Environmental physiology of the bananas (Musa spp.)

Abstract

The bananas are thought to be particularly sensitive to changes in the environment. This review considers some historical and recent investigations into the response of the leaf, root and reproductive system to the environment. Monteith's analysis of the response of plants to intercepted radiation is appropriate for analyzing the productivity of bananas and plantains. The banana is sensitive to soil water deficits, and expanding tissues such as emerging leaves and growing fruit are among the first to be affected. As soil begins to dry, stomata close and leaves remain highly hydrated, probably through root pressure. Productivity is affected because of the early closure of stomata. We find the common belief that bananas use large amounts of water does not have a strong physiological basis. Improvements in water-use efficiency in irrigated plantations could come from a closer match between plant water use and the amount of water applied. We examine recent data on water-use efficiency of different banana cultivars and propose that agronomists, physiologists and breeders could quantify the amount of water available in each rain-fed environment and work towards directing more of that water through the plant. The banana is day neutral for floral induction, but photoperiods of less than 12 h are associated with a slowing in the rate of bunch initiation that is independent of temperature expressed as growing degree days. This may contribute to seasonal variations in banana flowering, even in more tropical environments with moderate temperatures. Key words: crop yield, leaf system, light, photoperiod, photosynthesis, reproductive system, root system, temperature, water supply Ecofisiologia de bananeiras (Musa spp.): Bananeiras são particularmente sensíveis a mudanças no ambiente. Nesta revisão, exploram-se alguns estudos clássicos e recentes sobre as respostas ao ambiente da folha, raiz e sistema reprodutivo dessa espécie. A análise de Monteith sobre as respostas das plantas à radiação interceptada mostrou-se apropriada para a análise da produtividade de bananeiras. Bananeiras são sensíveis ao déficit hídrico do solo, particularmente tecidos em expansão tais como as folhas em formação e os frutos em crescimento. Na medida em que o solo começa a secar, os estômatos se fecham e as folhas se mantêm altamente hidratadas, provavelmente devido à pressão radicular. A produtividade é afetada, em função do fechamento estomático. A crença geral de que bananeiras usam grandes quantidades de água não tem forte embasamento fisiológico. O aumento na eficiência do uso da água em cultivos irrigados pode advir de aumentos na densidade de plantio e quantidade de água aplicada. Examinam-se dados recentes sobre a eficiência do uso da água em diferentes cultivares de banana e propõe-se que agrônomos, fisiologistas e melhoristas possam quantificar a quantidade de água disponível nos vários ambientes de sequeiro, de modo a maximizar a eficiência do uso da água pela planta. A bananeira é uma espécie neutra para a indução floral, porém fotoperíod...

Gas exchange and yield of Prata-type banana plants with fertilizer sources for organic management

“…Even though the N/K 2 O ratio was fixed at 1.7/1 herein, the amount of N applied was much increased. Other factors, such as the increase in vapor-pressure deficit (VPD), have also an influence on the rates of g s in leaves and, consequently, on the stomatal opening and closure, mainly in periods of higher stress, that is, 2:00 pm (Turner et al, 2007;Mahouachi, 2009;Dzomeku et al, 2016).…”

“…This is caused by the increase in VPD, which is a consequence of low relative humidity, irradiation, and high air temperature on the leaves (Ekanayake et al, 1994;Turner et al, 2007;Donato et al, 2016). Under seasons with more weather stress, such as September and October, the maximum ambient temperature over the period reached up to 39.2°C, relative humidity, from 30 to 35%, which characterizes a condition of high VDP, with recorded values above 2.5 kPa (Figure 2) and the incident radiation on the leaf reached up to 1.998 µmol photons m -2 s -1 .…”

“…'BRS Platina', which is derived from 'Dwarf Prata' through hybridization, exhibits comparative advantages, such as resistance to Yellow Sigatoka Leaf Spot and Panama Disease, as well as high-quality fruits that are very similar to those of its genitor. According to Silva et al (2011), a safe recommendation of a new cultivar requires its evaluation in different environments, regions, and repetitions of production cycles, aiming at the identification of cultivars, as it allows establishing a genotypic variation of physiologic responses under local conditions (Turner et al, 2007). These variations allow extrapolation of these results to be used in the management of specific production systems and to properly manage cultivars under similar conditions (Arantes et al, 2016).…”

Necessidades hídricas de bananeira tipo Terra em condições de tabuleiros costeiros

“…Isso decorre da variação fisiológica entre as cultivares, pois algumas apresentam maior capacidade de economizar água do que outras. Deve-se ressaltar que os estômatos das folhas das bananeiras respondem sensivelmente à aridez do ar e ao secamento do solo, e as cultivares, de maneira diferente às características ambientais (Turner et al, 2007). Semelhantemente ao observado no presente trabalho, para a cultivar D'Angola, Cayón et al (2000) verificou, em condições controladas, para o plátano 'Dominco-Harton', condutância estomática inversa à condição da umidade do ar.…”

Agronomic performance of local and introduced plantains, dessert, cooking and beer bananas (Musa spp.) across different altitude and soil conditions in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

“…However, above 2,000 masl, the majority of Musa cultivars do not perform well due to the low temperature (Turner et al, 2007;Sikyolo et al, 2013).…”