ABSTRACT
Nutrition and soil management in banana cultivation Jetse J. Stoorvogel, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; and Rafael A. Segura, CORBANA S.A., Costa Rica
1 Introduction
2 Assessing nutrient requirements
3 Developing fertilizer use recommendations
4 Precision application of nutrients
5 Conclusion
6 Where to look for further information
7 References
Bananas are cultivated throughout the (sub)tropics with a global production area of 12 million ha (FAO, 2017) in a wide variety of production systems. There is significant variation between and within each of the main production regions in the world (see e.g. Karamura et al. (1998) for Africa, Thiers (2017) for the Philippines and Dita et al. (2013) for Latin America). Soil management also varies considerably in these systems. On the one hand, there are subsistence systems where, after planting, soil management is almost zero. At the other extreme, there are export-oriented production systems with very intensive soil management with up to 20 applications of fertilizer, 50 applications of fungicides, 2 applications of nematicides, sometimes 2 applications of herbicides, over 2 km of 0.5-3 m deep drainage channels per ha, and very intensive tillage (mostly during the establishment of the plantation). Yields obviously vary according to the differences in management approaches and the soil natural aptitude. Countries with relatively extensive management have average yields of less than 5 t/ha (e.g. Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo) compared to regions with very intensive management which have yields exceeding 70 t/ha (e.g. commercial plantations in Costa Rica and the Philippines). However, at both ends of the spectrum, one can question whether these systems are sustainable. In extensive systems, production levels may be very low and soil fertility may be declining. In intensively managed systems, there is a risk of environmental contamination, including risks to human health from spraying (Marquardt, 2002), Cu contamination in soils (Thrupp, 1991), leaching of pesticides (Castillo et al., 2000, 2006; Diepens et al., 2014)
nitrous gas emissions contributing to global warming (Plant, 2000), imbalances in nutrient balances (Borbor-Cordova et al., 2006), acidification (Segura et al., 2015) and losses in SOM (Powers, 2004; Geissen et al., 2009).
