Banana clusters consist of several `hands ’ of many individual fruit `fingers ’.
Rhizomes form around the base of the plant from which suckers develop , these are cut and used for production of the next crop . Commercial varieties of banana develop fruit without needing to be pollinated , the fruit clusters or bunches contain “ hands ” of fruit consisting of several individual “ fingers .” Many cultivars produce at least 60 fruit from one flowering . Fruit production takes approximately 16-18 months from planting to harvest , after which time the main stem of the plant dies back and is removed , being replanted with new suckers . Bananas are not day-length responsive and a plantation that is successively planted over many months could produce fruit year-round , providing sufficient warmth is provided . Bananas don ’ t require a lot of maintenance during the production phase — removal of any extra suckers that form around the base of the plant helps to direct nutrients and assimilates into flowering / fruit development . Some flower / bunch pruning may be carried out depending on cultivar — this includes removal of the oversized secondary flowering at the base of the bunch as well as some fruitlet removal to encourage a greater fruit size in the remaining hands
Banana Nutrition in Hydroponics
Banana plants are heavy feeders with a particularly high requirement for potassium during the fruit development stages . Uptake of macronutrients is in the following order : Potassium > Nitrogen > Calcium > Magnesium > Phosphorus . For micro elements the uptake order is : Manganese > Iron > Boron > Zinc > Copper . Bananas under optimal growing conditions can be produced with a nutrient EC in the range of 1.6-1.8 and a pH of 5.5-5.8 . Nutrient formulations for banana crops are somewhat different than many other plants — the requirement for potassium is high throughout the production cycle and commercial plantations should use customized recipes for optimal plant growth and fruit quality . A typical banana formulation would contain the following levels of elements ( at EC 1.6 ): N = 148ppm , P = 20ppm , K = 454 ppm , Mg = 48ppm , Ca = 70ppm , Fe = 5ppm , Mn = 3ppm , Zn = 0.60ppm , B = 0.70ppm , Cu = 0.10ppm , Mo = 0.10ppm . Recommended leaf nutrient levels in banana plants can be used to diagnose any deficiency symptoms and act as a guide to hydroponic nutrient formulations for this crop . Although foliar levels are useful to determine nutrient requirements , in heavily fruiting crops such as bananas , a significant amount of the potassium take up is incorporated into fruit tissue and this should be accounted for during the fruit development stage .
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Banana plants are no t trees , but are a tall , herbaceous , shortlived perennial monocot .”
38 Maximum Yield