Yield of ‘Prata-Anã’ banana plants under water deficit and high plant density

Abstract

Yield-improving and water-saving techniques assume great importance in the cultivation of banana plants under semiarid regions, prone to greater climate variability. The objective of this study was to evaluate yield and water-use efficiency (WUE) response of ‘Prata-Anã’ banana plants to combinations of plant densities and irrigation levels: three irrigation levels, 50, 75 and 100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), and four plant densities, 1,666 (3.0 x 2.0 m), 2,083 (3.0 x 1.6 m), 2,666 (3.0 x 1.25 m) and 3,333 (3.0 x 1.0) plants ha-1, evaluated in two production cycles. The treatments were laid out in a randomized block design with four replicates. Increasing plant density up to 3,333 plants ha-1 induced reductions in number of leaves at harvest and some yield components; also, longer cycles, and increased yields were observed while maintaining fruit marketable size, regardless of the irrigation level used. Using an irrigation level at 50%ETc and a plant density of 3,333 plants ha-1 led to an increase in WUE of 313.92% in the first cycle and 295.27% in the second cycle compared with 1,666 plants ha-1 irrigated at 100% ETc. Higher yields and WUE can be achieved by using a plant population density of 3,333 plants ha-1 and irrigation levels below 100%ETc.

Tolerance of faba bean plants to drought stress and plant density via yield components and pathogenicity tests

“…Stated differently, the optimal plant density in terms of the number of shoots per plant in both seasons was found to be 20 kg/fed. The present results is confirmed with those obtained by [28][29][30][31][32][33][34].…”

Effect of plant density and drought stress on seed productivity and biochemical composition of faba bean plants

“…The results, however, generally show that the application of one irrigation treatment with a density of 40 kg/fed during the winter growing season (2021/2022) produced the highest phosphorus content (3.04%), while the application of normal irrigation at the flowering stage treatment with a density of 20 kg/fed during the winter growing season (2021/2022) produced the lowest values of phosphorus content (1.68%). These fallouts are at one with those obtained by [44].…”

“…The interaction between water regimes and densities in the second season did not significantly impact the potassium content (%) in fababean seeds table (6). During the winter growing season (2021/2022), the application of a single irrigation treatment with a density of 40 kg/fed resulted in the highest potassium content (5.37%), while the application of a regular irrigation treatment with a density of 20 kg/fed produced the lowest potassium content values (3.84%).These domino effect are at one with those obtained by [44].…”

Cultivar diversification of banana production in Brazil

“…In a study carried out in the southwest of Bahia, Magalhães et al (2020) analysed the production and water use efficiency (WUE) of 'Prata Anã' under irrigation depths and planting densities. According to them, the planting density that results in 3333 plants.…”