Banana Farming; Planting; Care; Harvesting Guide

Banana Farming; Planting; Care; Harvesting Guide

Banana Farming – A Step by Step Guide 

The following article details Banana Farming Techniques, Planting Methods of Banana, Caring Banana plants, and harvesting techniques.

Importance of Banana in India:

Banana is one of the major and economically important fruit crops of India. Banana occupies 20% of the area among the total area under crop in India. Most the Banana is grown by planting suckers. The technology development in agriculture is very fast, it results in developing a Tissue Culture Technique. The Tissue Culture Banana is very tasty.

Agro-Climatic Conditions for Banana Plantation:

Banana, basically a tropical crop, grows well in a temperature range of 15ºC – 35ºC with a relative humidity of 75-85%. It prefers tropical humid lowlands and is grown from the sea level to an elevation of 2000m. above m.s.l. In India, this crop is being cultivated in climates ranging from humid tropical to dry mild subtropics through a selection of appropriate varieties. Chilling injury occurs at a temperature below 12ºC. The high velocity of wind exceeds 80 km /hr. damages the crop. Four months of monsoon (June to September) with an average 650-750 mm. rainfall is most important for vigorous vegetative growth of bananas. At higher altitudes, banana cultivation is restricted to a few varieties like ‘Hill banana”.

Deep, rich loamy soil with a pH between 6.5 – 7.5 is most preferred for banana farming. Soil for bananas should have good drainage, adequate fertility, and moisture. Saline solid, calcareous soils are not suitable for banana cultivation. A soil that is neither too acidic nor too alkaline, rich in organic material with high nitrogen content, adequate phosphorus level, and plenty of potash is good for a banana.

Suitable Soil Type for Banana Plantation:

In Banana Farming, Soil for bananas should have good drainage, adequate fertility, and moisture. Deep, rich loamy soil with a pH between 6-7.5 is most preferred for banana cultivation. Ill drained, poorly aerated, and nutritionally deficient soils are not suitable for the banana. Saline solid, calcareous soil is not suitable for Banana cultivation. Avoided soil of low-lying areas, very sandy & heavy black cotton with ill drainage.

Banana Varieties:

In India, banana is grown under diverse conditions and production systems. in your banana farming, the Selection of varieties, therefore, is based on a large number of varieties catering to various kinds of needs and situations. However, around 20 cultivars viz. Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta, Monthan, Poovan, Nendran, Red banana, Nyali, Safed Velchi, Basarai, Ardhapuri, Rasthali, Karpurvalli, Karthali, and Grandnaine etc..Grandnaine is gaining popularity and may soon be the most preferred variety due to its tolerance to biotic stresses and good quality bunches. Bunches have well-spaced hands with a straight orientation of figures, bigger in size. Fruit develops an attractive uniform yellow color with better shelf life & quality than other cultivars.

Land Preparation for Banana Planting:

Prior to planting bananas, grow the green manuring crop like daincha, cowpea, etc., and bury them in the soil. The land can be plowed 2-4 times and leveled. Use a rotavator or harrow to break the clod and bring the soil to a fine tilth. During soil preparation, a basal dose of farmyard manure (FYM) is added and thoroughly mixed into the soil.
A pit size of 45cm x 45cm x 45cm is normally required. The pits are to be refilled with topsoil mixed with 10 kg of FYM (well decomposed), 250 gm of Neem cake, and 20 gm of conbofuron. Prepared pits are left to solar radiation helps in killing the harmful insects, is effective against soil-borne diseases, and aids aeration. In saline-alkali soil where PH is above 8 Pit mixture is to be modified to incorporate organic matter.

Planting Material of Banana Crop:

• 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 approximately 450-700 gm are commonly used as propagating material.
• In Banana Farming, suckers generally may be infected with some pathogens and nematodes. Similarly, due to the variation in age and size of the sucker, the crop is not uniform, harvesting is prolonged and management becomes difficult. Therefore, in-vitro clonal propagation i.e. Tissue culture plants are recommended for planting. They are healthy, disease-free, uniform in growth, and early-yielding.

Advantages of Tissue Culture Planting Material:

1. True to the type of mother plant under good management.
2. Pest and disease-free seedlings.
3. Uniform growth, increases yield.
4. Early maturity of crop – maximum land use is possible in low landholding countries like India.
5. Round the year planting possible as seedlings are made available throughout the year.
6. Two successive ratoons are possible in a short duration which minimizes the cost of cultivation.
7. No staggered harvesting.
8. 95% – 98% plants bear bunches.