Bananas

A guide to applying nutrients with liquid fertilisers in bananas

• EASY Liquids fertilisers guide
• Applying EASY Liquids
• Replacing nutrients removed in fruit

EASY Liquids fertilisers guide

Fertiliser	Product rate (L/ha)	Crop stage	Application method	Nutrients applied (kg/ha)*
				N	P	K	S	Other
EASY N®	25–35 L/ha	Vegetative	Fortnightly fertigation (may sometimes be weekly)	10–15
EASY KS®	35–50 L/ha	Vegetative	Fortnightly fertigation (may sometimes be weekly)			10.5–15	9–12.5
EASY N	10–25 L/ha	Flowering and bunch development	Fertigation	4–11
EASY KS	65–85 L/ha	Flowering and bunch development	Fertigation			19.5–25.5	16–21
EASY Cal®	60 L/ha	Flowering and bunch development	Fertigation (several applications)	8				11 Ca
EASY N	10–25 L/ha	Fruit sizing to harvest	Fortnightly fertigation (may sometimes be weekly)	4–11
EASY KS	65–85 L/ha Fruit sizing to harvest Fortnightly fertigation (may sometimes be weekly)					19.5–25.5	16–21

Note: This guide is not intended to be a complete program and each application suggestion should be considered individually. All fertiliser programs should utilise soil and tissue testing to more accurately identify the specific nutrients to apply and the required rates.

Applying EASY Liquids

Fertigation

EASY Liquids® fertilisers can be injected straight into irrigation lines without further dilution in water. There is no need to weigh out and dissolve the fertilisers, as there is with solid products.

Where possible, inject the fertiliser into the lines over a reasonable period of time, such as the mid third of the shift, leaving the last third to flush the lines and wash any fertiliser solution from the leaves.

EASY N and EASY KS can be applied together or in alternate shifts. EASY N and EASY KS are only compatible in ratios of 1:4 and 4:1.

Ground sprays

EASY Liquids can also be applied to the soil in a broad band under the edge of the canopy (the same as other soil-applied fertilisers). Avoid spray drift onto the foliage or bark.

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Replacing nutrients removed in fruit

At a minimum, fertiliser programs should replace the nutrients removed by the harvested crop. Removal of nutrients will vary with density of planting, climate, yield, soil type and management techniques such as water scheduling, pest and disease control.

Estimated nutrient removal guide in kg/t of packed fruit

	Queensland (50 t/ha)	NSW (21 t/ha)
Nitrogen 2.1	(105 kg/ha)	2.9 (61 kg/ha)
Phosphorus	0.27 (14 kg/ha)	0.95 (20 kg/ha)
Potassium	5.83 (292 kg/ha)	10.5 (220 kg/ha)
Calcium	0.29 (15 kg/ha)
Magnesium	0.29 (15 kg/ha)
Sulfur	0.25 (13 kg/ha)

Understanding the growth cycle

Banana plants have a distinctively different pattern of growth to all other fruit trees.

Bananas are planted as a seed piece that is part of the corm with the main bud at the top of the corm.

They are herbaceous perennials and therefore retain their leaves until the sucker dies or is removed to allow the next sucker to grow from the base of the pseudostem or corm.

The best soils for growing bananas are deep and well drained with a high water holding capacity. Soil pH for bananas should be in the range of 5.5 – 6.0 (or 4.8 – 5.3 using the CaCl2 method).

In Williams Cavendish bananas in North Queensland, flowering occurs five to 10 months after planting, depending on planting material, climate irrigation, soil type and fertility.

In ratoon crops, the interval after harvest of the previous crop is less than for plant crops, but depends largely on the de-suckering technique used.

The time from flowering to harvest ranges from 80 to 180 days for both plant and ratoon crops, depending on climate (heat units).

The interval between successive harvests can be as short as seven months in tropical areas and up to 15 months in South East Queensland and northern New South Wales.

In the Innisfail/Cairns area, eight to 11 months between harvests is common, with an average of 70 to 100 days between flowering and harvest.

Nutrient uptake of bananas

Diagram 1:

Diagram 2:

 

For more information on EASY Liquids fertilisers, contact your local Incitec Pivot Fertilisers’ Distributor or freecall 1800 009 832.

www.incitecpivot.com.au

This is a guide only, which we hope you find helpful as a general tool. While Incitec Pivot Fertilisers has taken all reasonable care in the preparation of this guide, it should not be relied on as a substitute for tailored professional advice and Incitec Pivot Fertilisers accepts no liability in connection with this guide. Talk to your local Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Distributor Agronomist about soil testing and arranging a specific fertiliser recommendation that best suits your needs.

®EASY Liquids, EASY N, EASY KS and EASY Cal are registered trademarks of Incitec Pivot Limited.

Incitec Pivot Fertilisers is a business of Incitec Pivot Limited, ABN 42 004 080 264.

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