The effect of planting dates, mulch materials, soil moisture content and soil temperature on late season banana productivity was conducted in Owerri Southeastern Nigeria, in the Teaching and Research farm of the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Federal University of Technology Owerri. The study was laid out in a split plot design where the whole or main plots (Factor A) comprised of three planting dates: September, October and November and the sub-plot treatments (Factor B) comprised of six mulch types namely: blackpolyethene, woodshavings, sawdust, palmbunch refuse, trash and the unmulched plots which served as control plots. The three main plot treatments were randomized within each block whereas the sub-plot treatments were randomized within each whole or main plot. The results revealed that mulching significantly improved soil moisture conservation, soil temperature moderation, days to 50 % flowering and in yield parameters at harvest of plant crop and in first ratoon crop in late season banana production. Also planting date significantly influenced soil temperature moderation, days to 50 % flowering at harvest of plant crop and in yield parameters at harvest of plant crop and in first ratoon crop. Bananas mulched with blackpolyethene recorded the highest soil moisture conservation and moderated soil temperature most. Bananas in plots planted in September and mulched with palm bunch refuse recorded the earliest days to 50 % flowering in the plant crop (268.90 days), while the bananas planted in September and mulched with sawdust matured earliest (263.50 days) in the first ratoon production. Plant crops had higher yield than the first ratoon banana production. In plant crop production, the bananas planted in September and mulched with palm bunch refuse produced the heaviest bunch (9.97tha-1), number of hands per bunch (8.67), number of fingers per bunch (95.67), the heaviest individual finger (94.67g/ finger), while the bananas planted in September and mulched with sawdust produced the longest and largest individual fingers (12.07 cm) and (11.27 cm) at the harvest of plant crop, while the bananas planted in September and treated with sawdust produced the heaviest bunches (7.23tha-1), highest number of hands per bunch (6.67), total number of fingers per bunch (74.00), heaviest finger (40.43 g/ finger), longest finger (7.90 cm) and largest finger (5.90 cm) at harvest of the first ratoon crop. Banana plots planted in September and mulched with woodshavings recorded the highest yield (15.37tha-1) in the total yield obtained at the harvest of plant crop and in the first ratoon crop.
Basillia et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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