Quote:
Originally Posted by bencelest
Inktube: Please tell me just how tall is the sucker before you cut down the mother plant?
I made a mistake by cutting the mother when the sucker was very small less than a foot before. For a period of time means........
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bencelest, the mother is cut to a height of 2 m at the time of bunch harvest. leaving the mother alive helps feed the daughter sucker to insure good fruit production on the daughter. the mother is left for 2-3 months, sometimes longer, after fruit harvest. suckers will be at least 1-2 m tall or taller before the mother is finally removed, sucker height depends on cultivar. some farmers leave the mother to eventually die and decay.
keep in mind these are farm practices designed to get optimum bunch production. we will often remove the smaller extra sword suckers and move them to a shade unit/greenhouse. this is done to fill gaps in the line that appear for various reasons and to start new fields. these smaller suckers will sit without sending up new leaves for a while as the root system develops.
we follow similar practices with plantains and often remove small sword suckers, once well established we sell them at local markets.