Nutritional demand of 'Grande Naine' and 'Prata Comum' banana bunches in two growing seasons

Abstract

The quantification of nutrients accumulated and exported by banana bunches provides information on the crop nutritional requirements. Thus, the aim of this work was to determine the nutritional demand of 'Grande Naine' and 'Prata Comum' banana bunches in the region of Vale do Ribeira, state of São Paulo. Bunch sampling was carried out in six harvest seasons, summer, and winter. The results of dry matter production and nutrient accumulation in bunches were submitted to analysis of variance. Relative growth rates (TCR), organogenic net accumulation (TALON), export and order of nutrient accumulation in bunches were estimated. K and N were the nutrients most accumulated and exported by both cultivars. In har-vest period 5 (commercial harvest), more dry matter was produced in the summer and more nutrients were accumulated in the winter. The highest TCR values were observed between periods 2 and 3 in the summer and between 0 and 1 in the winter, but it did not always follow TALON. The results obtained are important to adapt the nutritional management of these cultivars to the study region, especially in relation to the growing season, due to the longer permanence of the bunch on the plant in the winter and greater demand for nutrients until commercial harvest.

Nutrient parameters limiting banana plant development in Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo State, Brazil

“…Although, the soil nutrient concentrations were considered high on average, in some cases this did not reflect in adequate nutrition for the banana plant, leading to the deficiency of some nutrients, such as K, which is most exported by the trusses (TEIXEIRA et al, 2008;OLIVEIRA et al, 2022). The results demonstrated the need to improve the nutritional management of banana plantations in Vale do Ribeira, through periodic soil and leaf chemical analyses in order to comply with the recommended doses of acidity correctors and fertilizers and achieve the pH indicated for the banana plant without compromising nutrient availability and absorption by the crop.…”

“…requires substantial amounts of nutrients, mainly potassium (K) and nitrogen (N), for adequate development (DEUS et al, 2020;NYOMBI, 2020). These nutrients are directly related to plant development, and fruit production and quality, with the amount extracted differing as a function of cultivar, phenological status and plant age (COSTA et al, 2019;OLIVEIRA et al, 2022).…”