Anyone have proof pups hurt mother plant?

[blownz281]

I have a 10ft or more Orinoco and it has five pups. Four are about five feet tall,other is smaller. How bad is this hurting the mother plant?

[sunfish]

Not enough that you will notice

[blownz281]

Thanks

[RandyGHO]

The educators and professional write-ups all suggest the loss is in the banana yield.

A lot of man-hours go into sucker removal I can't imagine the professional growers not expecting something for their effort.

[sunfish]

I don't think many here are growing their fruit for market or have a plantation. I also believe pup removal is for ease of spraying getting equipment in.For the hobby grower I doubt it amounts to a hill of beans

[LilRaverBoi]

I agree....based on personal experience and what I've read from many growers here on the org with years of experience, pups do not negatively affect the growth of the main plant (at least with any significance). I see so many people on this site asking whether or not they should remove pups. The main reason to remove pups is to propagate to other areas....which probably should not be done till the plant has 3+ pups.

Bananas like to form mats.....just let them do it.

[venturabananas]

Originally Posted by blownz281

I have a 10ft or more Orinoco and it has five pups. Four are about five feet tall,other is smaller. How bad is this hurting the mother plant?

It's not hurting it at all. Pup removal is not required. Commercial growers do it because because too many pups can compete for sun, nutrients, and water. Based on published scientific studies, plants that have had most pups removed ripen fruit faster and make bigger fruit and heavier bunches. An untended mat (pups left in place) will produce roughly the same amount of fruit as de-suckered mats, but those pounds of fruit will be distributed among more plants that have smaller bunches and smaller fruit. As Tony noted, active de-suckering can make it easier to manage the plantation (move equipment around), and help with the efficiency of harvesting -- keeping fruiting plants in synch.

Since you are not in the tropics, if you are leaving your plants in the ground over winter, a large mat where you've left all the pups might have a better chance of pulling through winter in good condition.

[G.W.]

Does a sucker on a mat grow faster than if the same sucker was seperated and grown alone?

If growth speed was the same then suckers contibute or are neutral.
If suckers grow faster on the mat, then they must be a drag.

If the mat grows a sucker, then the sucker grows roots.
If the sucker on a mat grows roots, then there are MORE TOTAL ROOTS on the mat.

If the mat is in a container then suckers can compete for root space.
Otherwise they must help the overall health by increasing leaf/root area.


THAT being said, I desucker.
I'll be sticking to 4 stems per mat, maybe 2 on the specimen plants.

[venturabananas]

Originally Posted by G.W.

If growth speed was the same then suckers contibute or are neutral.
If suckers grow faster on the mat, then they must be a drag.

I agree with the rest of what GW said, but this part, which is otherwise logical, ignores the fact that separating a sucker causes significant stress to it (due to physical damage) and so it initially, after separation, will grow more slowly off the mat.

[Abnshrek]

I have a 6 week old pup that is 4' of p-stem, if that energy went to the mother it would have more leaves.. Hail Corm power.. :^)

[sunfish]

Potato Potahto

[Nicolas Naranja]

I think it somewhat depends on your plant spacing. If you have plants every 5' in a row, then you will probably lose significant yield due to pups, however if you only have a tree every 15' or 20' you probably won't notice.

[sunfish]

DESUCKERING TRIAL ON PARANTA BANANA (MUSA ABB GROUP)

[RandyGHO]

It is my intent to maintain zero suckers till fruit. It just seems to me that having a single p-stem mound will yield the backyard hobbiest with the best chance for a good yield per plant. Then a pup or TC planting in a new mound would will take place in spring to start. Crazy probably but I love to try new ways of doing things just to see how things work.

From "Banana production in India"

Desuckering : During the life cycle, banana produces number of suckers from the underground stem. If all these suckers are allowed to grow, they grow at the expense of the growth of the main plant and hence the growth of the sucker should be discouraged. Removal of unwanted suckers is one of the most critical operations in banana cultivation and is known as desuckering. Such suckers are removed either by cutting them off or the heart may be destroyed without detaching the sucker from the parent plant. Removal of suckers with a portion of corm at an interval of 5-6 weeks hastened shooting and increased the yield.

[sunfish]

Whats a good yield per plant ?

[RandyGHO]

Originally Posted by sunfish

Whats a good yield per plant ?

Maybe a better choice of words would have been "maximum yield."

[bananaT]

Just my penny here.

From what Iv seen recently with my bananas; the suckers do play a role in nourishing the whole Matt.

My Orinoco's are in full out banana mode. The fruiting stalks though are losing their leaves. I'm not sure why.
The suckers are remaining lush and vibrant.
Unless I'm wrong, and there is enough stored energy in the corms to support fruit without leaves. The suckers, of witch I allow 3 of, are in some manner supporting the the fruit of the mother plant.


As for sucker numbers. I allow 3 per mother plant. All the others are removed and planted elsewhere.
The "mother" being the oldest plant after the original dies back.

With 3, it allows me to have a secession of fruiting talks.
Getting 2 bunches a year. From the mother and the largest sucker, both having over wintered, with the 3rd & 4th to fruit next year.
You have to time when you allow the suckers to grow, but it works nicely.

[venturabananas]

Originally Posted by RandyGHO

Maybe a better choice of words would have been "maximum yield."

What's the yield when the plant blows over, or some other mishap occurs? I view suckers as and insurance policy and an anchor for the mother plant.

[LilRaverBoi]

Originally Posted by RandyGHO

It is my intent to maintain zero suckers till fruit. It just seems to me that having a single p-stem mound will yield the backyard hobbiest with the best chance for a good yield per plant.

Maintaining zero suckers may increase yield slightly, but probably not significantly. And more importantly, without pups, after fruiting, you have to restart from the ground up for the next plant to fruit (whereas having pups on there ensures a shorter duration of time till next fruiting). Just a thought.

[sunfish]

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