Crop guide

Banana

1. Land Preparation Deep ploughing and good drainage. Banana is shallow-rooted and heavy — a waterlogged or windy site will topple a loaded plant. 2. Sowing Time & Method Plant suckers or tissue-culture plants in February–March. Spacing 6 x 6 ft.

Both Sowing Feb–Mar Harvest Jul–Aug 500–700 maund per acre

Land Preparation

Deep ploughing and good drainage. Banana is shallow-rooted and heavy — a waterlogged or windy site will topple a loaded plant.

Sowing Time & Method

Plant suckers or tissue-culture plants in February–March.
Spacing 6 x 6 ft.
Tissue-culture plants cost more but are free of the viruses that build up in suckers.

Seed Rate & Treatment

Sword suckers from a healthy clump, or certified tissue-culture plants.

Fertilizer

Banana is a heavy feeder: per plant per year roughly 300 g urea, 150 g DAP and 300 g SOP in several splits, plus 10 kg farmyard manure. Potassium is what fills the fingers.

Irrigation

Every 7–10 days in summer. Banana needs steady moisture but cannot stand waterlogging — drip suits it best.

Weed Control

Weed Damage Control Product
Purple Nutsedge (Deela) Pushes straight up through the mulch and strips nitrogen from banana's shallow feeding roots. Lift the tubers out during land preparation, then lay the mulch
Bermuda Grass (Khabbal) Mats the inter-row and the stool, and its runners choke the new suckers coming up. Pull the runners out and cover the inter-row with a thick mulch
Horse Purslane (Itsit) Spreads a thick carpet over the damp bed in summer and takes the water and feed of the young plants. Light hoeing between the rows, away from the stool, then re-cover with mulch
Jungle Rice (Swank) Takes the water and feed of the stool through the hot months, and a thick stand holds the new suckers back. Hand pull from the wet basin before it seeds
Slender Amaranth (Chulai) Shoots up fast on the manured bed while the canopy is still open, shading the young plants and taking the feed meant for them. Hand pull before it flowers and lay the mulch back over the bed

Mulch heavily between rows; it suppresses weeds and keeps the shallow roots cool.

Insect Pests

Banana weevil bores the corm, and nematodes weaken the roots so the plant topples. Aphid matters mainly because it carries bunchy top virus.

Diseases

Panama wilt kills the plant and stays in the soil for years — use resistant varieties and do not replant banana in an infected field. Bunchy top stunts the plant into a rosette of narrow upright leaves; remove and destroy affected plants.

Harvesting

Cut the bunch when the fingers are full and rounded but still green, about 11–12 months after planting. Prop heavy plants before the bunch weighs them over.