21
Jul
2016

Banana Production Guide

Banana is one of the most common and widely grown fruit crops in the Philippines. It is also one of the country’s major dollar earners, and has consistently ranked next to coconut oil and prawns in terms of value earnings during the last five years.

In 1991, banana topped local production among the other major fruits such as pineapple and mango, thus eating up more than one-third of the production pie.

Banana has various uses. The ripe fruit is pureed, candied, and preserved in various forms when not eaten fresh. Its extract is used in the manufacture of catsup, vinegar, and wine. The unripe fruit is powdered and chipped.

In rural areas, the young leaves are pounded to suppress bleeding and treat wounds. The leaves are also widely used as packing materials for fruits and vegetables in market centers. Banana fiber is manufactured into rope, sack, and mat. Sheets of paper and paper boards are also made from banana peel. Banana blossom is exported dried. Filipino housewives use it in special dishes.

VARIETY

Banana is native to Southeast Asia where the climate is warm and humid. Of the 57 banana cultivars, the following are the most common in the Philippines:

1. Saba grows to as tall as 20 feet; fruit is angular; has thick peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 15 to 16 months.

2. Lacatan grows to a height of five to nine feet; fruit is round, seedless; has thick peel that has green when unripe, yellow-orange when ripe; gestation period is 14 to 15 months.

3. Latundan grows from six to 10 feet tall; fruit is round; has thin peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 12 months.

4. Bungulan fruit is round, very sweet, seedless and easily rots; has thick peel that is green when unripe and remains green when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 12 months.

5. Cavendish reaches five to 10 feet high; fruit is bigger than Bungulan; peel is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is yellow when ripe; export quality; gestation period is six to eight months.

Other varieties grown in the country include the Morado, Pitogo Los Banos, Senorita, Tindok, Gloria, Granda, and Tumok.

CLIMATE AND SOIL REQUIREMENTS

Banana is well adapted to well-drained, loamy, soil that is rich in organic matter. Areas with an average rainfall of 4000 millimeters (mm) a year are ideal sites for a banana plantation. A temperature between 27 to 30 degrees Celsius is most favorable to the crop.

Banana grows at sea level up to 1,800 meters altitude. It is susceptible to root rot when exposed to too much water. Typhoon belt do not make good plantation sites.

PROPAGATION

Banana can be propagated through its rhizomes and suckers. The latter, however, is the best recommended. Suckers must be parasites-free and have healthy roots. These are spaded out of the clumps when four-to-five feet tall.

LAND PREPARATION

The fields is plowed and harrowed thrice. All stumps and bushes must be removed. Knee-deep holes with 45-cm diameters are dug and 3each hole is fertilized with 10 grams of complete fertilizer and a few of granular nematode.

PLANTING

Suckers are set on field in vertical position, then covered with surface soil. Compost material added to the soil enhances the recovery and growth of the new plants. The soil is stumped around each base and watered regularly. During dry months, irrigation, if possible, is advised.Planting is the best at the start of the rainy season.

CULTIVATION AND MAINTENANCE

Cultivation should go beyond six inches from the base of the plant to avoid root injury. Intercrops or Glamoxine or Karmex sprays act as weed control. Plants must be propped with bamboo poles during fruiting for support against strong winds.

DESUCKERING OR PRUNING

Unnecessary suckers must be killed by cutting them off the mother plants. Only one or two suckers must be allowed per hill to reduce soil nutrients competition.

FERTILIZATION

For poor soils, fertilizers should contain N-P-K at a ratio of 3-1-6. the ratio is doubled when fertilizers are applied to young plants. The amount of fertilizer applied increases as the tree matures. At flowering and fruiting period, a tree needs five to six pounds of complete fertilizer.

PEST AND DISEASES

There are at least 27 insect pests that attack banana plants in the Philippines. However, there are only three pests known to cost significant damage over all types of banana.

The banana corm weevil feeds on suckers and destroys the corm tissues. It causes the suckers to die of bore attack. To control this pest, spray the soil with Furadan 5 G, 10 G. Sanitation and cutting of affected corms are also effective cultural controls, and are environment friendly.

Fruit-peel sarring beetle damages the fruit surfaces. The banana bunch is usually sprayed with Decis to control infestation. The banana floral thrips can be easily controlled by Diazinon 40/60 EC or Decis 2.5. 100 EC spray.

The three major diseases of banana are the sigatoka, pitting or wilting and the moko.

Sigatoka is a leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphaerella musicola. This causes the premature death of leaves. In severe cases, the size of bunches and fingers is reduced. The fruit is also ripens prematurely and develops abnormal flavor and smell. Plants are usually sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Badly spotted leaves are removed to avoid contamination.

Pitting or Wilting disease is characterized by dry, reddish-brown or black, circular or oval, depressed spots. Sanitation is one way of preventing the disease which comes in season with the rainy days. All collapsed leaves should be removed.

Moko disease, on the other hand, transmitted from plat to plant by insects and infected tools. The impact ok moko to plants is similar to that of the sigatoka. Only, it does not emit unfavorable smell. Infected fruits also blacken inside. Infection is prevented by disinfecting tools with formaldehyde.

In view of environmental considerations, alternative controls to pests and diseases are being introduced under Integrated Pest Management. Infected plants and weeds must be uprooted to keep the area free of host plats for six to 12 months.

HARVESTING

Regardless of variety, the maturity of banana can be distinguished when the last leaf turns yellow. The angle formation of the fingers also determines ripeness. The rounder the angle of the fingers, the more mature the are.

