growth, development and yield parameters of five banana hybrid cultivars

Abstract

This research had the objective of determining the parameters o f growth, development and yield of five banana hybrid cultivars under dryland conditions. The research was done at the Agroindustrial Farm Marta Abreu in Cienfuegos on a carbonated Brown soil. The field experiment was run in a randomized block design with four replications, and two factors: five banana cultivars (‘FHIA-18’, ‘FHIA 02’, ‘FHIA-01’, ‘SH-3436 L-9’ and ‘FHIA 23’) and at two moments (mother plants and first offspring). The plots had an area of 56 m2 with 16 plants each. Eight Plants from each clone were evaluated for a total of 32 plants. The soil characteristics and the climatic conditions in the local area were studied. Growth and development parameters of mother plant and first offspring were measured and the time of occurrence of each phonological phase, and the photosynthetic potential in mother plant and in first offspring were determined. In the cultivars ‘SH 3436 L9’ and ‘F HIA-23’, the pseudostem height and perimeter were larger, there were more number of hands and fingers, the weight of the clusters was higher and the vegetative and reproductive phases were longer. The highest values of foliar area and foliar area index were observed in the cultivars ‘FHIA-18’ and ‘FHIA-01’. At the same time, these cultivars had the highest number of functional leaf at flowering.