Tissue Culture-Banana

Water Soluble Solid fertilizers

Schedule of water soluble fertilizer application.

Schedule is directive only and may change according to planting season and soil fertility status (soil analysis).

Application of Micronutrient in II^nd and IV^th Month of Planting

Also apply 1 kg gypsom per plant in third month in black heavy soil only.

Interculture Operations

The Root system of banana is superficial and easily damaged by cultivation, use of intercrop which is not desirable. However short durational crops (45-60 days) like mung, cowpea, daincha are to be considered as green manuring crops. Crops from cucurbitaceous family should be avoided as these carry viruses.

Weeding

Spraying of Glyphosate (Round up) before planting at the rate of 2 lit/ha is carried out to keep the plantation weed free. One or two manual weedings are necessary.

Micronutrient Foliar Spray

Combined foliar application of ZnSo4 (0.5%), FcSo4 (0.2%), CuSo4 (0.2%) and H3Bo3 (0.1%) can be adopted to improve morphological, physiological and yield attributes of banana. The micronutrient spray solution is prepared by dissolving the following in 100 lit. of water.

Zinc sulphate	500 gm		For every 100 litre of mixture 5-10ml of sticker solution such as Teepol should be added before spraying.
Ferrom sulphate	200 gm
Copper sulphate	200 gm
Boric acid	100 gm

Special Operations

There are operation specific to banana crop which influence productivity and quality.

Desuckering

Removal of unwanted suckers is a critical operation in banana for reducing internal competition with mother plant.

Desuckering should be done regularly until shooting. However in areas where ratoon is also taken for the second crop, a follower is allowed after inflorescence has appeared and this should be managed that planting space is not disturbed. Follower should be opposite to the inflorescence. It should not be far apart from the main plant.

Deflowering

It consists of removal of the withered style and perianth. This is generally not practiced. Therefore, they remain attached to the fruit bunch & then removed after harvesting which is damaging to the fruits. It is therefore suggested that you remove them just after flowering.

Pruning of leaves

Rubbing leaves damages the fruit, therefore, such leaves should also be pruned during regular check. Older leaves and infected leaves also be pruned as required. Green leaves should not be removed.

Earthing up

Keep the soil loose by harrowing from time to time. Earthing up should be done at 3-4 months after planting i.e. raising the soil level around the base of the plant by 10-12”. It is better to prepare a raised bed and keep the drip line on bed 2-3” away from the plant. It also helps to protect plants from wind damage and production losses to some extent..

Removal of male buds

(Denavelling) Removal of male buds helps fruit development and increases bunch weight. Male buds are removed from the last 1-2 small hands with a clean cut keeping a single finger in the last hand.