Saba is harvest 15 to 16 months after planting; Lacatan, 4 to 15 months; Latundan, 12 months; Bungulan, 12 months; Cavendish, six to eight months.

Harvesting needs two people to serve as the cutter and the backer. It involves cutting deep into the middle of the trunk and letting the top fall gradually until the bunch is at the reach if the backer. The peduncle is cut long enough to facilitate handling.

Fruits for immediate shipping are harvested 5 to 10 days before ripening. Bananas for marketing are packed in crates as tightly as possible to lessen unnecessary vibrations during transport.

Source: da.gov.ph

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28 Responses

  1. Enard says:

    hii good afternoon. could you please provide more information about Latundan

  2. Voltaire Alfonso says:

    I want to understand more of the banana (Cavendish) production process. Where do i get a material to address my concern. tnx

  3. Lelibeth P. Monte says:

    gusto ko po magtamin nang saging na cardaba saan ba tayo maka order nang seedling

  4. AL JON B. QUILARIO says:

    Aljon Quilario. Saan sino po mag supply sa akin ng saba. 20-30 basta malalaki,mabusok at mapuputi po. At hindi pang planta. Kase pang byahe para bicol kase. 09997932608 or globe 09451381412

  5. Nelli says:

    Hi! Ask ko lng po anong ginagawa sa puno ng saging after makuha un bunga?

  6. JuiZ says:

    Where to buy Bordeaux mixture?

  7. lito alago says:

    san po ako maka kuha ng lakatan para itanim. thanks

  8. monica gordovez says:

    saan po ba ako makakakuha ng saba ? 18 tons per week po ang kukuhanin ko .. life partnership na po kaya sana makakuha ako ng mgndang price , pm nlang po sa interesado .. add me in my fb acct .. monica gordovez. thanks ..

    • nocoi glori says:

      AKO PO MAM…..kaya ko po i supply 18k /week po 09219627935 just call or text mam for details

    • Karen says:

      Hi mam monic,

      R u still looking for lakatan bananas from Davao?

    • Nestor Liggayu says:

      Good morning ma’am, bumibili pa rin ba kayo ng saging (saba)? pwede ba kaming mag supply sa inyo? taga Ifugao po ako pero kasalukuyang nagtatrabaho dito sa PMA, Baguio City. Yung Bayaw at Mrs ko kasi ay maguumpisa pa lang mag by and sell ng saging at di pa sila naka establish ng kanilang mga buyer. Kung interesado po kayo ma’am ay pwede niyo akong tawagan sa number na ito: 09163474531 at sa Mrs ko po 09159228533

  9. ofelia says:

    Can I order sana to plant shop in Texas?

  10. glacil sitchon says:

    i am from manila..i want to have a person to contact from gensan or davao.i want to order 100 crates of lakatanananas..here in manila

  11. Marlyn says:

    Hello po taga northern Luzon po ako sa Quirino province ano po bang pwedeng gamot para sa Lacatan Na Hindi pa namunga e namamatay Na.

    • PETER JAY CARBAJOSA says:

      CAuse po yan ng fungus kasi bina block nya yung daluyan ng tubig at mga nutrients para di maka tubo ng maayos at unti unting mamatay ang lacatan.

      mayron po tayong gamot dyn.
      BIO PROTECT MIX BY RAPID GROWTH ihalo sa 200ML na tubig na malinis no chlorine. sa umaga ka mag halo spray sa Hapon 4-5PM
      Ulitin ang treatment twice a month. 15/30 days treatment. for best results once a week.
      Guide mo:
      1 MAT= 4 L
      NOTE: dapat mag weeding sa puno bago diligan.

      Product Price:
      BIOPROTECT= 800.00
      RAPID GROWTH=990.00

      FREE SHIPPING
      CONTACT # 09755103247/ 09467544610

  12. June Oco says:

    I am from Camarines Norte and planning to venture in banana (SABA) production. I want to know what is the best variety of SABA that will give a high yield in quantity and value and how many meters should the distance be between banana trees when initially planted.

  13. marton obaniana says:

    Salamat po sa impomasyon dahil sa lugar namin apiktado na po sa sakit ang saba na saging halos tatlong baranggay na po. Kaya latundan nlang mga pananim namin. Sa Sta. Catalina Negros Oriental po sana matulongan nyo po kami…. Salamat

    • PETER JAY CARBAJOSA says:

      CAuse po yan ng fungus kasi bina block nya yung daluyan ng tubig at mga nutrients para di maka tubo ng maayos at unti unting mamatay ang lacatan.

      mayron po tayong gamot dyn.
      BIO PROTECT MIX BY RAPID GROWTH ihalo sa 200ML na tubig na malinis no chlorine. sa umaga ka mag halo spray sa Hapon 4-5PM
      Ulitin ang treatment twice a month. 15/30 days treatment. for best results once a week.
      Guide mo:
      1 MAT= 4 L
      NOTE: dapat mag weeding sa puno bago diligan.

      Product Price:
      BIOPROTECT= 800.00
      RAPID GROWTH=990.00

      FREE SHIPPING
      CONTACT # 09755103247/ 09467544610

  14. slim arada says:

    I am from negros oriental. I also want to ask where I can buy banana planting materials, and want to know who the major banana exporters are. thank you.

  15. Dave Sansano says:

    Saan po makakabili nang itatanim na saging na nasa o malapit sa La Union?

  16. Stelutza Alvarez says:

    After harvest do you have to cut off the mother banana? Please answer if you know. Thank you.

  17. willing po tlaga ako..sana po matulungan nyo ako.

  18. taga gen san po ako saan po b ako dapat lumapit pra maka join po sa mga training and seminars para sa production ng saba.

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