5.0 CROP MANAGEMENT
5.1. Soil moisture conservation
- Make box ridges or basins around the mat to hold water.
- Keep crops mulched throughout the year so that moisture is conserved.
- Harvested banana leaves can be used as mulch.
5.2. Fertilizer application
- Important to add manure to increase the yield but also the quality of bananas.
- Add at least 10 kg of decomposed manure per mat at the beginning of the rainy season.
- Chemical Fertilizers: Either 200g CAN, 250g Single superphosphate and 175g Muriate of Potash per mat at the beginning of the rainy seasons and then 200g CAN per mat in March.
- 75g Urea, 200g 23:21:0+4S and 175g Muriate Potash per mat at the commencement of the rains followed by 125g Urea in March.
- Sprinkle fertilizers around the mat and be mixed into the soil.
5.1. Weeding
- Herbicides can be used for weed control in banana plantations.
- Mechanical weeding to remove plants and weeds found on the planting site can also be done but should be done carefully.
5.2. Thinning
- Maintain 3 to 4 suckers per mat.
- Remove dead leaves and pants and cut them to put around the live plants as mulch.
- De-sucker banana plants when plant is mature removing all but one.
5.3. Irrigation
- Water in essential during the flowering stages mainly.
- In warm areas plant can be watered on a daily basis but only if the top 1.5cm – 3cm of the soil is dry.
- Water frequently but avoid excessive watering as it causes rotting in the roots.
