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PITA 24

Timing of Bunch Pruning Management Enhances Bunch and Fruit Qualities of ‘PITA 24’ Plantain ( Musa AAB) Hybrid 1 Baiyeri, K. P.; 1 Aba, S. C. and 2 Tenkouano, A. 1 Dept. of Crop Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

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PITA 24

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  1. Timing of Bunch Pruning Management Enhances Bunch and Fruit Qualities of ‘PITA 24’ Plantain (Musa AAB) Hybrid 1Baiyeri, K. P.; 1Aba, S. C. and 2Tenkouano, A. 1Dept. of Crop Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. 2International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, P.M.B 5320, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. PITA 24 IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  2. INTRODUCTION • Many pests and diseases, especially black leaf Sigatoka disease (Mycosphaerella fijiensis), have significantly affected Musa cultivation over the years and have spurred genetic improvement programs. • The use of resistant cultivars is considered the most appropriate component in efforts to control the diseases. Improved genotypes could be readily adopted by farmers. • ‘PITA 24’, a secondary triploid plantain-derived hybrid is among the Musa genotypes recently selected by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for biotic stress tolerance and improved yield. IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  3. Introduction … • This genotype produces a very large bunch of about 9-12 hands (nodal clusters), but only the first four to five proximal hands are properly filled to marketable fingers. • Fruit size is an important commercial characteristic for markets specializing in plantains. Therefore, the poor fruit-filling feature of ‘PITA 24’could have a negative impact on its adoption potential. • Recent studies on ‘PITA 24’ (Aba et al., 2009 & Baiyeri et al., 2009)proved that the selective removal of male bud and few distal hands from a developing bunch has the potential to increase the size and grade of harvested fruits. IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  4. Introduction … • However, reports on sink-source modifications in banana fruit growth differ between studies; and may be related to differences in fruit age at the time bunch pruning was performed. • Westwood (1978) noted that the earlier and heavier ‘thinning’ or ‘pruning’ is done, the larger the final fruit size. • In many fruit trees, pruning when applied at the appropriate timeimproves fruit size, colour and organolepticqualities,reduces limb breakage, henceproducing fruits of more alluring appearance at harvest . • Pruning, assures that assimilates are not wasted on the non-essential portions of the bunch, but channelled for the optimum growth of the remaining fruits. IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  5. Objective This study investigated the post-anthesis period at which bunch pruning would be most effective in enhancing the bunch and fruit qualities of ‘PITA 24’ plantain. IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  6. Experimental Site: The experiment was conducted at the High Rainfall Station of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Onne (40 43'N, 70 01'E, 10 m a.s.l.), Rivers state Nigeria. Design of Experiment: Bunch pruning (i.e., removal of two distal hands and the male bud) was applied at full anthesis (at the opening of the last female hand) or at weekly intervals of 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks thereafter. These were compared with a no-prune control in a randomized complete block design of four replications. Materials and Methods: IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  7. Data Collection Data were collected at harvest on the following • Bunch weight • Number of hands & fingers per bunch • Number of properly filled fruits • Bunch fill index • Weights of hands 1- 6 (proximal hands) • Mean fruit weight, length & girth of 4 middle fingers per hand • Pulp fresh weight • Fruit edible proportion • Pulp dry matter content • Days to fruit-filling (i.e., time lapse between flowering and harvest) • Harvest index • Fruit yield (tonnes) per hectare IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  8. Data Analysis • The data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) following RCBD model using GENSTAT Release 7.2 DE (GENSTAT, 2007). • The separation of treatment means for significant effects was by least significant difference (LSD) at 5 percent probability level as described in Steel and Torrie (1980). IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  9. Results • Bunch and fruit quality traits generally improved with bunch pruning until 3 weeks after bunch anthesis (see Table below). • There was a drop in bunch-fill index, number of properly filled fruits, harvest index, fruit yield and individual fruit size when pruning was delayed for 4 weeks after full bunch anthesis. • The best quality fruits were obtained when pruning was applied immediately after the opening of the last female hand (i.e., at full bunch anthesis). Fruit traits on Figure 1 showed clearly that quality of fruits improved with pruning up till 3 weeks after bunch anthesis. IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  10. Table 1: Bunch and fruit traits as influenced by time of pruning application

  11. Figure 1: Bar charts showing the fruit quality traits as influenced by time of bunch pruning IeCAB2010 June 1-15

  12. Conclusion and application of findings • Our results confirmed that bunch and fruit qualities of plantain could be improved through a judicious and timely application of bunch pruning. • For optimum result, bunch pruning management should not be delayed beyond 3 weeks after the opening of the last female hand. IeCAB2010 June 1-15

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