Organic Farming Practices for Double-Sucker Planted Banana

An experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala, during December 2009 to September 2012 to standardize organic farming practices for double-sucker planted tissue-culture raised banana var. Nendran. Treatments included three nutrient levels, (M1-133, M2-100 and M3-75% of recommended dose for tissue culture banana as organic), two times of application viz., T1- in two splits- (basal and 2MAP), and T2 in three splits (basal, 2 and 4 MAP) along with the Control (integrated nutrient management for double-sucker planted banana, i.e., FYM + 250:150:400g NPK pit-1). The experiment was laid out in Factorial RBD with three replications. Results of the study indicated that though 33% of additional nutrients were required for double-sucker planting along with INM, 100% of the dose was sufficient under organic farming for realizing a reasonable yield. Pooled analysis of gross income and net income revealed that organic production practices are also profitable in double-sucker planted banana.