(4) Fruit Tree Spray This is 100 per cent organic, liquid and made up of chicken manure and/or sewage sludge. It contains a Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium ratio of 5-4-2 to enhance strong root development and more abundant fruit. It is probably the best fertilizer for plantain and relatively easy to use.
What’s the best fertilizer for plantain?
Potassium fertiliser can be mixed with water and sprayed to the leaves and stems of the plantain plants. Plants make use of fertilisers quicker when applied on the leaves. However, the leaves can get scorched easily if the fertiliser is over applied.
Is NPK fertilizer good for plantain?
If you must use a fertilizer, Use an NPK fertilizer, or a fertilizer mixed with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. Fertilizing the plantains once a month will stimulate growth.
How do you increase plantain yield?
Intercropping with pumpkin, taro and tannia increased plantain yield even without fertiliser application.
How can we improve plantain farming?
Install drip irrigation
Most plantain farmers in Nigeria cultivate this crop in the rainy season. Their plantain plants get only 5-6 months of rainfall. Imagine, your plantain gets water through irrigation all year round; the yield will be 50-100% more. The yield can even be more than 100% if you practise fertigation.
How do you make plantains mature faster?
It takes about 10 days for a green plantain to be fully ripe and ready for sweet plantains. If you need to ripen a plantain quicker, you can either place them in a brown paper bag for a few days OR you can place them in the oven, unpeeled, at 300ºF for 20 minutes.
How many years does it take plantain to mature?
Plantain takes about 8 months to start to yield and about 3 months to mature. That’s to say, it takes about a year to have the first harvest from the planting date.
What is the fastest way to increase phosphorus in soil?
What is the fastest way to add phosphorus to soil? If your plant is in desperate need of a phosphorus boost, start with a regular schedule of foliar kelp fertilizer. At the same time, add a rapid release phosphorous fertilizer to the soil, like bone meal or fish meal.
What fertilizer is high in phosphorus and potassium?
Alfalfa, or lucerne, is a common cover crop that can be tilled into the soil to provide nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus to the soil. Alfalfa also contains 2.5% nitrogen and 0.5% phosphorus by weight.
How do you fertilize a plantain tree?
Since this is a tropical plant that feeds heavily, you’ll want to fertilize your plantain tree about once a month during the summer. Mature trees will require about one to two pounds of fertilizer. Opt for a balanced 8-10-8, slow-release fertilizer.
How much water does a plantain tree need?
You should expect to water slowly and deeply every 2 or 3 days during the warmer months. A test when to water is when the top 1/2-1 inch of soil is dry. If you planted in a shady spot or one that tends to stay wet for some other reason you may have water less.
How many months does plantain grow?
Flowering takes 10-15 months of mild temperatures and yet another 4-8 months to fruit. Flowers are produced from the pseudostem and develop into a cluster of hanging fruit.
How do you increase the length of bananas?
Control of salinity within the root environment and water supply management will maximize banana growth, ensuring good nutrient availability. Fertilizer nutrition is also essential if high yielding banana crops are to be achieved.
How many times does plantain produce in a year?
Each grown up plant would produce a minimum of three suckers, and if he could harvest one sucker from each and could sell at N100, the farmer would make additional N150,000. The harvest cycles continue for a minimum of four to six years, or more, depending on land rejuvenation system and farm maintenance practices.
What is the best soil for plantain?
Loamy soils
The best type of soil for plantain is loam. Loamy soils are the best producing soils for plantain farming because they contain a large percentage of organic components, compared to the inorganic parts. Organic materials, such as decaying plants and insects, provide soil with air, nutrients and water-retaining matter.
How many plantain can be planted on a plot of land?
The recommended spacing for planting plantain is 3m between the plantain rows and 2 m within the row (in other words = 3 m x 2 m). An alternative is 2.5 m x 2.5 m. If spaced 3 m x 2 m, 1 hectare should contain 1667 plants, but with a spacing of 2.5 m x 2.5 m, it should contain 1600 plants.
How do you know when a plantain is mature?
A ripe plantain is best when it’s mostly black with a little yellow, and still slightly firm to the touch, like when you squeeze a peach. Although completely black plantains are still good to eat, they are a little too soft, making them difficult to prepare.
How long does it take plantains to go from green to yellow?
If you buy them green, they will take about a week to start to change colors. It will take another three days to turn yellow green and another two or three days to change to the final yellow and black. Plantains are harvested when they are green, at which point the flavor is earthy, vegetal and funky, Diaz says.
Do plantains need full sun?
You can easily forage for plantain. But if you want to try to cultivate a patch, just find a spot in the garden that suits you. Pretty much anywhere is fine. This perennial will grow in full sun or part shade, in virtually any soil type.
Do plantain trees produce fruit more than once?
Once a banana tree flowers and its fruit has been harvested, you may cut it down to the ground to make room for new, productive trees to grow up from the creeping underground stem. Each individual tree will only flower and bear fruit once.
Where does plantain grow best?
Plantain herb grows in full sun or partial shade and nearly any soil, including sandy or rocky soil. Plant seeds directly in the garden in spring or start them indoors a few weeks ahead of time. A week of chilling time in the refrigerator (stratification) helps ensure germination.