for Cavendish varieties

2 m x 3 m for Nendran (5000 plants/ha).

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plantingplanting

(2.0 x 2.0 m)(2.0 x 2.0 m)

3 suckers/pit3 suckers/pit

(3.6 x 3.6 m)(3.6 x 3.6 m)

4 suckers/pit4 suckers/pit

(1.8 x 3.6 m)(1.8 x 3.6 m)

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3- Plants /Hill3- Plants /Hill

1.8 X 3.6 m (4800 pi/ha)1.8 X 3.6 m (4800 pi/ha)

Paired row system Paired row system 

 1.2x1.2x2.0m  (5200 pl/ha) 1.2x1.2x2.0m  (5200 pl/ha)

Irrigate immediately after planting; give life irrigation after 4 days; subsequent irrigations are to be given once in a week for garden land bananas and once in 10 – 15 days for wetlands.

Irrigate the fields copiously after every manure application.

Use drip irrigation @ 5-10 litres/plant/day from planting to 4th month, 10-15 litres/plant/day from 5th month to shooting and 15 litres /plant/day from shooting to till 15 days prior to harvest.

Irrigation

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Drip Irrigation Schedule

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S.NoCrop Growth

Stage

Duration

(Weeks)

Quantity of

Water 

(1/Plant)

1. After Planting 1-4 4

2. Juvenile Phase 5-9 8-10

3.Critical Growth

Stage10-19 12

4.

Flower bud

differentiation

Stage

20-32 16-20

5. Shooting Stage 33-37 20 and above

6.

Bunch

Development

Stage

38 x 50 20 and above

Source : TNAU Agritech portal-2008

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Banana+Beetroot

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Banana + Sweet potato

Vegetables like beetroot, sweet potato, Cabbage, and Coconut can be grown as intercrops.

No cucurbitaceous vegetables.

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Banana + Coconut

Banana + Cabbage

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Regular weeding is important during the first four months.Spading is commonly used and normally four spadings a year are effective in controlling weeds.Integrated weed management by including cover crops, judicious use of herbicides, intercropping and hand weeding wherever necessary will contribute in increased production. Pre-emergence application of Diuron (1kg a.i./ha) or Glyphosate (2 kg a.i./ha) is effective in controlling grasses and broad-leaved weeds without affecting the yield and quality of banana .Double cropping of cowpea is equally effective in suppressing the weed growth.

I. Weed management

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Heavy Weeds infestation in banana field

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Select sword suckers of 1.5 to 2.0 kg weights which are free from diseases and nematodes.Trim the roots and decayed portion of the corm, cut the pseudostem leaving 20 cm from the corm and grade the suckers to size To avoid wilt disease in Rasthali, Monthan, Virupakshi and other wilt susceptible varieties, infected portions of the corm may be pared and dipped for 5 minutes in 0.1% Emisan solution.Pralinage is done with 40 g of Carbofuran 3 G granules per sucker. (Dip the corm in slurry solution containing 4 parts clay plus 5 parts water and sprinkle Carbofuran to control nematodes) Alternatively, dip the corm with 0.75% Monocrotophos, shade dry for atleast 24 hours and plant. Sow sunhemp on 45th day; incorporate it after about a month.This operation reduces nematode build up Use tissue cultured banana plants with 5-6 leaves. At the time of planting, apply 25 g Pseudomonas fluorescence / plant.

Selection and pre-treatment of suckers:

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Bagging (bunch covering) is a cultural technique used by planters where export quality bananas are grown.This practice protects bunches against cold, sun scorching, against attack of thrips and scarring beetle. It also improves certain visual qualities of the fruits.Bunch covering with dry leaves is a common practice in India

IV. Bunch Covering

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Different cultural practices increase the production of plant.

They are field preparation, planting material – free from pest and diseases, system of planting- High Density Planting (increase the productivity), irrigation system- drip irrigation (to avoid wastage of water), intercropping(increase the productivity), weed management, sucker treatment (to avoid nematode attack), bunch covers for increase the quality to protect fruits from cold, sun scorching.

To sum up: