Cultural Practices for Banana Cultivation: Irrigation, De-suckering, and More

Bananas are one of the world’s most consumed fruits, and their commercial success depends far less on variety selection than most growers realize. The real determinant of yield, fruit quality, and plantation longevity is the quality of day-to-day cultural management. From how you irrigate to how you manage suckers, remove dead leaves, and support heavy bunches – each practice contributes directly to what ends up in the market. Here’s a detailed look at the key cultural practices every banana grower should know and follow.

Irrigation: Getting the water balance right 🔗

Bananas are high-water-demand crops. Inadequate irrigation leads to delayed flowering, irregular bunch size, delayed maturity, reduced finger count, and poor keeping quality of fruit. At the same time, waterlogged conditions are equally damaging, as they cause root zone oxygen depletion and impair plant establishment.

The annual water requirement of banana is approximately 2000 mm. In summer, when temperatures exceed 37.5°C, irrigation every third day becomes essential. For newly planted tissue culture plants, daily irrigation for the first two weeks is recommended to protect leaves from heat stress.

Why drip irrigation is the preferred method 🔗

Drip irrigation has become the standard in modern banana cultivation because it delivers water precisely to the root zone, eliminating waste and reducing disease risk from wet foliage. Research shows that drip irrigation combined with mulching can save up to 56% of water while increasing yield by 23-32% compared to conventional irrigation. Drip irrigation minimizes wasteful water use while ensuring the plant receives adequate moisture for growth – a critical consideration as water scarcity increases globally.

The drip system also supports fertigation – the delivery of dissolved fertilizers through the irrigation lines – ensuring that nutrients reach the root zone at the right time and in the right concentration.

De-suckering: Managing plant competition 🔗

Banana plants naturally produce multiple shoots – called suckers – from their underground corm throughout the growth cycle. If left unmanaged, these suckers compete with the mother plant for water, nutrients, and sunlight, directly reducing bunch size and yield. Removal of unwanted suckers is one of the most critical operations in banana cultivation and is known as de-suckering.

How and when to de-sucker 🔗

Suckers typically emerge 2-3 months after planting. De-suckering with a sickle at 15-20 day intervals, from early growth right through to flowering, is essential to channel plant resources effectively. Suckers can be removed by cutting them off at the base or by destroying the growing point without detaching the sucker from the parent plant – a method that prevents regrowth.

Removal of suckers with a portion of the corm at intervals of 5-6 weeks has been shown to hasten shooting and increase yield. For ratoon crop management, one vigorous sucker – called the follower – is retained after the mother plant flowers. After harvesting, only one sucker should be allowed to grow to maintain the recommended plant density.

De-suckering minimizes competition with the mother plant, thereby enhancing overall yield and ensuring that the ratoon crop develops with sufficient vigor.

Intercropping: Making better use of plantation space 🔗

During the early stages of banana plantation establishment, significant ground space between rows remains unused and exposed. Intercropping turns this space into productive land while simultaneously benefiting the banana crop itself.

Vegetable and flower crops such as radish, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, chilli, brinjal, okra, gourds, marigold, and tuberose can be successfully grown as intercrop in banana plantations. Mixed cropping with arecanut, coconut, and cassava is also a common practice in South India.

Benefits of legume intercrops 🔗

Legume intercrops provide nitrogen through biological fixation, effectively reducing the need for synthetic nitrogen inputs. The biomass from these crops can also be incorporated into the soil as organic matter, improving soil structure and fertility over time.

Intercropping plays an important role in increasing biodiversity, reducing the need for weed control in crop rows, and promoting better land use efficiency. Annual field crops grown as intercrops can be harvested months before banana yields materialize, providing early income to the farmer while suppressing weeds within the plantation.

The key principle is to time intercrop establishment carefully. Plant intercrops when the banana canopy is still open and light reaches the ground. As the banana plants mature and shade increases, switch to more shade-tolerant species or phase out intercropping.

Weed control: Protecting resources for the crop 🔗

Weeds compete directly with banana plants for water, nutrients, and light, especially during the first four months after planting when the banana canopy is not yet closed. Regular weeding is important during the first four months, and normally four spadings a year are effective in controlling weeds.

Manual and chemical weed management 🔗

Manual methods include regular cultivation, hand weeding, and spading around plant bases. These approaches allow growers to work organic matter into the soil during the weeding process. Mulching with wheat straw, sugarcane trash, or dry grass also suppresses weed growth and retains moisture in the field.

