Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

428 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 2
spaces without competing with the primary crop. Figure 1 illustrates the production of
mungbean and corn before the banana leaf canopy completely occupy the open spaces
between the rows of banana and intercept the sunlight. The rows of mungbean attain
their maximum growth in about 40 days and are harvested before 70 days. The rows of
corn then take over the space of harvested mungbean and the corn mature is about 120
days. At this time, the banana canopy may completely cover the interspaces and
effectively control the growth of weeds below.
An emerging popular production system is the commercial smallholder plantation
where bananas are grown as a monocrop in areas ranging from 2 to 20 ha. This
production system is proliferating near population centers where market demand is
strong and steady. The selection of cultivars grown is dictated by consumers’
preferences, prevailing agroclimatic conditions and pest and disease situation. In the
commercial smallholder plantations, the farmers apply commercial fertilizers and
pesticides. They also hire labor to control weeds and in some locations to irrigate the
farm.
Large commercial banana plantations that grow fruit for the export markets are also
found in Southeast Asia, specifically in the Philippines. These modern corporate-farms
Days after planting
Lateral spread of plants in rows (cm)
Key :
B : banana M : Maize C : Cowpeas
Figure 1. Lateral spread of banana and intercrops as a function of time.