Fertilization Regime on the Vegetative Growth of Lakatan (Musa acuminata) Under Rainfed and Irrigated Conditions

Water and fertilizer play an important role in the production of banana. Fertilizer provides nutrients while water is essential in the transportation of assimilates and many other functional and regulatory processes needed in the growth and development of the plant. This study was conducted to determine the effects of different fertilization regimes on the vegetative growth of ‘Lakatan’ banana under rainfed and irrigated conditions. The experiment was laid out in factorial in RCBD with 4 replications. For the irrigated plot, treatments were: IT1 – Irrigation + No fertilizer application, IT2 – Irrigation + 50% recommended fertilizer rate (RR), IT3 – Irrigation + 100% RR. For the rainfed plot, the treatments were: RT1 – rainfed + No fertilizer application, RT2 – rainfed + 50% RR, RT3 – rainfed + 100% RR. Results showed that rainfed plants were significantly stunted compared with irrigated plants despite similar fertilizer applications. Development was also delayed in rainfed plants as irrigated plants were already transitioning to the reproductive stage on 10th month. Meanwhile, regardless of irrigation treatment, fertilizer application of either 50% RR or 100% RR significantly increased plant growth in terms of pseudostem height, pseudostem girth, and leaf emergence compared with the control set-up. Thus, monthly fertilizer application of only 50% RR would be sufficient to enhance the vegetative growth of Lakatan.