Effect of split doses of nutrients on growth and yield parameters of banana cultivated in Assam

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at Assam Agricultural University, to study the nutrient requirements of banana crop grown under rainfed conditions at different growth stages i.e. vegetative stage, flower bud initiation, flowering stage and bunch development stage. Application of nitrogenous and potassium fertilizer in splits at different growth stages of banana had significant influence on growth and yield parameters of the crop. The yield and quality parameters were significantly influenced by the different levels of the nitrogenous and potassium application at different stages. Combination of treatments, 100% recommended dose of fertilizers with nitrogen split as 40: 20: 20: 20 and potash split as 0: 0: 40: 60 at vegetative stage, flower bud initiation stage, pre-flowering stage and bunch development stage respectively, exhibited better growth, higher yield and quality of the fruits. This combination gave highest yield (58.64 tonnes/ha), weight of fingers (148.73 g), weight of 2nd hand (4.00 kg), bunch weight (19.00 kg), fingers per hand (21.32), length of finger (22.88 cm) and girth of finger (14.10 cm) alongwith better plant growth parameters. Thus, this combination may be recommended for commercial cultivation of banana in Assam.