Jimbo7

Ok, My neighbor has removed all leafs on his plant and has just the fruit stem hanging. Will this still mature? He has young fruit on it and I believe it still needs leafs to nurish the fruit.

jjjankovsky

what would Mother Nature do?

Lemmysports

Well Mother Nature also would not cut the flower off after fruits have emerged, remove all the pups to thin the mat, prop up a heavy bunch of fruit so it doesn't bend the p-stem, put a plastic bag around the fruit to speed up ripening... should I continue?

My point is not just that your logic is flawed, but that you really didn't answer the poster's question in a helpful manner. Sorry to call you out, but this type of know-it-all, indirect answer stuff is getting old.

That being said, I don't personally know how this will affect the ripening of the fruit. I don't believe it will help. I've heard that the living tissue of the p-stem actively photosynthesizes, so maybe it is still able to help, but I do not know for sure.

jjjankovsky

Well good on you for calling me out...but my question might just provoke answers that have to do with how bananas grow naturally...

I live in one of the biggest banana growing regions in Mexico and I guarantee you that leaves are not chopped off after a bloom in order to promote fruit growth...mother nature seems friendly to the fields here...

The question had to do with only cutting off the leaves...and, take a chill pill and use your thoughtfulness...you might be surprised by the simple answers

chipboy44

OMG no no no.... As a rule you will need 6 leaves minimum to ripen fruit after flowering. I know that as a rule if we get a frost here with fruit on the tree and the leaves die then the fruit will always slowly wither. But foir proper maturing of your fruit you will need at least 6 leaves.
Salute'
rick

Lemmysports

I'm just saying I think it would have been more helpful for you to say what you just said "leaves are not chopped off to promote fruit growth", and most likely would have taken the same amount of time and energy to type than your original post did.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all, in fact I believe that you are correct that cutting off the leaves intentionally is not a good idea. You and I will have to settle this over a couple of cerveza's...

Richard

Cutting the male flower off is a great idea if you want more out of the bunch ... in fact also remove the "runts" from the bottom of the bunch. On the other hand, the leaves are solar panels and as other people have pointed out the plant needs them to generate proteins and carbohydrates to ripen the fruit.

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