How Banana and Plantain farmers can get healthy suckers for bigger bunches as 2020 farming season Approaches.
By Agricultural Extension Officer Stanley Enyi at Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria.

Few Banana and Plantain farmers have started planting Suckers. farmers are yet to embrace new methods of growing Banana and Plantain in smaller land spaces for bigger harvest instead they practice the conventional old way of cultivating the piper suckers or maiden suckers from larger farms. My experiences is that science in recent times has adopted the tissue culture plantlet and twin row cropping system which enables farmers to plant Banana and Plantain sucker-plantlet, for rapid production of high-quality Premium Banana and Plantain fruit bunches that could earn farmers better income. The Chairman of Nigerians Banana and Plantain Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative in Asaba, Delta State. Mr Stanley Enyi, said Banana and Plantain nursery sucker-plantlet production had evolved technologically such that there was no longer a need for the use of piper suckers or maiden suckers but the planting of Banana and Plantain sucker-plantlet. “We shall begin to teach farmers the new method in Delta, Edo and Akwa Ibom State,” He said, This will be done through Agricultural Cooperative workshop in order to sensitize Nigerians Farmers and other stakeholders on the need to embrace the new system for improved income as well as other benefits.

Since Banana and Plantain is a heavy feeder crop, at a point, it would need much water during dry season and that’s why timing is very important. “We insist that the soil should be the one that is well-drained so that at a particular point, the plant would be looking for more water, they Solar powered borehole or Rain harvesting dam can supply water by any irrigation design to reduce the wilting stress of the crop which when practiced timely cause increase of the suckers and bunches yield.

The soil also needs to be harrowed to aid the penetration for the sucker-plantlet during planting. “For Commercial Farming it is best people practices Phasal planting by Planting minimum of 2000 Sucker-plantlet for 26 weeks to achieve all year round harvest during the first farming season, which is between March to August. However, the farmer who is planting at such period should be conscious of the sun. Because the temperature would be high in early month of March, one of the recommended agronomy activities is that the farmer must mulch, meaning that he gets grass material and puts round the sucker plant and also put manured-soil so as to reduce the level of intensity of the sun on the sucker-plantlet. “That should be done properly otherwise, it would lead to the decay of the sucker-plantlets.

For a viable banana and Plantain industry venture I will always advice everyone to practice Mixed farming and Relay-cropping system with this method you can plant Either Banana or Plantain as your main crop. Upon which, after two weeks of planting your main crop you then start sowing Egusi melon as a cover crop to reduce your weeding labour cost and control the excessive use of herbicides in order to produce organic fruits.

More so another reason to harvest your Egusi melon by 3months and Relay crop with Ginger seedling is to create an Assurance crop against farm yield failure of the main crop. This are more practiced in Countries like Australian, Jamaica and Ecuador which is the secrets that makes their farmer wealthy.
However I will advise that 2months to the harvest of your ginger rhizomes you as a Commercial Banana and Plantain farmer must integrate fluted pumpkin (Ugu) seedling as your irrigational crop buffer for the dry season cost of supplying water to your banana or plantain plantation and in turn Multi-use the staking wood for the crippling vine Leaves as your wind breaker to mitigate Premature harvest of your banana and plantain plants.
Lastly for someone who is thinking on how best to secure their farm investment, in this I will suggest using honeybees as a natural security measure to reduce fruit pilfering, cattle herdsmen destruction and loses to low yield due to low insect pollination because we may not have bountiful harvest output. So it is needful to integrate honeybees for a win-win Socio-economic farming environment.

Generally Why most people still plant at this time with unvaccinated suckers is because they lack proper Agricultural Extension officers Communication and feel that doing it as in the time of old will encourage rapid growth of sucker plants so that before the rain stop, it would continue growth and development.”

Nevertheless I will advised both Old and New Nigerian Banana and Plantain farmers to plant their farms with vaccinated Sucker-plantlet as soon as the rain start fully this year. So that you can experience how lucrative the Banana Industry has become.

“Sometimes, our banana and Plantain farmers believe that the more bigger unvaccinated sucker put into the soil, the bigger the bunches at harvest but now you will learn and understand that there other essential needs be provided naturally and in a situation it is available you have create an artificial means by timely fertilization provision to achieve a premium quality banana and Plantain bunch yield.

Categorically, “the more you give to the soil, the more you receive as far as banana and plantain farming is concerned. So we encourage those going into banana and plantain fruit production, to plan their farm budget with our agricultural extension expert for bigger fruit sizes.

Tissue Culture or Macro propagation sucker plantlet is a technology that if you have suckers of banana and plantain that you are interested in multiplying, you propagate 10 banana and Plantain from one banana or plantain sucker within 30days. More so there are some other treatment methods too which can be used to treat the banana and plantain sucker-plantlet before field planting establishment.”

Also, I Mr. Stanley Enyi as the National chairman of the Banana and Plantain Registered-Farmers Association of Nigeria (BAPFAN), I will, emphasize the need for all those who plant banana and plantain across Nigeria to heavily mulch their plant so that they do not stress the plant during the dry. However I have experienced that out of the two seasons of planting banana and plantain, the July Phase planting yield better profitability due to the off season market demand.

