On-site weather data from the Automated Weather Station indicated that the mean monthly minimum temperature varied from 11 ℃ to 16 ℃ and mean monthly maximum temperature varied from 25℃ to 34℃ during the study period (Table 3). A minimum temperature of less than 12℃ was observed between 120 to 240 DAP. The total rainfall received during the study period was 1814.2 mm. Between 0-240 DAP the plants received more than 10 hours of sunlight indicated as light hours, and from 240 DAP onwards received an average of 9 hours of daylight.
Table 3
Average monthly weather parameters collected at experimental site. In fifteen minutes weather data was collected and sent to the Digite cloud platform via the same mobile network connection as the Central Gateway.
| Temp (ᵒ C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wind speed (km/hr) | Humidity (%) | Light Hours |
| Avg. Min | Avg. Max | Avg. Min | Avg. Max |
30DAP | 15.28 | 25.88 | 166.4 | 13.70 | 56.23 | 70.97 | 12.03 |
60 DAP | 15.32 | 25.28 | 259.6 | 11.73 | 61.93 | 98.03 | 10.54 |
90 DAP | 14.60 | 26.39 | 230 | 9.83 | 60.38 | 96.94 | 10.90 |
120 DAP | 13.38 | 26.66 | 45.6 | 13.46 | 59.38 | 95.94 | 11.04 |
150 DAP | 11.77 | 25.78 | 9.6 | 14.99 | 57.50 | 92.50 | 10.06 |
180 DAP | 11.75 | 27.73 | 15.6 | 12.58 | 34.90 | 95.87 | 10.57 |
210 DAP | 11.32 | 30.88 | 17.2 | 15.69 | 23.64 | 84.14 | 12.38 |
240 DAP | 11.72 | 33.96 | 00.0 | 14.05 | 14.42 | 75.81 | 10.22 |
270 DAP | 15.10 | 33.88 | 151.6 | 10.82 | 21.67 | 96.37 | 9.02 |
300 DAP | 15.21 | 31.25 | 92.8 | 9.01 | 38.26 | 97.06 | 9.67 |
330 DAP | 16.42 | 28.95 | 135.6 | 11.67 | 45.00 | 97.80 | 9.10 |
360 DAP | 15.18 | 26.93 | 206.2 | 13.04 | 57.71 | 98.65 | 8.35 |
390 DAP | 14.18 | 27.37 | 79.2 | 9.35 | 53.87 | 98.65 | 8.58 |
410 DAP | 13.83 | 27.35 | 75 | 9.10 | 56.30 | 99.20 | 9.62 |
440 DAP | 13.80 | 27.78 | 128 | 5.98 | 58.39 | 98.87 | 9.23 |
470 DAP | 13.26 | 23.73 | 202.4 | 7.81 | 63.07 | 97.97 | 6.36 |
The analysis of plant height data showed that the control strategy plants were the tallest between 0-270 days after planting, reaching a maximum height of 240.85 cm at 270 DAP. However, there was no significant increase in height after 270 DAP. In contrast, all experimental strategies continued to see an increase in height after 270 DAP and reached their maximum height around 330 DAP. At 330 DAP, the I3F3 and I3F2 strategies produced the tallest plants at 264.67 cm and 253.17 cm, respectively. The I2F1 strategy had the shortest plants at 330 DAP with a height of 225 cm (Fig. 2).
The control strategy plants showed the largest pseudostem girth between 0-360 DAP and reached their maximum girth of 83.18 cm at 240 DAP. All experimental strategy plants reached their maximum pseudostem girth at 330 DAP. At 330 DAP, I3F3 strategy plants showed a pseudostem girth of 78.42 cm and I3F2 showed a pseudostem girth of 72 cm. I1F3 had the smallest pseudostem girth of 64.53 cm at 330 DAP (Fig. 3)
The I1F2 strategy had the highest number of leaves at 47 leaves and reached its maximum number of leaves at 360 DAP. All experimental strategies reached their maximum number of leaves at 360 DAP while the control strategy reached its maximum number of leaves at 300 DAP. At 300 DAP, the control strategy had 41 leaves. At 360 DAP, the I3F2 and I3F3 strategies had 46 and 45 leaves, respectively and I2F2 had the smallest number of leaves amongst experimental strategies at 44 leaves (Fig. 4).
