Abstract
ABSTRACT This research aimed to evaluate the yield and economic viability of three crop cycles of the banana cv. ‘Prata Anã’ in association with perennial herbaceous legumes, natural vegetation, or compared with the conventional management. The research was conducted using a complete randomized block design with split-split plots and four replicates. The plots were formed by four irrigation depths: 50, 75, 100 and 125% of crop evapotranspiration, and the subplots by cover crops (Calopogonium muconoides, Pueraria phaseoloides, and natural cover without N addition) or no cover crops with addition of N fertilization (conventional management). The subsubplots were formed by the second, third and fourth banana production cycles. Yield and economic viability of the cultivation were estimated for a period of seven years. The conventional management promoted greater yield and economic viability in the cultivation of ‘Prata Anã’ banana, due to the N fertilization. Managements with leguminous cover crops were also economically viable, but they should be investigated in combination with N fertilization and compared with the conventional method.
Highlights
Banana is the second fruit most produced in the world and the third most produced in South American countries, such as Brazil, which was the fifth largest producer of this fruit in 2012 (FAO, 2015)
Considering the above mentioned factors, this study aimed to evaluate the yield and economic viability in three cycles of banana, cv
‘Prata Anã’, conducted from May 2011 to April 2014, at the Vale do Curu Experimental Farm (FEVC), which belongs to the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), in the municipality of Pentecoste, CE, Brazil (3° 48' S; 39o 19' W; 47 m)
Summary
Banana is the second fruit most produced in the world and the third most produced in South American countries, such as Brazil, which was the fifth largest producer of this fruit in 2012 (FAO, 2015). In Northeast Brazil, the highest yields were equal to 14 Mg ha-1, recorded in the state of Bahia. In the 2014/2015 season, the state of São Paulo recorded yield of 21.05 Mg ha-1 (IEA, 2015). There are many factors contributing to the low yields, such as: disuse of adequate techniques in soil tillage, low quality of seedlings and soil fertility, low rainfalls and cash flow (Chopin & Blazy, 2013). In this context, a possible, less sustainable, way of increasing banana yield is the intensification in the use of mineral fertilizers in the crop management. Intensive agriculture has caused negative impacts (Tscharntke et al, 2012)
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