Index:
- The effect of soil-applied Multi-K on Banana yield
- Foliar application
- The effect of foliar sprays with Multi-K™ on banana yield
- Fertilizing recommendations of banana crop in Colombia
- Fertilizing recommendations of banana crop in Canary Islands
- Fertilizing recommendations of banana crop in South Africa
For many years, wherever banana crop is grown, growers acquired experience fertilizing with Haifa products. Methods of application vary from country to country while advantages of using Haifa fertilizers are always beneficial. Some of experimental results and field trials are shown in the following tables.
Soil application
Table 15: The effect of soil-applied Multi-K on Banana yield (Lahav, 1973)
Multi-K™ applied (kg/ha/year) | Mean bunch weight (kg) | No. of Bunches (per ha) | Yield (MT/ha/year) |
| 0 | 23.3 | 1650 | 37.2 |
| 500 | 26.2 | 1910 | 47.2 |
| 1000 | 27.2 | 2000 | 50.5 |
| 2000 | 26.4 | 2140 | 51.5 |
Figure 41 a-b: Effect of different potassic fertilizers on banana yield (Guerrero and Gadban, 1996)
Foliar application
Figure 42: Effect of foliar feeding with Multi-K on banana plants (Gran Enno)(Guerrero & Gadban, 1992)
Table 16: The effect of foliar sprays with Multi-K™ on banana yield (Guerrero & Gadban, 1992)
Treatment* (4 Sprays @ 2%) | Bunch Weight (kg) | Hands/Bunch | Fingers/Hand 2nd basal | Cost/Benefit ratio |
| Not sprayed | 35.9 | 9.9 | 23.10 | -- |
| Multi-K™ sprayed | 37.9 | 10.5 | 23.25 | 13.5 |
* Soil application: 400 kg N + 600 kg K2O ha / year
(Guerrero & Gadban, 1992)
| Nutrient Content in Leaves (%) | |||||
| N | P | K | Ca | Mg | |
| Not sprayed | 1.38 | 0.10 | 2.15 | 0.45 | 0.21 |
| 4 sprays @ 30 days intervals | 2.02 | 0.12 | 2.85 | 0.65 | 0.31 |
| 6 sprays @ 30 days intervals | 1.86 | 0.11 | 3.2 | 0.95 | 0.28 |
Figure 43: Effect of foliar sprays with Multi-K™ on K content in leaves(Aerial application of 2 kg Multi-K™ in 20 L solution (10%) per ha, 2 weeks interval between applications)
Growers who successfully adopted fertigation systems used Multi-K™ potassium nitrate in combination with other water-soluble fertilizers:
1. Santa Maria, Colombia - tropical conditions. Plant density: 1200-1800 mat/ha Expected yield: 45-60 MT/ha
Table 18: Fertilizing recommendations of banana crop in Colombia
| Nutrient requirements (kg/ha) | Recommended fertilizers (kg/ha) | ||||
| N | P205 | K2O | Urea | MAP | Multi-K® |
| 550 | - | 750 | 740 | - | 1630 |
* In addition to 2 MT/ha/Year of manure.
(Source: Guerrero and Gadban, 1993)
2. Canary Islands - subtropical conditions
Plant density: 2000mat /ha
Expected yield: 45-60 MT/ha
Table 19: Fertilizing recommendations of banana crop in Canary Islands
| Season | Nutrient requirements (kg/ha) | Recommended fertilizers (kg/ha) | ||||
| N | P2O5 | K2O | AS** | Haifa MAP™ | Multi-K™ | |
| Spring* (Feb. – Jul.) | 200 | 85 | 260 | 495 | 140 | 565 |
| Autumn (Aug.- Jan.) | 200 | 52 | 304 | 460 | 85 | 660 |
*Additionally, during springtime, once a week:
15 kg/ha - Calcium nitrate + 8 Lit/ha Nitric Acid (60% w/w).
**AS = Ammonium sulfate, 20-0-0
3. South Africa - subtropical conditions
Table 20: Fertilizing recommendations of banana crop in South Africa
| Nutrient requirements (kg/ha) | Recommended fertilizers (kg/ha)* | ||||
| N | P2O5 | K2O | AN | MAP | Multi-K™ |
| 185 - 250 | -- | 655 - 850 | - | - | 1424 - 1880 |
* 19 applications of 45 glmat Multi-K, every two weeks (August through April).
(Source: Smith, 1991)
Need more information about growing bananas? You can always return to the banana crop guide table of contents & banana fertilizer
Related Articles:
NPK Fertilizers - Water Soluble Fertilizers
Informations about Plant Nutrition
Read more about Foliar Feeding
Informations about Potassium Nitrate Fertilizers