Development of the banana plants 'Prata Anã' and 'FHIA-01' under the effect of paclobutrazol applied on the soil

Emanuel Maia,Luiz C.C Salomão,Rithiely P.Q Cavatte,Luiz A Peternelli,Marília C Ventrella,Dalmo L Siqueira

doi:10.1590/s0001-37652009000200011

Emanuel Maia, Luiz C.C Salomão + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0001-37652009000200011

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Abstract

Under some cultivation conditions, excessive growth of the pseudostem of banana plants can be considered a limiting factor, and thus, the use of growth regulators can constitute a valid alternative. This work aimed to evaluate the action of paclobutrazol on the growth of the pseudostem of banana plants and other characteristics of their development. An experiment was installed with five paclobutrazol doses (0; 0.5; 1.0; 1.5; and 2.0 g of a.i. plant-1) combined with two banana plant cultivars ('Prata Anã' and 'FHIA-01'). Paclobutrazol did not affect the number of days from planting to flowering, total leaf area and leaf emission rate. However, it increased leaf permanence on the plants and sucker number, reduced the foliar area of the leaves emitted after its application and provided an average reduction in pseudostem height of 26%.

Highlights

Brazilian banana plant cultivation has undergone changes in the past years mainly related to seedling production due to two strong reasons: the advance of pest and disease into free areas and the formation of large export-oriented orchards
A common problem of banana plants cultivated under protected environment is the excessive growth of their pseudostem, which can reach more than six meters for some cultivars, requiring more planting spacing and causing, in some cases, the rupture of the plastic film surrounding the roof (El Otmani et al 1992, Gubbuk et al 2004)
The cultivar ‘Prata Anã’ presented higher leaf number, leaf emission rate and sucker number, shorter pseudostem height, foliar area of the leaves emitted after PBZ application and lower sucker fresh mass than the cultivar FHIA-01

Summary

Introduction

Brazilian banana plant cultivation has undergone changes in the past years mainly related to seedling production due to two strong reasons: the advance of pest and disease into free areas and the formation of large export-oriented orchards. This scenario led to the production of a large amount of seedlings with high phytosanitary standard within a short period of time, made possible by the use of micro-propagation techniques (Leonel et al 2004). This work proposes to evaluate the effects of paclobutrazol on some development characteristics of the banana plants ‘Prata Anã’ and ‘FHIA-01’ during the first production cycle

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