Cultural practices and resistance varieties in banana Next Previous End
Jan 17, 2016
Cultural practices and resistance varieties in
banana
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Cultural or ecological control involves purposeful manipulation of the
environment to make it less habitable for pest species
Any change in the spatial distribution of host plants (crop rotation,
intercropping, or trap cropping), variations in the time of planting or
harvesting, application of water and fertilizer, and management of
ground cover and / surrounding vegetation may have a significant
effect on the survival and growth of pest populations
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Climate and Soil Requirements
Banana is well adapted to well-drained, loamy, soil that is rich in
organic matter.
Areas with an average rainfall of 4000 millimeters (mm) a year are
ideal sites for a banana plantation.
A temperature between 27 to 30o C is most favorable to the crop.
Banana grows at sea level up to 1,800 meters altitude.
It is susceptible to root rot when exposed to too much water.
Typhoon belt areas do not make good plantation sites.
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Propagation
Banana can be propagated through its rhizomes and suckers.
Suckers must be parasite-free and have healthy roots.
These are spaded out of the clumps when four to five feet tall.
Land Preparation
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The field is ploughed and harrowed thrice.
All stumps and bushes must be removed.
Knee-deep holes with 45-cm diameters are dug and each hole
is fertilized with 10 grams of Complete fertilizer and a few of
granular nematode.
Planting
Suckers are set on field in vertical position, then covered with
surface soil.
Compost material added to the soil enhances the recovery and
growth with the new plants.
The soil is stumped around each base and watered regularly.
During dry months, irrigation if possible, is advised.
Planting is best at the start of the rainy season
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Cultivation and Maintenance
Cultivation should go beyond six inches
from the base of the plant to avoid root
injury.
Plants must be propped with bamboo
poles during fruiting for support
against strong winds.
Intercrops / Glamoxine or Karmex spray
act as weed control.
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Intercropping
One of the way to reduce pest
populations by increasing environmental
diversity.
Intercropping lowers the overall
attractiveness of the environment, as
when host and non-host plants are
mixed together in a single planting.
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Managed application
Water or fertilizer can have a big impact on the survival of pest
populations in some crops.
Annual flooding, for example, is a cultural practice that eliminates
many potential pests.
Balance diet application of irrigation and fertilization keeps plants
healthy, vigorous, and more resistant to insect injury.
It is not unusual for small amounts of injury to actually stimulate
compensatory growth in healthy plants.
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Sanitation
Cultural control strategy that may be highly
effective for pest’s control.
Removing crop debris from banana fields
after harvest eliminates corn weevils.
Collecting the removed side coppice after
that Shredding or burning.
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Crop Rotation
Rotating the field to a different type of
crop can break this cycle by starving
pests that cannot adapt to a different
host plant.
Crop rotation schemes work because
they increase the diversity of a pest's
environment and create discontinuity in
its food supply.
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As a rule, rotations are most likely to be practical and effective when
they are used against pests that:
Growing a single crop year after year in the same field gives pest
populations sufficient time to become established and build up to
damaging levels.
Attack annual or biennial crops
Have a relatively narrow host range
Cannot move easily from one field to another, and
Are present before the crop is planted
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Desuckering or Pruning
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Fertilization
For poor soils, fertilizers should contain N-P-K at a ratio of 3-1-6.
The ratio is doubled when fertilizers are applied to young plants.
The amount of fertilizer applied increases as the tree matures.
At flowering and fruiting period, a tree needs five to six pounds of
complete fertilizer.
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Weed management
Weed control and weed management are
the two terms used in weed science.
Weed control is the process of limiting
infestation of the weed plant so that crops
can be grown profitably. Weed
management includes
Prevention
Eradication
Control by regulated use
Suppression of growth
Prevention of seed
production
Complete destruction
Restricting invasion
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Bunch covering
Use transparent polyethylene
sleeves with 2% (during cool
season) - 4% (during summer
season) ventilation to cover the
bunch immediately after opening
of the last hand.
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Soil Flooding
This is a pre-planting practice which can be regarded as a soil
disinfestations treatment.
A classic case of control on a large scale was demonstrated with the
Panama wilt disease of bananas caused by Fusarium oxysporum
f.sp. cubense).
The harmful effect of flooding on soil-borne pathogens related to a
lack of oxygen, increased CO2 or various microbial interactions, e.g.
production of substances that are toxic to the pathogen upon
anaerobic processes. (Cont)..
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The soil is flooded for 3–4 months or more, with a minimum of 30 cm
of water.
Flooding was not effective when large populations of the pathogen
were present, or in soil which contained unknown factors which
favored the pathogen.
Flooding also apparently destroys Pseudomonas solanacearum and
the nematode Radopholus similis.
Where flooding was practiced in the past to eliminate soil-borne
organisms including fungi, nematodes and insects.
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Host Resistance
Breeding plants (or animals) for resistance to insects is really just
another form of biological pest control.
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Rather than finding insects to attack the pests, breeders
look for genetic traits (or combinations of traits) that
reduce an organism's susceptibility to attack or injury by
its insect pests.
Resistant varieties in banana
Major banana varieties grown in India
Poovan:
It is the most important commercial variety in Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh and West Bengal.
It is also known as Lal velchi in Maharashtra.
It is resistant to Panama wilt.
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Dwarf Cavendish or Basarai:
It is a dwarf variety.
It is resistant to Panama disease.
It is a high yielding variety with fruits large and of good quality.
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To sum up
Different cultural practices increase the production and
protection of plant.
They are field preparation, planting material – free from pest and
diseases, irrigation system- drip irrigation (to avoid wastage of
water), intercropping(increase the productivity), weed
management,sanitation, crop rotation, soil flooding, resistance
varieties , bunch covers for increase the quality to protect fruits
from cold, sun scorching.
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