For many years, wherever banana crop is grown, growers acquired experience fertilizing with Haifa products. Methods of application vary from country to country while advantages of using Haifa fertilizers are always beneficial. Some of experimental results and field trials are shown in the following tables.
Soil application
Multi-K™ applied (kg/ha/year) |
Mean bunch weight (kg) |
No. of Bunches (per ha) |
Yield (MT/ha/year) |
0 |
23.3 |
1650 |
37.2 |
500 |
26.2 |
1910 |
47.2 |
1000 |
27.2 |
2000 |
50.5 |
2000 |
26.4 |
2140 |
51.5 |
Figure 42: Effect of foliar feeding with Multi-K on banana plants (Gran Enno)(Guerrero & Gadban, 1992)
Treatment* (4 Sprays @ 2%) |
Bunch Weight (kg) |
Hands/Bunch |
Fingers/Hand 2nd basal |
Cost/Benefit ratio |
Not sprayed |
35.9 |
9.9 |
23.10 |
-- |
Multi-K™ sprayed |
37.9 |
10.5 |
23.25 |
13.5 |
* Soil application: 400 kg N + 600 kg K2O ha / year
(Guerrero & Gadban, 1992)
|
Nutrient Content in Leaves (%) |
||||
N |
P |
K |
Ca |
Mg |
|
Not sprayed |
1.38 |
0.10 |
2.15 |
0.45 |
0.21 |
4 sprays @ 30 days intervals |
2.02 |
0.12 |
2.85 |
0.65 |
0.31 |
6 sprays @ 30 days intervals |
1.86 |
0.11 |
3.2 |
0.95 |
0.28 |
Figure 43: Effect of foliar sprays with Multi-K™ on K content in leaves(Aerial application of 2 kg Multi-K™ in 20 L solution (10%) per ha, 2 weeks interval between applications)
Growers who successfully adopted fertigation systems used Multi-K™ potassium nitrate in combination with other water-soluble fertilizers:
1. Santa Maria, Colombia - tropical conditions. Plant density: 1200-1800 mat/ha Expected yield: 45-60 MT/ha
Nutrient requirements (kg/ha) |
Recommended fertilizers (kg/ha) |
||||
N |
P205 |
K2O |
Urea |
MAP |
Multi-K® |
550 |
- |
750 |
740 |
- |
1630 |
* In addition to 2 MT/ha/Year of manure.
(Source: Guerrero and Gadban, 1993)
Plant density: 2000mat /ha
Expected yield: 45-60 MT/ha
Season |
Nutrient requirements (kg/ha) |
Recommended fertilizers (kg/ha) |
||||
N |
P2O5 |
K2O |
AS** |
|||
Spring* (Feb. – Jul.) |
200 |
85 |
260 |
495 |
140 |
565 |
Autumn (Aug.- Jan.) |
200 |
52 |
304 |
460 |
85 |
660 |
*Additionally, during springtime, once a week:
15 kg/ha - Calcium nitrate + 8 Lit/ha Nitric Acid (60% w/w).
**AS = Ammonium sulfate, 20-0-0
Table 20: Fertilizing recommendations of banana crop in South Africa
Nutrient requirements (kg/ha) |
Recommended fertilizers (kg/ha)* |
||||
N |
P2O5 |
K2O |
AN |
MAP |
Multi-K™ |
185 - 250 |
-- |
655 - 850 |
- |
- |
1424 - 1880 |
* 19 applications of 45 glmat Multi-K, every two weeks (August through April).
(Source: Smith, 1991)
Need more information about growing bananas? You can always return to the banana crop guide table of contents & banana fertilizer
Related Articles:
NPK Fertilizers - Water Soluble Fertilizers
Informations about Plant Nutrition
Read more about Foliar Feeding
Informations about Potassium Nitrate Fertilizers