What to Do When Bananas Shoot Buds Too Early? Master These Handling Methods
What should be done if bananas shoot buds too early? Please give an introduction to the management methods. Under normal conditions, bananas need 6-7 months of vegetative growth from planting to bud shooting so that nutrient accumulation is sufficient. Shooting buds too early results in too short a vegetative growth period, short and small pseudostems, and a reduced number of hands and fruits, causing yield reduction. This year, bananas shot buds early and the number of hands decreased...
What should be done if bananas shoot buds too early? Please give an introduction to the management methods
Under normal conditions, bananas need 6-7 months of vegetative growth from planting to bud shooting so that nutrient accumulation is sufficient. Shooting buds too early results in too short a vegetative growth period, short and small pseudostems, and a reduced number of hands and fruits, causing yield reduction. The main reasons for early bud shooting and the reduced number of hands in bananas this year are: First, the temperature after May this year was higher than in previous years, banana leaves grew quickly, and bud shooting began in late September, with a vegetative growth period of only more than 5 months; the growth time was short, the pseudostem was short and small, and the number of banana fruit hands was inevitably reduced. Second, July-September is the banana flower bud differentiation period (bud pregnancy period), which is the key period determining the number of banana fruit hands and the number of fruits set, and it happened to be affected by three typhoons, with leaves damaged by wind. Normal flower bud differentiation must have 10-12 complete leaves to meet the growth and development needs of 7-8 hands of flower buds. Therefore, the reduction in the number of fruit hands and fruits this year was caused by typhoon damage. Furthermore, improper fertilization is also one of the reasons; excessive fertilization in the early stage, especially excessive potassium fertilizer application, can cause bananas to shoot buds early.
Preventive measures
First, in places with greater typhoon damage, it is recommended to transplant after late May so that the flower bud differentiation period avoids the typhoon season.
Second, the amount of fertilizer applied in the early stage of banana growth should not be too large; only from the middle stage to the flower bud differentiation stage should the amount of fertilizer be increased. At the same time, potassium fertilizer should be applied reasonably; in the early stage, nitrogen fertilizer should mainly be used, as premature and excessive application of potassium fertilizer will cause early bud shooting.
Handling methods
First, reduce the number of fruit hands. Taking the Brazilian variety as an example, from bud shooting to maturity, bananas can still grow about 12 leaves. These leaves provide photosynthetic nutrients for banana fruit expansion and determine the weight of the banana finger (single fruit weight). Generally, 1.5 leaves can support the growth of 1 hand of banana fruit. The typhoons ended at the end of August this year; after the typhoons, bananas grew 6-8 new leaves. If management is strengthened, it can ensure the growth and normal expansion of 4-5 hands of banana fruit. If too many fruit hands are retained, the fruit will become smaller and be difficult to reach the standard for commercial fruit.
Second, strengthen fertilizer and water management. After mid-to-late October, rainfall becomes increasingly less, so irrigation should be strengthened. According to our experiment at the Fushan banana base in Chengmai County, in summer, bananas in the vigorous growth stage need 30-40 kg of water per plant per day. In addition, fertilizer should be applied frequently and additionally to speed up growth recovery. Each plant can be given 0.2-0.3 kg each of potassium fertilizer and compound fertilizer, followed by watering to facilitate root absorption.
Third, strengthen pest and disease control. After typhoons, damaged leaves are prone to infection by banana leaf spot disease, causing yield reduction. From bud shooting to bagging, banana fruit is prone to black sigatoka and damage by banana flower thrips, which causes spots on the banana peel and affects appearance. For the above pests and diseases, choose 25% difenoconazole 1500-2000 times solution, or 75% chlorothalonil 800 times solution, or 40% miebingwei 600-800 times solution plus 10% imidacloprid 1500 times solution, mix and spray leaves and fruit hands, applying continuously 2-4 times with an interval of 7-10 days.
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