Banana is a tropical fruit that originated in Southeast Asia. It is an important food crop grown in several Indian states. There are two main species of banana, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, that are hybridized for edible bananas. Bananas grow best in humid tropical climates between 10-40°C, and require deep, well-drained soil. Common varieties grown include Poovan, Robusta, and Dwarf Cavendish. Proper spacing, fertilization, pest management, and harvesting are required to maximize yields, which average 15-40 tonnes per hectare. Major diseases that affect bananas include Fusarium wilt, sigatoka leaf spot, bunchy

1. BANANA

3. INTRODUCTION
• Banana : Musa sp
• family: Musaceae
• Banana is one of the oldest fruit known to mankind and also
important food for man.
• Origin: South East Asia
• ‘Apple of paradise’
• Rich source of energy (137 K. Ca/100g)
• Rich source of Vit C,K, and mineral
• Plantain are banana used for cooking ,floor making and chip
making

4. Important status: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra,
Andrapradesh and Bihar.
Edible bananas are mostly hybrids of the two species.
M. acuminata, M. balbisiana.
They set fruits by parthenocarpy
Climate: Humid tropic plant.
 Temperature range of 10°C to 40°C with an
average of 23°C.
Altitude: Upto 1500 mts from MSL.
Wind velocity more than 80 m/hr will damage the
crop heavily.
Rainfall : 100 mm/ month is good.
Soil: Deep well – drained soil with abundant
organic matter.
Depth – one meter
Soil pH: 5.5 – 8.0

5. Season of planting
Wet land – Feb-April: Poovan, Rasthali, Monthan
April – May : Nendran, Robusta
Propagation : Sucker, Rhizome, tissue culture
 Sucker-------
Sword sucker – suckers with a well – developed base and pointed tip,
narrow sword shaped leaf bladers in the early stage ,more vigorous, grows
faster and comes to bearing early.
Average weight of the sucker – 1.5 to 2 kg.
 Water sucker or broad leaved sucker – small, undersized suckers of
superficial origin, bearing broad leaves, give fruits late

6. WATER SUCKER AND SWORD SUCKERS

7. Micropropagation through tissue culture – Rapid method
Pretreatment of sucker :
The roots and decayed portion of the rhizomes are trimmed.
Pseudostem is cut leaving 20 cm from the corm.
To avoid wilt disease infected portion of the corn may be pared, dipped for 5
min in carbendazion 0.1% (1 gm in 1 lit of water) for wilt susceptible varieties
– Monthan, Neyvannan, Virupahshi etc.
with 40 g of carbofuran 3 G granules per sucker.
carbofuran to control nematodes).
Alternatively, dip the corn in 0.75% monocrotophas shade dried for atleast 24
hours and
plant.

8. Variety Spacing
(Meters)
No. Of plants/ha.
Poovan,Monthan,Rasthali & Nendran 2.1X2.1 2150
Dwarf Cavendish 1.8X 1.8 3000
Robusta 1.8X 1.8 3000
Nendran 2.0X 2.0 2500
Hill bananas
2.4X 3.0
4.8X 3.0
4.8X 4.8
1350
670
420
Field preparation
The land is ploughed deeply and leveled. The pits of size 45 cm is dug.
The pits are refilled with top soil, mixed with 10 kg of FYM, 250 g of neem cake and 50 g of
lindane 1.3%.
High density planting – 3 suckers / pit at a spacing of 1.8 x 3.6 m
(4600 plants / ha).

9. Fertilizers
375 g of 40:30:40 NPK mixture and 130 g MOP/clump per application during October,
January and April.
Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria – 20 g each at planting and 5th month after
planting preceding chemical fertilizer application.
Apply N as neem coated urea.
N & K in 3 splits 3rd, 5th and 7th month P at 3rd month of planting.
For tissue culture banana 50% extra fertilizer at 2nd, 4th and 6th and 8th month after
planting.
For maximing productivity – fertigation.
25 litres of water / day + 200:30:300 g N:P2O5:K2O /plant using water soluble fertilizer.
For economizing the cost of fertilizers fertigate using normal fertilizers (urea and MOP)
with
30% of the recommended dose along with recommended dose of P as basal at 2nd
month of planting.

10. Cropping:
 Banana comes to flowering in about 9 months after planting.
The dwarf bananas are ready for harvest with in 11-14 months after planting,
while tall cultivars take about 14-16 months to harvest.
The fruits become ready in 3-4 months after flowering.
Dwarf Cavendish variety takes about 11 months, Robusta 12 months and
poovan about 13 months from planting to harvesting.
Banana is categorized as climacteric fruit.
 Fruits don‘t ripe early and uniformly on the plant.

