Pacific Planters’

Digest

The Use Of Props In

Banana-Growing

GOOD plantation practices produce good bunches, and proper care of the bunches ensures the production of quality bananas.

Propping banana bunches is often necessary under tropical conditions.

Most bananas are grown on hill sides and there is a natural tendency for them to fall down the hill. This is accentuated by the fact that bunches generally come out towards the sun.

Generally speaking, the better the plantation the more need there is to prop the bunches. This is obvious as the bunch weight must be heavier and so the plants are more likely to be blown down or the bunch stalks to be broken.

The best type of prop is to use two strong stakes joined together with a wire about nine or 10 inches from the top of the stakes, the wire being fastened so that there is about one foot of wire between the stakes. This allows one stake to be placed on each side of the bunch. The piece of wire joining the stakes together goes under the bunch stalk close to the top of the bunch and gives the necessary support.

The plant and the two joined stakes make a tripod, which is very strong and supports the weight adequately.

The bunch cannot be dislodged from the prop by winds—as it can be if only a single prop is used.

The legs of the prop should be well

spread and made as firm as possible and kept out of the middle of the rows to allow free walking. This becomes very important when the plantation is being misted for disease or pest control and the operator is walking through with a machine on his back.

Props badly placed become a nuisance.

Props are generally made of 2 x 2 hardwood and their length varies according to the variety of bananas and the steepness of the hillside.

Plastic Covers For

Bananas

PLASTIC covers over banana bunches not only improve and protect the bunches, they increase the bunch weight by about 25 per cent.

Plastic covers were first used in 1950 in Australia owing to a shortage of hessian. They are now used by the million to cover bunches in New South Wales.

The covers used are made from plastic tube 28 inches wide when flat and are cut one yard or more in length. They are slipped up over the bunch and secured around the bunch stalk above the top hand by using a nail, plastic string or a clip. The bottom of the cover is left open.

With the taller varieties, a ladder is necessary, and a special light ladder with two wide legs and loose chain at the top has been designed for the purpose. The chain fits around

the pseudo-stem of the banana and prevents the ladder from slipping.

When the bunch is harvested the cover should be left on for protection until the bunch is in the shed and ready to be dehanded.

After use, the covers, if still in good condition, should be cleaned, dried and hung in an airy place until the next season. It has been found that 0.002 gauge covers will last one season, and the heavier gauges pro portionately longer.

Oddly enough, the colour of the plastic plays an important role as far as the appearance and quality of the fruit are concerned.

It has been found that blue, green and yellow covers give about equal results. Blue is the colour favoured by growers, probably because blue covers are easier to see on a planta tion, However, clear plastic is likely to cause sunburning of fruit, especi ally in plantations defoliated by leaf spot and speckle.

Red covers fade quickly and sun burn may follow. Black covers make the fruit pale. The temperature and humidity under plastic covers is higher than in uncovered bunches, and under ideal conditions it is possible to regulate the time that a bunch is harvested.

Effective Ant

Control

A NTS are one of the most plentiful, ** intelligent and annoying insects on earth. Entomologists have identified 3,500 species of ants, living in all climates inhabited by man.

Ants in houses and lawns are irritat ing, unsightly nuisances, and many species have painful bites. They injure flowers and vegetables by direct feed ing, by destroying vegetation around their nests, or by carrying aphids (plant lice) from plant to plant. Ants can also damage trees and larger woody shrubs by nesting in the in

terior of the trunk or branches, or around roots.

The most effective insecticide foi the control of all types of ants is Chlordane. This not only controls ants, but prevents further infestation because of its long residual properties.

The first step in control of ants in the home, lawns, or in gardens is to find the ants’ nests or at least trails.

Indoor nesting quarters are usually in walls, foundation sills, door frames, >ub-floors, cracks and behind base boards.

Ants nesting outdoors may be Found in anthills or mounds, tree :runks, under stones or timber and lext to foundation walls.

Inside ant control is easily accom plished by applying a 2 per cent.

Chlordane oil base or Chlordane vater emulsion spray, or a 5 per cent.

Chlordane dust to the ant trails and ireas around door sills and window rames. Repeated treatment may be lecessary to maintain effective con rol.

In controlling ants outdoors, Chlor

dane should not be applied to the

edible portions of vegetables or fruits,

once the edible portions are formed.

For garden control, treat the entire infested area (using the broadcast method) with a 0.25 per cent. Chlordane spray prepared from a wettable powder, emulsifiab e concentrate or a 5 to 10 per cent. Chlordane dust.

It should be noted that oil sprays usua ly cause burning or wilting and should not be applied to vegetation.

For trees, spray the trunks and lower portions of the larger branches with a 0.25 per cent. Chlordane spray and also drench the soil under the spread of the branches. If spray equip-

ment is not available, dust trunks of the trees and the soil under the branches with a 5 to 10 per cent Chlordane dust, p or con trol in lawns, use an 0.25 per cent spray or a 5 to 10 per cent, dust . If ants are numerous, treat the entire area with Chlordane, as well as surrounding areas.

Soaking the nest after treatment with water win wash the insect i cide down into the nest. Remember, how ever, that in the underground nests, there are many galleries, tunnels at many levels, and, in some cases, the ramifications may go to a depth of 20 to 30 feet.