View Full Version : Bananas are photoperiod sensitive
Nicolas Naranja
11-30-2011, 08:57 AM
banana-crop-abundance-linked-to-length-of-day | News | Agriculture and Livestock (http://www.sciencewa.net.au/3754-banana-crop-abundance-linked-to-length-of-day.html)
pitangadiego
11-30-2011, 10:23 AM
So, it would seem that a late-summer/fall bloom should produce a bigger, better bunch, than a late-winter/spring bloom which generally seems to agree with my experience. I had assumed that poor spring performance was do to cold and energy loss in the winter..
I am guessing that better nutrition (fertilizer) at a point 2-3 months before flowering, when the photoperiod is most important, might also be important to bunch size. if so, then June/July is the important feeding time for plants expected to have a September/October bloom time.
Nicolas Naranja
11-30-2011, 11:37 AM
I have noticed over the past 5 years that I typically have more flowering in late September - early October than any other time of year. For me that's always been a good thing since it takes so much longer to mature in the winter. However, my plants that fruit in April typically make the bunches with the heaviest fruit.
Richard
11-30-2011, 04:55 PM
I have noticed over the past 5 years that I typically have more flowering in late September - early October than any other time of year. For me that's always been a good thing since it takes so much longer to mature in the winter. However, my plants that fruit in April typically make the bunches with the heaviest fruit.
I have read about commercial groves that apply (truckloads of 50-lb bags) Nitrate in the Spring, Potash in the Summer, and Phosphate in the Fall -- which is an old-school method of feeding fruit orchards. Then there are more modern groves that are on continuous feed of a complete fertilizer.
Nicolas, what does your feeding schedule look like over the course of the year?
venturabananas
12-01-2011, 01:51 AM
Seems sort of obvious in retrospect -- plants can't photosynthesize without light -- but most things do seem obvious in retrospect. I guess they must have had a pretty impressive data set to separate effects of day length from those of temperature, because they have to be tightly correlated.
Nicolas Naranja
12-01-2011, 09:40 AM
I have read about commercial groves that apply (truckloads of 50-lb bags) Nitrate in the Spring, Potash in the Summer, and Phosphate in the Fall -- which is an old-school method of feeding fruit orchards. Then there are more modern groves that are on continuous feed of a complete fertilizer.
Nicolas, what does your feeding schedule look like over the course of the year?
I only put out dry potash, because the soil is rich to begin with, but generally speaking 1/4 lb of potash 5x year. January-April-June-July-October. The stuff I am planting at my house will be a whole different scheme with monthly applications of granular fertilizer and lots of foliar sprays. I will almost double the plant population compared with what was at the farm. So I'll need a much more intesive scheme
Iunepeace
04-24-2012, 08:55 PM
However, my plants that fruit in April typically make the bunches with the heaviest fruit.
Glad to hear that Nicolas! One of my gram's bananas in one of her mats just started blooming so I'm looking forward to a huge bunch! :D
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