1. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana

2. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Introduction
In banana, the different cultural practices like tillage practices, intercropping, weed and sucker management and bunch covers dramatically increase the vigour, yield, productivity and quality of fruits.
Also it increases the resistance mechanism in plant to escape or avoid pest and disease incidence in field.

3. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
I.TILLAGE PRACTICES
Field preparation and planting methods
During soil preparation basal dose of FYM (about 50 t/ha before last ploughing ) is added and thoroughly mixed into the soil.
Field Preparation
Prior to planting banana, green manure crops like daincha, cowpea etc. may be grown.
The land can be ploughed 2-4 times and leveled.
Rotavator or harrow is used to break the clod and bring the soil to a fine tilth.

4. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Planting Methods
Planting Material
About 70% of the farmers are using suckers as planting material while the rest 30% of the farmers are using tissue culture seedlings.
Sword suckers with well developed rhizome, conical or spherical in shape having actively growing conical bud and weighing approximatel
gm are commonly used as propagating material.
Suckers generally may be infected with some pathogens and nematodes.
Similarly due to the variation in age and size of sucker, crop is not uniform, harvesting is prolonged and management becomes difficult
Therefore, in-vitro colonal propagation i.e. Tissue culture plants are recommended for planting.
They are healthy, disease free, uniform in growth and early yielding.

5. Classifications of Banana Growing Lands
Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Classifications of Banana Growing Lands
Wet lands : No preparatory cultivation
Garden land : 2 – 4 ploughings required
Padugai : One deep spade digging
Hill Banana : Construction of contour stone walls

6. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Green Manuring
Growing green manure crops viz.,
Daincha
Cowpea
Sunhemp
and ploughing them into the field 2-4 times ploughing and leveling FYM 50 t/ha before last ploughing

7. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Spacing
S. No
System of Planting
Planting Distance
Plant population /ha 1.
Dwarf Cavendish
1.5 x 1.5
4440 2.
Robusta and Nendran
1.8 x 1.8
3080 3.
Rasthali, Poovan, Karpooravalli, Monthan
2.1 x 2.1
2260 4.
Paired row
1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0
5200 5.
2-Suckers /hill
1.8 x 3.6
3200 6.
3-Suckers/hill
4800
Source: TNAU Agritech portal-2008

8. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
High density planting
3 suckers /pit at a spacing of 1.8 x 3.6m (4600 plants/ha) for Cavendish varieties
2 m x 3 m for Nendran (5000 plants/ha).

9. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
planting (2.0 x 2.0 m)
4 suckers/pit (1.8 x 3.6 m)
3 suckers/pit (3.6 x 3.6 m)

10. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Paired row system   1.2x1.2x2.0m  (5200 pl/ha)
3- Plants /Hill 1.8 X 3.6 m (4800 pi/ha)

11. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Irrigation
Irrigate immediately after planting; give life irrigation after 4 days; subsequent irrigations are to be given once in a week for garden land bananas and once in 10 – 15 days for wetlands.
Irrigate the fields copiously after every manure application.
Use drip 5-10 litres/plant/day from planting to 4th month, litres/plant/day from 5th month to shooting and 15 litres /plant/day from shooting to till 15 days prior to harvest.

12. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Drip Irrigation Schedule

13. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
S.No
Crop Growth Stage
Duration (Weeks)
Quantity of Water  (1/Plant) 1.
After Planting
1-4 4 2.
Juvenile Phase
5-9
8-10 3.
Critical Growth Stage
10-19 12 4.
Flower bud differentiation Stage
20-32
16-20 5.
Shooting Stage
33-37
20 and above 6.
Bunch Development Stage
38 x 50
Source : TNAU Agritech portal-2008

14. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Intercropping
Vegetables like beetroot, sweet potato, Cabbage, and Coconut can be grown as intercrops.
No cucurbitaceous vegetables.
Banana+Beetroot
Banana + Sweet potato

15. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Banana + Cabbage
Banana + Coconut

16. III. WEED MANAGEMENT AND SUCKER MANANGEMENT
Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
III. WEED MANAGEMENT AND SUCKER MANANGEMENT
I. Weed management
Regular weeding is important during the first four months.
Spading is commonly used and normally four spadings a year are effective in controlling weeds.
Integrated weed management by including cover crops, judicious use of herbicides, intercropping and hand weeding wherever necessary will contribute in increased production.
Pre-emergence application of Diuron (1kg a.i./ha) or Glyphosate (2 kg a.i./ha) is effective in controlling grasses and broad-leaved weeds without affecting the yield and quality of banana .
Double cropping of cowpea is equally effective in suppressing the weed growth.

17. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
Heavy Weeds infestation in banana field

18. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
ii. Sucker treatment
Selection and pre-treatment of suckers:
Select sword suckers of 1.5 to 2.0 kg weights which are free from diseases and nematodes.
Trim the roots and decayed portion of the corm, cut the pseudostem leaving 20 cm from the corm and grade the suckers to size
To avoid wilt disease in Rasthali, Monthan, Virupakshi and other wilt susceptible varieties, infected portions of the corm may be pared and dipped for 5 minutes in 0.1% Emisan solution.
Pralinage is done with 40 g of Carbofuran 3 G granules per sucker. (Dip the corm in slurry solution containing 4 parts clay plus 5 parts water and sprinkle Carbofuran to control nematodes)
Alternatively, dip the corm with 0.75% Monocrotophos, shade dry for atleast 24 hours and plant. Sow sunhemp on 45th day; incorporate it after about a month.
This operation reduces nematode build up
Use tissue cultured banana plants with 5-6 leaves. At the time of planting, apply 25 g Pseudomonas fluorescence / plant.

19. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana

20. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
IV. Bunch Covering
Bagging (bunch covering) is a cultural technique used by planters where export quality bananas are grown.
This practice protects bunches against cold, sun scorching, against attack of thrips and scarring beetle.
It also improves certain visual qualities of the fruits.
Bunch covering with dry leaves is a common practice in India

21. Cultural Practices under INM in Banana
To sum up
Different cultural practices increase the production of plant.
They are field preparation, planting material – free from pest and diseases, system of planting- High Density Planting (increase the productivity), irrigation system- drip irrigation (to avoid wastage of water), intercropping(increase the productivity), weed management, sucker treatment (to avoid nematode attack), bunch covers for increase the quality to protect fruits from cold, sun scorching.