Also for the crop to grows at the same pace you should plant with nursery plantlet. We advise farmers to sow fluted pumpkin seed and use the Ugu staking pole and wire for their crop as wind breaker even when harvesting bi-weekly from the vegetables leaves in Dry season.” I also stressed the need for farmers to fertilize their farms at the right time of each month, either at the planting or in share dosage.
Generally I will add, that preparation of land should begin as from Mid-January for those who make their farm layout in March to April and wait until the rains begins well before planting and farmers should learn how to grow and multiply sucker-plantlets for themselves once you have a desirable variety instead of travelling far to get more quantity.

“At the moment, BAPFAN and NIBAPFAM will be sensitizing farmers in the Delta state and Akwa Ibom State how to multiply their suckers within 30days instead of using maiden suckers because we are now looking at cultivating organic Nigerian Bananas and Plantain to join Ecuador and Australian in the exporting market.

Meanwhile, I will have to advised farmers to make their choice of suckers from the commercial varieties of Banana and Plantain in Nigeria. “Today we have improved hybrid of Giant Cameroonian Plantain at N150 per sucker-plantlet, Dwarf Elephant Plantain at N120 per sucker-plantlet, French horn double bunch Plantain at N250 per sucker-plantlet, Giant FHIA21 Plantain at N380 per sucker and Giant Cavendish Banana at N350 per sucker, Dwarf William Banana at N250 per sucker-plantlet, Gross Michel Banana at N150 per sucker and so on, All
with Free delivery Nationwide for all our Registered members or orders above 2000 quantities.
It now depends on the farmers choice and reason for production to choose from these varieties; however in farming dynamics it is the end users that tell us which variety to produce. The farmer also needs to check the size of varieties good for his farm, he needs to find out if the sucker-plantlet are good for his soil and the sensibility of the variety to this locality.

“Interested farmers can always get good suckers, tissue culture plantlet varieties and Specialized fertilisers from the Nigerian Banana and Plantain Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (NIBAPFAM) in Asaba and other State outlets. And the Banana and Plantain Registered-Farmers Association of Nigeria (BAPFAN) in Ubuluku. because both organizations are involved in the production of some of these varieties.

For more details
Follow us on
www.facebook.com/BapfanNigeria
www.facebook.com/NibapfamCooperative
+2348074660338 (Farmers Help Line)
+2348127373665 (Cooperative Help Line)

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Sacelfarms:


How Banana and Plantain farmers can get healthy suckers for bigger bunches as 2020 farming season Approaches.
By Agricultural Extension Officer Stanley Enyi at Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria.

Few Banana and Plantain farmers have started planting Suckers. farmers are yet to embrace new methods of growing Banana and Plantain in smaller land spaces for bigger harvest instead they practice the conventional old way of cultivating the piper suckers or maiden suckers from larger farms. My experiences is that science in recent times has adopted the tissue culture plantlet and twin row cropping system which enables farmers to plant Banana and Plantain sucker-plantlet, for rapid production of high-quality Premium Banana and Plantain fruit bunches that could earn farmers better income. The Chairman of Nigerians Banana and Plantain Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative in Asaba, Delta State. Mr Stanley Enyi, said Banana and Plantain nursery sucker-plantlet production had evolved technologically such that there was no longer a need for the use of piper suckers or maiden suckers but the planting of Banana and Plantain sucker-plantlet. “We shall begin to teach farmers the new method in Delta, Edo and Akwa Ibom State,” He said, This will be done through Agricultural Cooperative workshop in order to sensitize Nigerians Farmers and other stakeholders on the need to embrace the new system for improved income as well as other benefits.

Since Banana and Plantain is a heavy feeder crop, at a point, it would need much water during dry season and that’s why timing is very important. “We insist that the soil should be the one that is well-drained so that at a particular point, the plant would be looking for more water, they Solar powered borehole or Rain harvesting dam can supply water by any irrigation design to reduce the wilting stress of the crop which when practiced timely cause increase of the suckers and bunches yield.

The soil also needs to be harrowed to aid the penetration for the sucker-plantlet during planting. “For Commercial Farming it is best people practices Phasal planting by Planting minimum of 2000 Sucker-plantlet for 26 weeks to achieve all year round harvest during the first farming season, which is between March to August. However, the farmer who is planting at such period should be conscious of the sun. Because the temperature would be high in early month of March, one of the recommended agronomy activities is that the farmer must mulch, meaning that he gets grass material and puts round the sucker plant and also put manured-soil so as to reduce the level of intensity of the sun on the sucker-plantlet. “That should be done properly otherwise, it would lead to the decay of the sucker-plantlets.

For a viable banana and Plantain industry venture I will always advice everyone to practice Mixed farming and Relay-cropping system with this method you can plant Either Banana or Plantain as your main crop. Upon which, after two weeks of planting your main crop you then start sowing Egusi melon as a cover crop to reduce your weeding labour cost and control the excessive use of herbicides in order to produce organic fruits.

