View Full Version : I finally figured out how to produce big fruit on Nam Wah
Nicolas Naranja
04-29-2012, 04:45 PM
It figures that once I had decided to stop growing a variety commercially, I would figure out how to make nice fruit with it.
Over the past month I have been harvesting 8 hand, 45 lbs bunches that have fruit in the 35-40mm caliper range.
Here are my tips:
Keep the mat desuckered to 2 plants
No more than 8 hands to bunch.
Cut everything off after the 8th hand as soon as you can
Deflower the fruit
I had really consistent results with this, the ones I left as untreated checks weren't even worth harvesting. 12 hands of skinny and unfilled fruit.
I've also been harvesting some really heavy Hua Moa managed the same way this month. I had a 45 lbs bunch hit me in the face when I cut it the other day and it hurt.
Richard
04-29-2012, 06:16 PM
Over the past month I have been harvesting 8 hand, 45 lbs bunches that have fruit in the 35-40mm caliper range.
Here are my tips:
Keep the mat desuckered to 2 plants
No more than 8 hands to bunch.
Cut everything off after the 8th hand as soon as you can
Deflower the fruit.
I think those are good tips. My approach has been to keep the mat desuckered and cut the male flower off about 2 inches past the last female. My fruits are definitely that size and in the 1/3 to 1/2 pound weight range.
bananimal
04-29-2012, 09:57 PM
I've also been harvesting some really heavy Hua Moa managed the same way this month. I had a 45 lbs bunch hit me in the face when I cut it the other day and it hurt.
Now HM can also be called ROMPECABEZA!!! :08::ha:
I'm definitely going to do hand pruning this year on the Goldfinger, DB, SH 3640, Dwf super plantain, Pisang Klotek and the larger Ae Ae.
Nicolas Naranja
04-29-2012, 11:12 PM
If I would have known several years ago that Nam Wah needs to be spaced fairly wide, I don't think I would have ever had so much trouble with fruit size. I planted on a 7x12 spacing, which apparently is about double what I should have planted. I really hadn't considered the different leaf angles. Gran Nain, Hua Moa, and the plantains can be spaced closer because their leaves are more erect.
harveyc
04-30-2012, 01:47 AM
Nick, are you growing the tall Namwah or dwarf? Do you think it matters which when it comes to using this technique?
Nicolas Naranja
04-30-2012, 05:49 PM
Nick, are you growing the tall Namwah or dwarf? Do you think it matters which when it comes to using this technique?
I'm using the dwarf, I have noticed that the tall ones that I have that are sports in the dwarf plantings seem to care less about the pruning. I suspect that this is because they are above the canopy.
Nicolas Naranja
05-21-2012, 10:34 PM
Today is a sad day for me. It was my final harvest at my 5 acre Hole-in-the-Wall farm. This is the last bunch of Dwarf Nam Wah
http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x455/NicolasNaranja/get-attachmentaspx.jpg
caliboy1994
05-21-2012, 10:38 PM
:(
digdeep
05-22-2012, 12:37 PM
Wait, what does the male and female flowers look like? And what Is their main purpose? Shouldn't you leave them on and eventually they will fall off?
harveyc
05-22-2012, 01:21 PM
The male flowers just stay small and will eventually drop off but the plant is still using resources for their development. They serve no useful purpose for our edible seedless bananas.
Bananaman88
05-22-2012, 02:07 PM
Today is a sad day for me. It was my final harvest at my 5 acre Hole-in-the-Wall farm. This is the last bunch of Dwarf Nam Wah
http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x455/NicolasNaranja/get-attachmentaspx.jpg
That is an awesome looking bunch! Nice job! :bananas_b
Nicolas Naranja
05-22-2012, 03:04 PM
Wait, what does the male and female flowers look like? And what Is their main purpose? Shouldn't you leave them on and eventually they will fall off?
You will produce fruit even if you leave the bud and male flowers on and just let nature take its course. However, you are dealing with a source-sink relationship and you have to decide whether or not you want your plant putting resources into something that you are not going to eat. I trimmed this bunch as soon as possible.
momoese
05-22-2012, 04:46 PM
Wait, what does the male and female flowers look like? And what Is their main purpose? Shouldn't you leave them on and eventually they will fall off?
They look totally different and the male flowers are less than half the size of the females. You'll know as soon as you see them.
What about the flower stalk shriveling up where you cut it off? I cut mine off and it shriveled about 4-5 inches so if I had cut it off right below the last hand it would have gone bad...
sunfish
10-16-2012, 08:04 AM
http://www.bananas.org/f2/when-cut-flower-395.html#post2520
Nicolas Naranja
10-16-2012, 08:29 AM
What about the flower stalk shriveling up where you cut it off? I cut mine off and it shriveled about 4-5 inches so if I had cut it off right below the last hand it would have gone bad...
I haven't had that problem, but on the large plantations they leave a finger or two on the last hand. But I actually cut to a certain number of hands, that from experience, I know will produce the size fruit I desire. I have often produced 12 hand bunches of Nam Wah, but I will have unfilled fingers if I don't prune the bunch. For my location and my conditions, 8 hands seems to be optimum.
Going Bananas
08-21-2015, 12:09 PM
!!!BUMP!!!
Worthy thread to read for those who have namwahs.
I wonder if this will work
for the other dwarf varieties?
Akula
09-16-2018, 09:05 AM
Thanks for this one Nick!
edwmax
09-17-2018, 04:27 PM
Thanks Nick, This was good info since I had never read it... This thread pre dates my joining the forum.
Nicolas Naranja
09-19-2018, 08:21 PM
Wow, digging up the past on this thread.
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