Quote:
Originally Posted by keikikid
OK, I did exaggerate a little about needing extreme power to get through the tough fruit.
But not much!
You all have a very good point about the stress.
The only obvious variable in the Saba patch here is water, as it has been completely untended to. Don't hate us for it, but extreme temps only upper 50's, 90 F. We do have dry periods here, even on the rainy side of Hawaii. Now that I think about it...Saba takes 7 months to ripen, so the current ripe and chewy bunch did set in a very dry, relatively hot time. The first bunch I tasted (I'm new here, the bananas aren't) was smooth and would have indeed set in the cool, rainy period. The neglected mat is on my neighbors place, but I did toss some Potassium on the part I see, as I couldn't bear watching the yellow creep up the leaves anymore. Will let you know if it has any effect on the fruit, in a year or so!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keikikid
ps. Re Hawaii soil, although the soil quality is highly dependent on weathering , the type of volcanic activity that produced it also has an effect. My understanding is that it is all deficient in certain minerals, Boron being most frequently mentioned.
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How do you know it's low on K (potassium) ?
If the plant doesn't receive enough water then adding more K won't fix the problem. If any of the elements you mention are in short supply adding K won't make a difference.
This illustration shows the limiting factor, if any of them are in short supply then adding a different ingredient won't improve fruit quality.
Liebig's barrel illustrating how crop growth is inhibited if one nutrient is in short supply.