Bunches not ripening
 

Hi all,

I have a large mature mat of Dwarf Brazilian that is fruiting, but I have not seen much of any growth on the fruit since they emerged in June. There are a few other bunches on the same mat that appear to be doing the same thing. The mat is situated in full sun on the south side of my house, and it gets mulched routinely, and fertilized as needed with chicken manure.
In addition, I have another smaller mat of DB on my farm that is fruiting, and the bunch is not maturing there either. Help!

Kane

Re: Bunches not ripening
 

I've seen this before but not sure what the cause is other than heat & drought.


If the banana folds its leaves down due to heat for 12 hrs a day, then the plant is not growing. It will take twice as long for the bunch to grow & fill out. ... For this reason I run sprinklers on my bananas during the heat of the day to ensure plenty of water for evaporation and cooling of the plants.

Re: Bunches not ripening
 

High nitrogen fertilizer like chicken manure will do nothing to a mature fruiting plant.
It takes an average of 6 month for the fruits to fill in and develop properly. At this point all you can do is give your plant some extra water soluble potassium and see if that makes any difference. Patience.

Re: Bunches not ripening
 

Time to fill is also influenced by the plant size, quality, and number of leaves. Ideal number of leaves is 12 and up. I have read one full leaf per hand is ideal. Fewer leaves equates to longer flll time.

Re: Bunches not ripening
 

You have about 4 months to go before ripening, maybe a little less in your climate. You just have to be patient.