Tips on how to start a profitable Banana farm

In the world today Banana is known as one of the most second important fruit crop next to mango. Banana is really available round the year and because of its taste, nutritive and also medicinal value. Banana is one of the most favorite fruit of all classes of people. Banana is a very rich source of carbohydrate and vitamins particularly vitamin B. This particular fruit really helps to reduce the risk of heart diseases. Banana fruit is also recommended for patients that is suffering from ulcer, high arthritis, blood pressure, kidney disorders and gastroenteritis. Banana is also use to produce products things like juice, chips, banana puree, jam, jelly, etc. Also again Banana fibre is used to produce items like bags, pots and wall hangers. Banana waste can be used to make rope and good quality paper. The following are tips on how to start a banana farm.

The soil preparation for the Banana farm

One thing about Banana is that it can be grown in variety of soils starting from the poorest to the richest type of soils which are deep silty, clay, loam and rich loamy soil, these soils are best for banana cultivation. Also the soil that is having a pH of 6-7.5 is preferred for banana farming. To ensure a proper growing, you can select a soil that has a good drainage, adequate fertility, and moisture capacity. Also the soil that is rich in nitrogen content and that have adequate phosphorus content and a high level of potash are really good for banana farming. Try as much as possible to avoid a waterlogged, poor aerated and nutritionally deficient soils. Make sure you also avoid sandy, saline, calcareous and extremely clayey soils.

Some of the varieties of Banana

The Grand Naine Banana variety: This particular variety was released in 2008 and is one of the best growing varieties in Asia. This particular variety bears an average of 25-30kg bunch.
Some other varieties are Safed Velachi, Red Banana, Basarai, Rasthali, Poovan, Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta, Nyali, Nendran, Ardhapuri, etc.

The land preparation for Banana farming

Make sure the land is Plough thoroughly at least three to four times in summer. Make sure you add about 10 tonnes of well rotten FYM or a well decomposed cow dung and also mix it well in the soil, and this should be done at the time of last ploughing. If you want to level the soil you can use blade harrow or laser leveler. Nematicides and fumigants should be added to the pits before planting in areas where nematode is really a problem.

The sowing of the Banana

One of the best sowing time is mid-February to first week of March.

The spacing of the Banana plant

Any area that is having high humidity and low temperature that is below 5-7°C, the farmer should ensure that the planting distance is not less than 1.8m x 1.8m.

The sowing depth of the Banana plant

Make sure that the Banana sucker is planted in a pit size of about 45cm x 45cm x 45cm or 60x60x60cm. Make sure the Pits are left open in the sun, this will really help in killing the harmful insects. Also make sure you fill the pits with the topsoil mixed with 10kg of FYM or a well decomposed cow dung, Neem cake@250gm and Carbofuran@20gm. Make sure you plant the suckers in the center of the pit and then gently pressed the soil around it. Try to avoid deep planting.

The sowing method

In Banana cultivation transplanting method is used for sowing.

The Banana seed

The Banana seed treatment: Make sure you use a healthy and uninfected sucker or rhizomes for planting. When you want to plant wash the suckers and then dip it in a solution of Chlorpyrifos 20EC@ 2.5ml/Litre of water before planting. If you actually want to protect the crop from rhizome weevil, before planting, you can dip the suckers in Carbofuran 3%CG@33gm/sucker after that you can dry them in the shade for about 72 hours. If you also want to prevent the suckers from nematode attacked you can treat the suckers with Carbofuran 3%CG@50gm/sucker. If you want to control them from fusarium wilt you can dip the suckers in Carbendazim @2gm/litre of water solution for about 15–20 minutes.

The weed control in Banana farming

You can easily remove the weeds before planting by deep ploughing and cross harrowing. You can also take pre-emergence application of Diuron 80% WP@800gm/150Litre of water/acre.

The irrigation method in Banana farming

This particular plant is a shallow rooted crop that actually requires a large quantity of water for good productivity. Banana plant requires about 70-75 irrigations for good yield. Make sure you provide irrigation at an interval of 7-8days in the winter, then during summer you can provide irrigation at an interval of 4-5days. During the rainy season you can provide irrigation if required. Make sure you remove excess water from the field, because this may affect plant establishment and growth.
Furthermore, you can also use an advance irrigation technology like drip irrigation. According to research the use of drip irrigation in banana has save about 58% of water and it has increase the yield by 23-32%.

The pest and disease control in Banana farming

Banana plant is like any other plant that also faces some pest and disease challenges. The following are some of the pest and disease that attack Banana.

1. The Corm weevil on Banana plant: By peradventure if you observe the infestation of corm weevil, you can control it by applying Carbaryl@10– 20gm/plant in the soil around the stem.
2. The Rhizome weevil on Banana plant: To prevent this pest, make sure you remove dried leaves and keep the orchards clean. You can also dip the rhizome in Methyl oxydemeton@2ml/Litre of solution before planting. Also you can apply castor cake@250gm or Carbaryl@50gm or Phorate@10gm per pit before planting.
3. The Banana aphid on Banana plant: By peradventure if you observe the infestation of Banana aphid, you can spray them with Methyl demeton@2ml/litre or Dimethoate 30EC@2ml/litre of water.
4. The Nematode on Banana plant: One of the ways to prevent suckers from nematode attacked is by treating the suckers with Carbofuran 3%CG@50gm/sucker. By peradventure if the suckers treatment is not done you can apply 40gm of Carbofuran around each plant one month after planting.
5. The Sigatoka leaf spot disease on Banana plant: Make sure you remove and burn infected leaves. Also make sure you provide a proper drainage in the field to avoid waterlogging conditions. You can apply a spray of any one of these fungicides, for example Carbendazim@2gm/litre or Mancozeb@2gm/litre, per 10 litres of spray fluid.
6. The Anthracnose disease on Banana plant: By peradventure if you observe the infestation, make sure you apply spray like Copperoxychloride @2.5gram/Litre or Bordeaux mixture@10gram/Litre or chlorothalonil fungicide @2gm/litre or Carbendazim@3gm/Litre of water.
7. The Panama Disease on Banana plant: By peradventure if you observe the infestation in the field, you can uproot and destroy severely affected plants away from the field. You can also apply lime@1 – 2 kg in the pits. Also before planting you can dip the suckers in Carbendazim@2gm/Litre of water.

How to harvest the Banana plant

Harvesting the Banana is the final stage. You can harvest the Banana 11-12 months after planting. Make sure you carry out harvesting when the banana is slightly or fully mature and also according to the market requirement. If it is for local market, you can harvest the fruits at maturity stage and for long distance transport, you can harvest the fruit at 75-80 % maturity. For export purpose, make sure you carry out harvesting the day before or the same day of shipment. Make sure you harvest the fruit early in the day in the summer. Then in the winter, make sure you don’t harvest too early in the morning.
Starting a commercial Banana farming can be very profitable if it is done in a proper way. To get a step by step guide on how to start commercial Banana farming you can purchase the book on AMAZON STORE. To purchase the Banana farming book click the button below.