The control strategy plants exhibited the highest leaf area index (LAI) between 0-300 DAP, reaching a maximum of 5.61 at 300 DAP. In contrast, the experimental strategies reached their maximum LAI around 330 DAP. The I3F3 strategy showed the highest LAI of 6.23 at 330 DAP. The I1F1 strategy showed the lowest LAI of 4.54 at 330 DAP (Fig. 5).
During 210–270 DAP, there was a slowdown in the rate of increase of plant height, pseudostem girth, number of leaves and LAI in all strategies. The slowdown in the control and I3F3 strategies were relatively less severe when compared to the rest of the strategies.
Figure 4: Total number of leaves of Grand Nain banana grown under varied irrigation strategies and fertilizer applications. The number of leaves was recorded at a seven day interval from planting to till shooting. Wherein I1F1: 150 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I1F2: 150 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I1F3: 150 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I2F1: 100 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I2F2: 100 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I2F3: 100 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I3F1: 50 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I3F2: 50 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I3F3: 50 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; Control: daily irrigation + 100% RDF.
With regard to the yield attributes, the results show that the control strategy plants recorded the highest bunch weight, second hand weight, average fruit weight in the second hand, and fruit girth. The I3F3 strategy plants recorded the second-highest bunch weight and second hand weight. I3F3 had the most number of fruits in the second hand. I1F1 had the lowest bunch weight (Table 4).
The control strategy plants flowered at 258 DAP. The I1F3 and I3F3 strategy plants flowered at 350 and 328 DAP respectively. I1F3 strategy plants took the most days to flower at 350 DAP. The control strategy plants were harvested 135 days after shooting. The I3F3 strategy plants were harvested 127 days after shooting. The I2F1 strategy plants were harvested 138 days after shooting, which was the most number of days after shooting to harvest. The I2F3 strategy plants took the least number of days 122 days after shooting to harvest (Table 4).
The control strategy plants showed the highest yield of 117 t/ha by utilizing 160.66 lakhs litres of water with an average bunch weight of 37.8 kg per plant. The strategy I3F3 and I3F2 followed with a yield of 102 t/ha and 90 t/ha by utilizing 48.82 and 34.66 lakhs litres of water with an average bunch weight of 33.2 and 29.28 kg per plant respectively. The I1F1 strategy showed the least yield at 69.20 t/ha by utilizing 14.30 lakhs litres of water with an average bunch weight of 22.42 kg per plant (Table 4 and Table 8).
The cost of cultivation (CoC) for bananas grown under different strategies were calculated on a hectare basis, as shown in Tables 5 and 6. The findings showed that the total cost incurred (Cost B) was highest in the control strategy, while the lowest was in the I1F3 strategy. The I3F3 strategy was ranked third in terms of cost of cultivation.
With varied rates of irrigation and fertilizer application strategies, the per hectare profitability of banana production was calculated, as shown in Table 7. The control strategy had the highest gross income at Rs. 8,17,204 and the I1F3 strategy had the lowest gross income at Rs. 5,20,392. The I3F3 strategy had a gross income of Rs. 7,15,026. That being said, the net profit of the I3F3 strategy was Rs. 2,71,689 which was higher than the net profit of the control strategy at Rs. 2,69,741. The benefit-cost ratio (B:C ratio) of I3F3 was 1.61 which was higher than the control strategy at 1.49 and lowest BC ratio found with the I1F1 strategy.
Crop water productivity (kg of fruit produced/m3 of water) was the highest at 5.03 in the I3F3 strategy, whereas it was 4.78 in the I3F2 strategy, and 4.4 in the control strategy. Water savings over the control strategy was the highest at 91.10% in the I1F1 strategy and was 73.22% in the I3F3 strategy. NPK fertilizer productivity (kg of fruit produced/kg of NPK fertilizer) was 26.54 in the control strategy and 44.73 in the I3F3 strategy (Table 8).
