Banana planting technology teaches you how to grow bananas at home

Banana is one of the most popular fruits, rich in vitamin B6, vitamin C and potassium. It is also a delicious snack, dessert, and can even be used to make vegetable. But the bananas you buy in your local store are likely flown in from a country on the other side of the world, picked while still green and ripened with ethylene. The editor below will introduce the banana planting technology, and then those who have a backyard can plant bananas at home. Let’s take a look at how to grow bananas at home. Bananas grown at home are absolutely safe to eat.

Method/Steps

1. 1Decide where you want to plant. The area should be large enough. Banana plants are often mistaken for trees because they have thick, hard "pseudostems" that look like tree trunks, and the entire plant can grow quite large (7.6 meters tall, The leaves will be 2.7 meters long). It needs sufficient sunlight and the surrounding soil temperature to be above 20 degrees Celsius, otherwise the banana plants will grow very slowly.
   • Make a chart to see which areas of your yard receive the most sunlight each day.
   • The temperature in the greenhouse will be more suitable, but there must be enough space.
   • If you are planting many trees, don’t plant them too close together. Because they end up blocking the sun and causing the soil to become too cold. Also, if they are too close (less than 1.5 meters), they will compete with each other for nutrients and not produce much fruit.
   • If space is limited, consider planting some dwarf varieties.
2. 2Clean the planting area. Get rid of any growing plants and weeds. Dig a hole 50cm in diameter and 30cm deep and put some fertilizer in the bottom if needed. All kinds of fertilizers are available, organic or inorganic. But remember to only add the reference amount of fertilizer, because too much will burn the roots. If you want to use organic fertilizer, you can use mixed compost and manureCompost or something.
3. 3Choose your planting materials. It can be the sucker root of a banana, or it can be cultured from tissue. You can ask for one from a neighbor or friend, or buy one online. Choose one that is 1 meter tall and has leaves shaped like swords. Use a sharp shovel or iron bar to separate the sucker roots from the main plant. Be very careful. Apply fertilizer immediately after this to fill the hole and do not let the main plant tilt.
   • Tissue cultured bananas are grown in laboratories, sold online, and grown in nurseries. This banana yields more and produces larger fruits.
   • Some diseases (such as fungus) may be transmitted from your friend or neighbors bananas, so it is safer to buy bananas grown at a commercial nursery.
4. 4Remove all damaged old roots. Just cut it off with sharp scissors, leaving only a few centimeters of roots or none at all. The roots will grow soon. Banana roots are very hard, and sometimes you cut off the outer layer, leaving only the hard, filamentous root inside. Also cut off the damaged leaves, leaving about 5 intact leaves, which is usually enough. Too many leaves will block sunlight and cause the surrounding soil to be too moist.
5. 5Put the plant into the hole you dug. To keep it upright, cover it with soil and compact it firmly, but not too hard.
6. 6If the soil is dry, water once a day. If the soil is moist, do not water.
7. 7Fertilize monthly. Because bananas themselves are rich in nutrients, they also need a lot of nutrients to grow and absorb a lot of nutrients (especially potassium) from the soil. If your soil does not reach above 20 degrees Celsius for 9 months of the year, pay special attention to fertilizing during those months to promote banana growth and allow it to bear fruit.
   • Cut back clumps of plants and use them as root hedges to return potassium to the soil. If it looks unsightly, cover it with some other covering.
   • Consider using a citrus fertilizer that contains more potassium.
   • If you are growing organic bananas, use both compost and organic fertilizer. But just use the recommended amount, as too much fertilizer will burn the roots.
8. 8Put off dry and diseased leaves. If a plant is found to be infected, treat it immediately or pull it out. If you find pests, deal with them immediately.
   • The main types of diseases include: banana bacterial wilt; Fusarium wilt; banana bunchy top disease; root rot; and black streak disease.
   • Several pests that infect main plants include: bulb weevil; banana aphid; pink aphid. Several pests that infect fruit include: flower thrips; red rust thrips; scar weevil.
9. 9"Removal of seedlings". It is important to control the number of plants to make them grow stronger and healthier and reduce pests and diseases. Just leave one banana seedling each year, usually the first one to grow. Cut the rest along the ground, dig out the middle and fill with soil. If it grows back, repeat it again, this time digging deeper with an iron bar or wooden stick. Carry out this step when the banana seedlings are 30 cm tall. If new attached seedlings grow near the selected one, remove them again. When the main stem grows buds, stop removing the seedlings and allow them to grow.
