The growth performance of dwarf banana Cavendish from SE Sulawesi under natural shading

Abstract

In Indonesia, bananas are an important crop, and demand tends to increase. On the other hand, due to limited land availability, production capacity is limited. The growth of banana as an interplanting plant under the estate forestry plant was the promising solution. The study aimed to identify the tolerant banana cultivar under natural shading. The research was carried out in a field experiment Faculty of Agriculture, University of Halu Oleo. The study used a randomized block design (RBD) with shade treatment consisting of two levels, namely no shade treatment and using natural shade treatment. Plant height, number of leaves, length of leaves and width of leaves were the parameters observed in vegetative growth. It is concluded that shading treatment has no significant effect on the vegetative growth but tend to increase the plant height, leaf length, number of leaves and leaves width of banana cavendish.