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Knowledge

Banana (Musa sp.) is an important fruit crop. Its year-round availability, affordability, varietal range, taste, nutritive and medicinal value makes it the favorite fruit among all classes of people. It has also a good export potential. Banana basically a tropical crop, grows well in a temperature range of 15ºC – 35ºC with a relative humidity of 75-85%. It prefers tropical humid lowlands and requires a high amount of nutrients. Finally, bananas are among the most important food crops in the world.

The Role Of Elements

Banana crop is an important economic crop with high economic return. Banana crop is one of the most consumed crops of potassium, while, potassium plays a vital and important role of the banana crop as:

  • Increases number and weight of hands per bunch which reflects on increasing yield.
  • Producing strong successors that produce high yield.
  • Frost resistance that happened mostly in the winter months.
  • Early in banana bunch emergence and early maturity of yield.
  • Increasing use efficiency of irrigation and fertilization.
  • increasing ability of plant resistance to diseases and adverse environmental stresses, especially increasing salts in soil and irrigation water.

Phosphorus contributes to improvement and productivity of the banana crop through:

  • Increase growth and root distribution.
  • Increasing vegetative growth rate and number of leaves.
  • Increases flowering, number of hands and fingers per bunch.
  • Increase quality characteristics of crop.

One of the most important physiological roles of calcium in banana crop:

  • Increases plant resistance to environmental stress factors, especially frost that occurs in winter.
  • Increases root growth and distribution as well as vegetative growth.
  • Increased resistance of root hairs to soil diseases such as nematodes and root rot
  • Increases yield, bunch weight, number of hands and weight of fingers.
  • Increased storage ability of fruits.
  • Increased fruit resistance to fungal diseases.

Deficiency Symptoms

K

Due to the large size of banana leaf, the symptoms of deficiency on the leaves appear in the form of burning of leaves edges and may occur wrap the edges of the leaves inside. In additions, the most important symptoms of deficiency as: -

  • Poor vegetative growth.
  • Decreases number of hands and weight per bunch.
  • Poor full of fingers and number on hands.
  • Production weak successors.
  • Plants are more susceptible to viral, fungal and insect diseases.

P

The most important phosphorus deficiency on banana crop discoloration of leaves in a dark green or bronze color. The low phosphorus on banana plant affects:

  • Low number of leaves and small plant size.
  • Low root distribution.
  • Low quality specification of crop.
  • Reduced number of fingers and hands per bunch with low yield.

Ca

Symptoms of calcium deficiency on the banana crop appear as dryness of the edges of young leaves yellowing and deformation and the symptoms of calcium deficiency on crop as: -

  • General weakness of plant with decreased crop quantity and quality of fruits.
  • Trees become less resistant to unfavorable environmental conditions.
  • Decreases growth of Meristem cells as well as shoot tips.
  • Leaf tops take the hook shape.
  • Some diseases such as nematode and root rot appear on the roots.