Water Management
Banana, a water loving plant, requires a large quantity of water for maximum productivity. But Banana roots are poor withdrawal of water. Therefore under Indian condition banana production should be supported by an efficient irrigation system like drip irrigation.
Water requirement of banana has been worked out to be 2000mm per Annum. Application of drip irrigation and mulching technology has reported improved water use efficiency. There is saving of 56% of water and increasing yield by 23-32% under drip.
Irrigate the plants immediately after planting. Apply sufficient water and maintain field capacity. Excess irrigation will lead to root zone congestion due to removal of air from soil pores, thereby affecting plant establishment and growth. And hence drip method is must for proper water management in Banana
| Month (Maug Baug) |
Qty. (lpd.)* |
Month (Kande baug) |
Qty. (lpd.)* |
| June |
06 |
October |
04-06 |
| July |
05 |
November |
04 |
| August |
06 |
December |
04 |
| September |
08 |
January |
06 |
| October |
10-12 |
February |
08-10 |
| November |
10 |
March |
10-12 |
| December |
10 |
April |
16-18 |
| January |
10 |
May |
18-20 |
| February |
12 |
June |
12 |
| March |
16-18 |
July |
12 |
| April |
20-22 |
August |
14 |
| May |
25-30 |
September |
14-16 |
lpd: liters per day
Fertigation
Banana requires high amount of nutrients, which are often supplied only in part by the soil. Nutrient requirement has been worked out on all India basis is to be 20 kg FYM, 200gm N; 60-70gm P; 300gm K/plant. Banana requires heavy nutrition. Banana crop requires 7-8 Kg N, 0.7- 1.5 Kg P and 17-20 Kg K per metric tonne yield. Banana responds well to application of nutrients. Traditionally farmers use more of urea and less of phosphorous and potash.
In order to avoid loss of nutrients from conventional fertilizers i.e. loss of N through leaching, volatilization, evaporation and loss of P and K by fixation in the soil, application of water soluble or liquid fertilizers through drip irrigation (fertigation) is encouraged. A 25-30% increase in yield is observed using fertigation. Moreover, it saves labour and time and the distribution of nutrients is uniform.
Schedule of Application
The fertilizer schedule for tissue culture banana variety Grand Naine both in solid and water soluble form is given in the tables below:
Solid fertilizer schedule for Grand Naine Banana
| Total nutrient requirement |
| N - 200 gm/plant |
P - 60-70 gm/plant |
K - 300 gm/plant |
| Total quantity of fertilizer required per acre (Spacing 1.8 x 1.5 m; 1452 plants) |
| Urea (N) |
SSP (P) |
MOP (K) |
| 431.0 |
375.0 |
500 gm/plant |
| 625.0 |
545.0 |
726 kg/acre |
| Period Application |
Source |
Quantity (gm / plant) |
| At the time of Planting |
S.S.P. |
100 |
| M.O.P. |
50 |
| 10th Day after planting |
Urea |
25 |
| 30th Day after planting |
Urea |
25 |
| S.S.P. |
100 |
| M.O.P. |
50 |
| Micronutrient |
25 |
| MgSO4 |
25 |
| Sulphur |
10 |
| 60th Day after planting |
Urea |
50 |
| S.S.P. |
100 |
| M.O.P. |
50 |
| 90th Day after planting |
Urea |
65 |
| S.S.P. |
100 |
| M.O.P. |
50 |
| Micronutrient |
25 |
| Sulphur |
30 |
| MgSO4 |
25 |
| 120th Day after planting |
Urea |
65 |
| M.O.P. |
100 |
| 150th Day after planting |
Urea |
65 |
| M.O.P. |
100 |
| 180th Day after planting |
Urea |
30 |
| M.O.P. |
60 |
| 210th Day after planting |
Urea |
30 |
| M.O.P. |
60 |
| 240th Day after planting |
Urea |
30 |
| M.O.P. |
60 |
| 270th Day after planting |
Urea |
30 |
| M.O.P. |
60 |
| 300th Day after planting |
Urea |
30 |
| M.O.P. |
60 |
Schedule is directive only and may change according to planting season and soil fertility status (Soil analysis)
SSP = Single Super Phosphate, MOP = Muriate of Potash.
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