12. Growth regulator
-2,4-D at 25 ppm (25 mg/lit) may be sprayed after the
last hand has opened.
 This also helps to remove the seediness in poovan
variety.
Spray CCC 1000 ppm of 4th
and 6th month after planting.
Spray plantozyme @ 2ml/lit at 6th and 8th month after
planting to get higher yield.
Micronutrient
ZnSO4 (0.5%) FeSO4 (0.2%) CuSO4 (0.2%) ad H3BO3
(0.1%) at 3, 5 and 7 MAP to
increase yield and quality of banana.

13. INTERCULTURAL
OPERATIONS
• Desuckering
• Trashing
• Propping
• Tiping/ Denavelling
• Bunch covering
• Mattocking
• Dehandling of false hand bunch
• Weeding
• Earting up

14. Physiological disorders
1. Kottavazhai
In certain pockets of Tamil Nadu, the banana cv. Poovan is manifested
with a peculiar development disorder which is characterized by the
presence of distinctly conical and ill filled fruits with a prominent
central core having many under developed non viable seedy structures
rendering the fruits inedible.
This disorder can be overcome by spraying 2,4 D 20 ppm when the last
hand of bunch is opened.
 The same chemical at same dose and same stage results in
increased bunch weight and uniform grade especially in cvs. Nendran
and Monthan.
2. Neer Vazahi- ooze out watery fluid----- disorder in in Nendran
banana
Spray of NAA improves finger filling

15. The indications of maturity for harvesting are:
 The fruits are harvested when top leaves start drying.
Change in colour of the fruit from deep green to light
green.
 Tendency of floral ends of the fruits to shed with slightest
touch of the hand.
 Loss of angularity
 Fruits should be plump and their angles should have
rounded off i.e.; after the attainment of ¾ th full stage
before the bunch is harvested

16. .
For export purpose, three fourths of the full maturity stage
(recognized by the sharp angularities of the fingers) is
considered to harvest. At this stage, the dwarf Cavendish
shows a pulp-skin ratio of 35:1 or 40:1.
The entire bunch is harvested with one-foot long stalk. After
15 minutes of harvest, when the latex flow ceases, the bunch
should be packed properly and should not be allowed to come
in contact with soil.
Yield: Yield of banana varies with variety, agro climatic
situation and management practices adopted for production.
Under Indian condition, varying yield between 15-40 tonnes
per hectare has been reported.
Tall cultivars usually yield 15-20 tonnes /ha. Dwarf varieties
are 30-40 tonnes per hectare.

17. 1. Bunchy top – transmitted by Aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa
Infected plants show short and narrow leaves together at the top
of the pseudostem to form a bunch, hence this disease is known
as ‘Bunchy top’. The margins of leaves become wavy in
advance stage of infection and roll upward.
Management
:a) Remove all the affected plants along with complete rhizome,
planting of virus
free suckers.
b). control of banana aphid - spray 0.3% Rogar or Phosphomidon
Monocrotophos – 0.05% spray

18. Fungal diseases of banana
1. Panama wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.cubense)
Yellowing of leaf blades, leaves wither and petiole breaks or buckles and hang
around the pseudostem. Longitudinal splitting of pseudostem and subsequent
death of
entire plant.
Management :
 Removal of infected plants and application of lime @ 2kg/pit and leave it fallow
for 6 Months
 Growing resistant varieties like Dwarf Cavendish, Poovan and Nendran
Crop rotation with paddy in wet land cultivation
 Capsule application of 50-60mg of carbendazim applied to the hole made at an
angle of 45 degree diagonally in the diseases corm.

19. 2. Sigatoka leaf spot disease – Mycosphaerella musicolaYellowish green
streaks appear along the veins which later on enlarge into
elongated/cylindrical spots. Several spots join together and cause drying of the
leaves.
Management
Spray copper oxy chloride or carbendazim @ 500g/ha
Avoid close planting
Bacterial diseases
1. Moko wilt ( Pseudomonas solanacearum)
On leaves, yellowing starts from the inner leaf close to petiole and slowly spreads
up
ward. All the leaves turn yellow and wilting occurs
Management
Good drainage facilities
Supress the wilt by bacteriazation with P.inflorescens
Crop rotation with sorghum