Abstract

RODRIGUEZ GONZALEZ, Carolina; CAYON SALINAS, Daniel Gerardo  and  MIRA CASTILLO, John Jairo. EFFECT OF NUMBER OF FUNCTIONAL LEAVES AT FLOWERING ON YIELD OF BANANA GRAND NAINE (Musa AAA Simmonds). Rev. Fac. Nac. Agron. Medellín [online]. 2012, vol.65, n.2, pp.6585-6591. ISSN 0304-2847.

Abstract. The effect of the selective removal of leaves at flowering on yield, growth, maturity and quality of Grand Nain banana fruits was evaluated. The present study was conducted in three regions of Urabá (Colombia) with precipitation low (experiment 1), medium (experiment 2) and high (experiment 3). The experimental design used randomized complete blocks, four treatments (6, 8, 10 and 12 leaves from the start of flowering) and three replications. Every 15 days, the thickness (cm) and length (cm) of central fruit from the second hand were measured and two fruits were taken to record fresh weight and dry weight. At harvest, leaf number, bunch weight (kg), and the thickness (cm) and length (cm) of central fruit from the second hand were measured. During fruit ripening (8 and 15 days), the contents of starch and sugars in the pulp were determined. The thickness and length of the fruit, bunch weight and the box-stem ratio were not affected (P<0.05) by selectively removing leaves. The percentages of total sugars and starch during fruit ripening were unchanged (P<0.05) as a result of the number of functional leaves. These results suggest that in banana cultivation, it is possible to leave less than 12 leaves at flowering without affecting fruit quality or postharvest ripening.

Keywords : Leaf pruning; growth; postharvest; total sugars.

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