More so another reason to harvest your Egusi melon by 3months and Relay crop with Ginger seedling is to create an Assurance crop against farm yield failure of the main crop. This are more practiced in Countries like Australian, Jamaica and Ecuador which is the secrets that makes their farmer wealthy.
However I will advise that 2months to the harvest of your ginger rhizomes you as a Commercial Banana and Plantain farmer must integrate fluted pumpkin (Ugu) seedling as your irrigational crop buffer for the dry season cost of supplying water to your banana or plantain plantation and in turn Multi-use the staking wood for the crippling vine Leaves as your wind breaker to mitigate Premature harvest of your banana and plantain plants.
Lastly for someone who is thinking on how best to secure their farm investment, in this I will suggest using honeybees as a natural security measure to reduce fruit pilfering, cattle herdsmen destruction and loses to low yield due to low insect pollination because we may not have bountiful harvest output. So it is needful to integrate honeybees for a win-win Socio-economic farming environment.

Generally Why most people still plant at this time with unvaccinated suckers is because they lack proper Agricultural Extension officers Communication and feel that doing it as in the time of old will encourage rapid growth of sucker plants so that before the rain stop, it would continue growth and development.”

Nevertheless I will advised both Old and New Nigerian Banana and Plantain farmers to plant their farms with vaccinated Sucker-plantlet as soon as the rain start fully this year. So that you can experience how lucrative the Banana Industry has become.

“Sometimes, our banana and Plantain farmers believe that the more bigger unvaccinated sucker put into the soil, the bigger the bunches at harvest but now you will learn and understand that there other essential needs be provided naturally and in a situation it is available you have create an artificial means by timely fertilization provision to achieve a premium quality banana and Plantain bunch yield.

Categorically, “the more you give to the soil, the more you receive as far as banana and plantain farming is concerned. So we encourage those going into banana and plantain fruit production, to plan their farm budget with our agricultural extension expert for bigger fruit sizes.

Tissue Culture or Macro propagation sucker plantlet is a technology that if you have suckers of banana and plantain that you are interested in multiplying, you propagate 10 banana and Plantain from one banana or plantain sucker within 30days. More so there are some other treatment methods too which can be used to treat the banana and plantain sucker-plantlet before field planting establishment.”

Also, I Mr. Stanley Enyi as the National chairman of the Banana and Plantain Registered-Farmers Association of Nigeria (BAPFAN), I will, emphasize the need for all those who plant banana and plantain across Nigeria to heavily mulch their plant so that they do not stress the plant during the dry. However I have experienced that out of the two seasons of planting banana and plantain, the July Phase planting yield better profitability due to the off season market demand.

Also for the crop to grows at the same pace you should plant with nursery plantlet. We advise farmers to sow fluted pumpkin seed and use the Ugu staking pole and wire for their crop as wind breaker even when harvesting bi-weekly from the vegetables leaves in Dry season.” I also stressed the need for farmers to fertilize their farms at the right time of each month, either at the planting or in share dosage.
Generally I will add, that preparation of land should begin as from Mid-January for those who make their farm layout in March to April and wait until the rains begins well before planting and farmers should learn how to grow and multiply sucker-plantlets for themselves once you have a desirable variety instead of travelling far to get more quantity.

“At the moment, BAPFAN and NIBAPFAM will be sensitizing farmers in the Delta state and Akwa Ibom State how to multiply their suckers within 30days instead of using maiden suckers because we are now looking at cultivating organic Nigerian Bananas and Plantain to join Ecuador and Australian in the exporting market.

Meanwhile, I will have to advised farmers to make their choice of suckers from the commercial varieties of Banana and Plantain in Nigeria. “Today we have improved hybrid of Giant Cameroonian Plantain at N150 per sucker-plantlet, Dwarf Elephant Plantain at N120 per sucker-plantlet, French horn double bunch Plantain at N250 per sucker-plantlet, Giant FHIA21 Plantain at N380 per sucker and Giant Cavendish Banana at N350 per sucker, Dwarf William Banana at N250 per sucker-plantlet, Gross Michel Banana at N150 per sucker and so on, All
with Free delivery Nationwide for all our Registered members or orders above 2000 quantities.
It now depends on the farmers choice and reason for production to choose from these varieties; however in farming dynamics it is the end users that tell us which variety to produce. The farmer also needs to check the size of varieties good for his farm, he needs to find out if the sucker-plantlet are good for his soil and the sensibility of the variety to this locality.

“Interested farmers can always get good suckers, tissue culture plantlet varieties and Specialized fertilisers from the Nigerian Banana and Plantain Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (NIBAPFAM) in Asaba and other State outlets. And the Banana and Plantain Registered-Farmers Association of Nigeria (BAPFAN) in Ubuluku. because both organizations are involved in the production of some of these varieties.

For more details
Follow us on
www.facebook.com/BapfanNigeria
www.facebook.com/NibapfamCooperative
+2348074660338 (Farmers Help Line)
+2348127373665 (Cooperative Help Line)

The prices of the suckers are expensive. will it be possible to get it at a reduced rate?

Also can one see the farm physically before paying for the suckers?