For larger plantations, chemical control is more efficient. Pre-emergence application of Diuron (1 kg a.i./ha) or Glyphosate (2 kg a.i./ha) effectively controls grasses and broad-leaved weeds without affecting banana yield and quality. Glyphosate at 1 kg a.i. per hectare applied at 30 and 60 days after planting of suckers is a recommended schedule. It is important to note that banana is sensitive to phenoxy compounds like 2,4-D, and these should not be used in banana fields.

An integrated approach combining cover cropping, mulching, and targeted herbicide use gives the best results while keeping chemical inputs to a minimum.

Earthing up: Protecting roots and preventing waterlogging 🔗

Earthing up refers to the practice of mounding soil around the base of banana plants. It is primarily done during the rainy season and serves several functions – it prevents waterlogging around the pseudostem, anchors shallow roots, and protects the corm from direct exposure to runoff water.

Earthing up should be done once every 2-3 months to prevent soil erosion from plant basins and to avoid direct contact of water with the pseudostem. The mounded soil also encourages the formation of a stronger secondary root system, improving nutrient and water uptake.

In furrow planting, earthing up must be done during the rainy season to avoid waterlogging, while in winter and summer the plant should remain in the furrow. Earthing up is recommended 3-4 months after planting, raising the soil level around the base of plants by 10-12 inches. Using clean soil drawn from between rows is ideal, and the mound should be gently sloped to allow water infiltration rather than surface runoff.

Trashing: Removing dead material from the field 🔗

Trashing is the removal of undesirable material from the banana field – including dried, diseased, and decayed leaves, the pseudostem after harvest, the male bud, the last portion of the inflorescence, and withered floral parts.

This practice is often underestimated but carries significant importance. Dead and senescing leaves are not just cosmetic problems – they serve as breeding sites for fungal pathogens and insect pests. Regular removal of this material reduces the inoculum load in the plantation, keeping disease pressure low.

Old leaves can spread disease and scratch or damage the fruit on the bunch. They should be cut off with a knife rather than pulled, and once removed, they can be placed on the ground to serve as mulch and improve nutrient content in the soil. This closes a nutrient cycle within the plantation rather than removing organic matter entirely.

For maximum yields, a minimum of 12 leaves should be retained on the plant at any time. Trashing, therefore, is not about stripping the plant – it is about selectively removing spent material while preserving productive leaf area.

Propping: Supporting heavy bunches and tall plants 🔗

As banana bunches develop and gain weight, the plant’s pseudostem can bend or topple – especially in tall varieties, during windy conditions, or on weak soils. Propping provides physical support to bearing plants to prevent this loss.

Propping is a method by which support is given to banana-bearing plants using bamboo, casuarina, or eucalyptus poles, protecting them from bending or falling due to heavy bunch load and wind damage. It is especially critical for tall varieties and in regions prone to strong winds or cyclones.

Propping methods 🔗

Bearing plants generally need support from one or two wooden props, usually bamboo. When a single piece of bamboo is used, it is placed alongside the bearing plant and the top of the plant is tied to the bamboo. When two pieces of bamboo are used, the props are crossed to form a fork placed just underneath the bunch.

A lateral branch at the top of the bamboo prop sometimes forms a natural fork, which can be used to hold the plant without tying. Propping should be done at the time of bunch emergence and maintained until harvest. Suitable propping material includes a stick with a ‘V’ shape at one end or standard bamboo poles.

In addition to preventing physical loss of the plant and bunch, propping also ensures that the bunch hangs freely without contact with leaves or neighboring plants – reducing mechanical bruising and improving the overall appearance of the fruit at harvest.

Integrating cultural practices for better outcomes 🔗

None of these practices work in isolation. The implementation of irrigation systems, mulching, fertilization, and other cultural practices is most efficient when combined with optimal plant spacing and good agronomic management. A plantation that is well-irrigated but poorly de-suckered will still underperform. One that is propped but not trashed will remain vulnerable to disease.

The practical reality of banana cultivation is that these operations need to follow a structured calendar – de-suckering every 15-20 days, weeding in the first four months, earthing up at 3-4 months and thereafter periodically, trashing as needed throughout the crop cycle, and propping at bunch emergence. When this calendar is followed consistently, the result is healthier plants, reduced disease incidence, better bunch weight, and improved fruit quality. A well-maintained banana plantation can produce around 30-40 tonnes of fruit per hectare annually, and rigorous cultural management is what makes this yield target achievable.

What do you think? Among the cultural practices discussed – irrigation, de-suckering, intercropping, weed control, earthing up, trashing, and propping – which combination do you think would have the greatest impact on yield in small-scale banana farming? And how feasible is it for resource-limited farmers to follow a complete cultural management calendar without compromising on any of these steps?

References

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