   • "Adjunct seedlings" will continue to grow after the death of the main trunk and will produce a second fruit. It may also develop the next sucker and then grow freely. Imagine this scenario: the main trunk grows on the left and bears fruit, while on the right there is an "affiliate seedling" that is almost as tall.
   • Wild bananas have more suckers. Water-sucking roots (young ones with broad leaves) should be removed immediately. In dwarf species, the small sword-shaped suckers are often mistaken for water suckers. (See "Tips" section)
10. 10Support the main trunk and be careful not to let the plant be blown over by strong winds or overwhelmed. There are three simple methods:
    • The rope + bottle method. - Cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle, wrap a long string around the bottom and mouth of the bottle, and soften the bottle so it can bend. Place the stem of the banana against the bottle, tie it with a string, pull it back a little, and tie it tightly to a sturdy support (such as a tree, a mailbox). If the rope is too short, instead of leaving both ends dangling, tie a knot in one section without damaging the stem (see photo). Also ensure that the rope has sufficient strength.
    • Single bamboo branch method. Find a 3-meter-long bamboo branch, and then make a slingshot-shaped piece of wood 10 cm thick and 60 cm wide. Insert this "handle" into the end of the bamboo branch. Let the stem of the banana rest against the middle of the Y-shaped piece of wood, then pull the bamboo branch up so that the stem rests against it. Bury the other end of the bamboo branch deeply into the soil and compact the soil.
    • Double Bamboo Branch Method. —Find two 3-meter-long bamboo branches. Tie their ends together with a strong rope and spread the bamboo branches apart to form an "X" shape. Place the stem against the short end, push it up a little, and then bury the other ends of both bamboo branches deeply into the soil to compact the soil.
11. 11 Find flowers. Bananas bloom after 12 months, depending on your local climate conditions (about 9 months in the tropics). One sign of blooming is shorter leaves (not to be confused with "banana bunchy top virus").
    • Remove the last flower or bud that appears 3-4 days after the first flower blooms. It is a male flower that cannot bear fruit and is called "banana heart". The smell of the flowers is very strong. Some varieties of banana flowers are edible and are popular in some South Asian cuisines. However, if you get the wrong variety, it will be unpalatable.
    • Put off the last flower because it wilts easily.
    • Remove all obstructions and relocate supports.
12. 12Cover the banana bunches with blue plastic sheeting. Nylon rice bags will also work. Remember to poke some holes in it for drainage. Tie the bag with soft string. It is best to cover the banana bunches when they are about 2 months old. It will make the fruit grow larger and prevent it from being eaten by birds, bats and squirrels. This bag can collect heat (equivalent to a small greenhouse system) and also collect ethylene oxide released by the fruit, which has a ripening effect.
13. 13Harvest the fruit 70-80 days after bagging, or when the last short leaves begin to wilt (ignore those extra small leaves). Another sign is when the plant appears with 6 complete, functional leaves.
    1. Chop halfway through the trunk on the other side of the fruit.
    2. Carefully bend the tree down and pick the fruit.
14. 14Chop horizontally after harvesting Lower trunk. Be careful not to damage the suckers used for next year. This time you can continue with the seedling removal and remove the unnecessary suckers. You can then dig out all the suckers except those of the "affiliated seedlings". You can also transplant unwanted suckers and get rid of water suckers. After about a month, dig out the dead stump and chop it into pieces. Be careful not to damage the bulbs and suckers of the "affiliated seedlings".

Tips

• Don't water too much, the plant will rot and die.
• If you want to grow organic bananas, don't use chemical fertilizers, use compost or other organic fertilizers.
• If the newly grown banana is accidentally damaged (such as being hit by a ball) or does not grow well, but is still alive, just cut it in half and it will grow again.
• Be careful when transplanting/removing seedlings from the main trunk. If not done correctly it may die.
• Most bananas will bear fruit after 20 months.
• When sucking roots from the main trunk, use a shovel or iron bar to gently separate them and do not get them entangled with the bulbs. But make sure the sucker has grown its own root system. Sometimes, the main stem is planted too deep and it is difficult to separate the suckers, so choose another one.
• It is best to cut off the flowers when the banana sprouts to make it grow healthier and larger, because the nutrients will be concentrated for fruiting.
• Don’t be confused when removing seedlings from dwarf species. The first two leaves of the new sucker should be very narrow, not wide.
• "Banana bunchy top virus" is one of the most dangerous plant viruses

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