BANANA- Growing Tips
BANANA PRODUCTION- GENERAL
• Banana does well in hot, frost free conditions. Optimum temperature for growing is 22ºC. Lower temperatures retard growth and delay maturity.
• Well distributed rainfall of 2,000 to 2,500 mm or irrigation is required for succesfull Banana production.
• Popular Banana varieties with high nutritional value and high market prices after harvest in Kenya are Plantains and small sweet bananas aka Mchuru in Kimeru. These are the bananas we have ready market for the farmers in our large scale contract farming banana program.
• A well managed Banana crop should yield 4 to 6 tons per season.
SOIL TYPE
• Deep and rich well drained loamy soils with good water holding capacity is ideal for Banana.
• Soil with a pH range of 5.5 to 6.5.
LAND PREPARATION/ PLANTING
• Banana suckers are planted at the begining of the rainy season in holes/stations 30cm wide x 30cm broad x 30cm deep.
• Half fill the hole with one bucket compost manure , fertilizer and then cover with soil and construct a basin . In the center of the basin open a 10cm deep hole, place the banana sucker, burry and irrigate.
• Planting stations are spaced at 250cm x 250 cm for dwarf varieties or 300cm x 300cm for tall varieties giving a plant population of 1,089 to 1,600 plants per hectare.
FERTILIZER PROGRAMME
• At planting apply fertilizer – mixed with compost manure in the planting hole.
• 30 days from planting top dress using Banana blend 100 gm/plant- broadcast around basin and fork in the soil.
• Once monthly up to month 7 top dress using Banana blend 100gm/plant-broadcast.
• Once weekly month 8 and month 9 top dress using Banana blend 50gm/plant- broadcast
• Restart the fertilizer cycle soon after harvest when the old plants have been cut down to promote the growth of young suckers.