Effect of removing or leaving the suckers at flowering of plantain (Musa AAB, cv. 'False Horn' type) on bunch weight and foliar nutrient content of the parent plant

Three experiments were conducted on three commercial plantain (Musa AAB, cv. 'False Horn' type) plantations during the plant crop or first production cycle in the Costa Rican Caribbean zone. The purpose was to verify the effect of removing or leaving suckers at flowering stage on yield and foliar nutrient content of the plantain parent plant. Treatments consisted of removing all suckers, leaving one single follower sucker or leaving all suckers present. Bunch weight, thickness and length of the central fruit of the outer row of the second hand did not differ between plants where suckers were completely removed and plants with a follower sucker in experiments I (P > 0.22), II (P > 0.05) and III P > 0.05). Leaving all the suckers in experiment III induced a mean reduction of 1.1 kg (8.5%) in bunch weight (P = 0.0075) and of 1.1 cm (5%) in finger length (P = 0.0560). In the three experiments no difference in the number of hands (P > 0.3927) per bunch or number of fruits (P > 0.1350) in the second hand was observed. In experiments II (P = 0.0080) and III (P = 0.0001) the follower sucker height at harvest was higher when only one follower was retained. With exception of the Ca (P = 0.0249) foliar content in experiment I, S (P = 0.0238) and B (P = 0.0240) in experiment II and K (P = 0.0270), Cu (P = 0.0185) and Mn (P = 0.0476) in experiment III, no differences (P > 0.07) in the foliar content of the other nutrients among parent plants with no suckers, holding one or all the suckers in the production unit were observed. With exception of the Mg foliar content in experiment II and Fe in experiment III, differences (P < 0.01) in the foliar nutrient content was observed between flowering and harvest. The foliar N, P, K, Mg, S, Cu and B concentration diminished (P < 0.01) and Ca and Mn increased (P < 0.01) from flowering to harvest in the three experiments.