The response of bananas to plant spacing in double rows in north Queensland

Abstract

Bananas cv. Williams were grown at a range of plant spacings in double rows in north Queensland using a continuously variable design. Increasing the plant density from 930 to 3980 plants/ha increased the yield (t/ha/yr) of the plant crop by 200% and the first ratoon by 50%. These increases resulted from the greater number of bunches per unit area despite a 16% reduction in average bunch weight in the plant crop and a 43% reduction in the first ratoon. The duration of each of the two crop cycles increased with increasing density; from the lowest to the highest density there was an increase of 60 days in the plant crop and 125 days in the first ratoon. Plant spacings, giving acceptable yield and fruit quality, best suited to double rows were those with a distance between the two rows of the double row of 1 to 1.5 m and an intra-row distance of 1.2 to 1.8 Density in this range was 1710 to 2780 plants/ha.