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.

摘要 在气候变率更为显著的半干旱地区，提质节水技术对香蕉栽培至关重要。本研究旨在探究‘普拉塔-阿纳’（Prata-Anã）香蕉的产量与水分利用效率（WUE）对种植密度与灌溉水平组合的响应：设置3个灌溉水平（分别为作物蒸发蒸腾量（ETc）的50%、75%、100%）与4个种植密度（分别为1666株/公顷，株行距3.0×2.0m；2083株/公顷，3.0×1.6m；2666株/公顷，3.0×1.25m；3333株/公顷，3.0×1.0m），试验在2个生产周期内开展。试验处理采用随机区组设计，设置4次重复。当种植密度提升至3333株/公顷时，收获期叶片数量及部分产量构成因子出现下降；但无论采用何种灌溉水平，均可观测到生育周期延长、产量提升，且果实商品规格保持稳定。以灌溉定额为100%ETc、种植密度1666株/公顷的处理为基准，采用50%ETc灌溉搭配3333株/公顷种植密度的处理，在第一个生产周期内水分利用效率提升313.92%，第二个生产周期提升295.27%。采用3333株/公顷的种植密度与低于100%ETc的灌溉定额，可获得更高的产量与水分利用效率。