Table 4
Effect of irrigation and fertigation on shooting and yield attributes of Grand Nain banana. The economic yield parameters were recorded at harvest and shooting parameters were recorded at shoot initiation time. The three replications of each strategy were taken for the RBD analysis (P < 0.05)
| | Bunch Weight (kg) | Secondhand Weight (kg) | No Of Fruits in Second Hand | Avg. Fruit weight in 2nd Hand (kg) | Avg. Fruit Length (cm) | Fruit Circumference (cm) | No of days to shooting | No of days from shooting to harvest | Peduncle Girth (cm) | No of Hands per Bunch | No of Fruits per Bunch |
I: 1 | F: 1 | 22.61 | 3.77 | 17.37 | 0.22 | 23.75 | 13.52 | 335.83 | 127.00 | 19.33 | 7.42 | 107.67 |
| F: 2 | 26.07 | 3.89 | 17.23 | 0.23 | 22.92 | 13.15 | 332.44 | 133.22 | 19.32 | 8.44 | 124.08 |
| F: 3 | 23.90 | 3.31 | 16.95 | 0.20 | 22.32 | 12.98 | 350.67 | 128.16 | 18.46 | 9.00 | 130.67 |
I: 2 | F: 1 | 25.78 | 3.86 | 18.41 | 0.21 | 22.17 | 12.52 | 323.17 | 138.08 | 20.58 | 9.42 | 143.31 |
| F: 2 | 28.78 | 3.86 | 18.18 | 0.21 | 23.13 | 13.29 | 326.39 | 133.77 | 19.83 | 9.81 | 147.00 |
| F: 3 | 26.84 | 3.97 | 18.42 | 0.22 | 23.09 | 13.44 | 335.17 | 122.58 | 19.63 | 8.42 | 130.00 |
I: 3 | F: 1 | 28.55 | 4.21 | 19.33 | 0.22 | 24.38 | 13.44 | 325.42 | 135.41 | 20.75 | 9.00 | 135.33 |
| F: 2 | 29.28 | 4.16 | 18.24 | 0.23 | 25.02 | 13.90 | 319.50 | 130.83 | 21.04 | 8.67 | 135.42 |
| F: 3 | 33.20 | 4.50 | 20.22 | 0.22 | 24.40 | 13.27 | 328.17 | 127.08 | 21.17 | 9.75 | 155.58 |
Control | | 37.83 | 4.78 | 19.79 | 0.24 | 25.30 | 14.69 | 258.50 | 135.25 | 21.75 | 11.33 | 193.42 |
Overall Mean | | 29.87 | 4.16 | 18.64 | 0.22 | 23.92 | 13.63 | 312.69 | 131.83 | 20.45 | 9.49 | 149.11 |
F (Prob.) A*B | | 0.43 | 0.01 | 0.77 | 0.19 | 0.16 | 0.44 | 0.97 | 0.40 | 0.94 | 0.57 | 0.77 |
I: 1 | | 24.16 | 3.65 | 17.18 | 0.21 | 22.99 | 13.22 | 339.65 | 129.46 | 19.04 | 8.29 | 120.81 |
I: 2 | | 27.13 | 3.90 | 18.34 | 0.22 | 22.79 | 13.08 | 328.24 | 131.48 | 20.01 | 9.21 | 140.10 |
I: 3 | | 30.34 | 4.29 | 19.26 | 0.23 | 24.60 | 13.54 | 324.36 | 131.11 | 20.99 | 9.14 | 142.11 |
C.D. (5%) | | 2.65 | 0.18 | 1.18 | 0.01 | 0.68 | 0.59 | 16.97 | 6.91 | 1.19 | 1.25 | 22.88 |
F (Prob) | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.38 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| F: 1 | 28.64 | 4.16 | 18.72 | 0.22 | 23.90 | 13.54 | 310.73 | 133.93 | 20.60 | 9.29 | 144.93 |
| F: 2 | 30.51 | 4.17 | 18.36 | 0.23 | 24.09 | 13.75 | 309.21 | 133.27 | 20.49 | 9.56 | 149.98 |
| F: 3 | 30.44 | 4.14 | 18.85 | 0.22 | 23.78 | 13.59 | 318.13 | 128.27 | 20.25 | 9.63 | 152.42 |
C.D. (5%) | | 2.29 | 0.15 | 1.02 | 0.01 | 0.59 | 0.52 | 14.70 | 5.98 | 1.03 | 1.08 | 19.82 |
F (Prob) | | 0.18 | 0.90 | 0.59 | 0.23 | 0.54 | 0.68 | 0.42 | 0.12 | 0.77 | 0.80 | 0.73 |
C.V. % | | 9.07 | 4.34 | 6.47 | 5.25 | 2.91 | 4.46 | 5.55 | 5.36 | 5.97 | 13.47 | 15.70 |
Wherein I1F1: 150 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I1F2: 150 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I1F3: 150 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I2F1: 100 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I2F2: 100 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I2F3: 100 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I3F1: 50 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I3F2: 50 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I3F3: 50 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; Control: everyday irrigation + 100% RDF.
