Yield of Banana Grown With Supplemental Drip-Irrigation on an Ultisol

Abstract

A three-year study was conducted on an Ultisol to determine the water requirement, yield and fruit-quality traits of three ratoon crops (R1, R2, R3) of`Grande Naine' banana (Musa acuminata Colla, AAA group) subjected to four levels of irrigation. The irrigation treatments were based on Class A pan factors ranging from 0.0 (rainfed) to 1.0 in increments of 0.25. When needed, drip irrigation was supplied three times a week on alternate days. Results showed signi®cant (p 5 0.01) irrigation treatment and crop eects on bunch weight, yield, bunch mean hand weight, weight and fruit diameter of the third and last hands, and length of fruits of the third hand. Highest marketable yield (47.9 t ha 71 ) was obtained from the R2 crop with water application according to a pan factor of 1.0. It was concluded that irrigating the crop according to a pan factor of 1.0 was sucient to justify the investment of a drip-irrigation system for a farm in the mountain region.

Effects of Black Leaf Streak Disease and Sigatoka Disease on fruit quality and maturation process of bananas produced in the subtropical conditions of southern Brazil

“…The effects of BLSD observed in this study resembled the effects of other cropping stresses on banana fruit growth. Stresses associated with mineral deficiencies, water supply (excess or shortage) and heavy defoliation have a very clear impact on fruit growth rate (Turner and Barkus, 1982;Hegde and Srinivas, 1989;Goenaga and Irizarry, 1998;Chillet et al, 2006). It seems that BLSD causes a greater physiological stress than SD.…”

Biocontrol of Fusarium wilt of banana: Key influence factors and strategies

“…In banana plantations, soil moisture affects the structure of soil aggregates, and is significantly related to soil aeration, temperature, entropy and pH. Banana plants need plenty of water and fertilizer to grow (Goenaga and Irizarry, 1998), due to their large stems and leaves, shallow roots, rapid growth and high yield. They do best in areas of high humidity (50% or more) and require regular applications of fertilizer.…”

“…Banana plant is also vulnerable to water logging, and the soil aeration condition directly determines the growth status of its root system (Goenaga and Irizarry, 1998). Waterlogging reduces yield and plant size, restricts root growth, causes shallow root systems, and stops the active uptake of nutrients (Aguilar et al, 2008).…”

Banana irrigation management and optimization: A comparative study of researcher-managed and farmer-managed irrigated banana production in Shire Valley, Malawi

“…Nevertheless, useful information about banana irrigation and optimization, obtained from Kasinthula Research Station (Fandika et al, 2006), International Research Institution (Goenaga and Irizarry, 2000) and other fruit crop growing areas (Banda and Mwenebanda, 1992) was not fully adopted by small-scale farmers in Shire Valley region. Goenaga and Irizarry (1998) recommended 1.0 pan factor (100% ET) as the adequate water consumption for banana optimum production (Doreenbos and Kassam, 1986). Hence, the comparative case study of researcher-managed and farmer-managed banana experimentation on banana irrigation management was initiated for comparison of conversional research findings with lead farmer's findings so that farmers' capacity to improved technologies is assessed.…”