Yield of five dwarf banana cultivars grown with minimum tillage in Puerto Rico‘s mountain region

Abstract

Cultivars Johnson, Ziv, Grand Nain, Valery and Selection 3-A were evaluated with no-till at the Adjuntas substation during a 50-month period. The plants retained the standard 10 or more functional leaves normally required at the bunch-shooting stage to achieve fruit-fill, but cultivar Johnson consistently maintained a greater number of Sigatoka disease-free leaves. All cultivars performed similarly for bunch weight and total yield. Mean bunch weight was 18.1 kg; annual production, 31,027 kg/ha or 1,705 boxes of fruits.The pruning of 1, 2 and 3 lower hands from the immature racemes substantially reduced the size and the weight of the bunch and total yield, but the technique assists in upgrading fruit quality, which commands premium prices.