Yield of ‘Prata-Anã’ banana plants under water deficit and high plant density

Abstract Yield-improving and water-saving techniques assume great importance in the cultivation of banana plants under semiarid regions, prone to greater climate variability. The objective of this study was to evaluate yield and water-use efficiency (WUE) response of ‘Prata-Anã’ banana plants to combinations of plant densities and irrigation levels: three irrigation levels, 50, 75 and 100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), and four plant densities, 1,666 (3.0 x 2.0 m), 2,083 (3.0 x 1.6 m), 2,666 (3.0 x 1.25 m) and 3,333 (3.0 x 1.0) plants ha-1, evaluated in two production cycles. The treatments were laid out in a randomized block design with four replicates. Increasing plant density up to 3,333 plants ha-1 induced reductions in number of leaves at harvest and some yield components; also, longer cycles, and increased yields were observed while maintaining fruit marketable size, regardless of the irrigation level used. Using an irrigation level at 50%ETc and a plant density of 3,333 plants ha-1 led to an increase in WUE of 313.92% in the first cycle and 295.27% in the second cycle compared with 1,666 plants ha-1 irrigated at 100% ETc. Higher yields and WUE can be achieved by using a plant population density of 3,333 plants ha-1 and irrigation levels below 100%ETc.