Table 5
Physical inputs and outputs of banana production under varied irrigation and fertilizer strategies.
Sl. No | Particulars | Control | I1F1 | I1F2 | I1F3 | I2F1 | I2F2 | I2F3 | I3F1 | I3F2 | I3F3 |
1 | Hired human labour (man day (8hr/ha)) | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 |
2 | Machine labour (hour/ha) | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
3 | Banana sucker (₹/sucker) | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
4 | Fertilizers and Manures (₹/ plant) | 101.9 | 101.9 | 91.5 | 81.2 | 101.9 | 91.5 | 81.2 | 101.9 | 91.5 | 81.2 |
6 | Plant protection (₹/ plant) | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
7 | Yield (kg/plant) | 37.8 | 22.6 | 26.1 | 24.1 | 26.0 | 28.3 | 26.9 | 28.3 | 29.8 | 33.1 |
8 | Irrigation (L/plant) | 4720 | 463 | 468 | 505 | 741 | 1140 | 661 | 1222 | 1052 | 1394 |
9 | Land rent (₹/Ac) | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
10 | Incidental expenditure (₹) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
11 | Electricity (motor run hour) | 590.0 | 57.7 | 58.0 | 63.0 | 92.7 | 142.3 | 82.3 | 152.3 | 131.3 | 174.2 |
Wherein I1F1: 150 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizer); I1F2: 150 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I1F3: 150 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I2F1: 100 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I2F2: 100 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I2F3: 100 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I3F1: 50 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I3F2: 50 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I3F3: 50 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; Control: everyday irrigation + 100% RDF.
Table 6
Cost of Cultivating Grand Nain Banana per Hectare under Varied Irrigation and Fertilizer Strategies.
Sl. No | Particulars (CoC/ha) | Control | I1F1 | I1F2 | I1F3 | I2F1 | I2F2 | I2F3 | I3F1 | I3F2 | I3F3 |
1 | Hired human labour (man day) (₹ 600 per day labor wage) (₹) | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 | 27,600 |
2 | Machine labour (₹) | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
3 | Planting material (sucker) (₹) | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 | 37,032 |
4 | Fertilizer cost (₹) | 314,371 | 314,371 | 282,462 | 250,521 | 314,371 | 282,462 | 250,521 | 314,371 | 282,462 | 250,521 |
5 | Plant protection (₹) | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 | 42,216 |
6 | Irrigation (₹) | 29,132 | 2,860 | 2,888 | 3,115 | 4,571 | 7,036 | 4,078 | 7,544 | 6,493 | 8,604 |
7 | Electricity Charges (₹) | 28,059 | 2,743 | 2,758 | 2,996 | 4,407 | 6,769 | 3,915 | 7,244 | 6,246 | 8,283 |
8 | Cost A (Σ item 1–7) | 486,410 | 434,822 | 402,957 | 371,481 | 438,198 | 411,115 | 373,363 | 444,008 | 410,049 | 382,257 |
9 | Land rent (₹) | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
10 | Interest on fixed capital | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 |
11 | Cost B (Σ item 8–10) | 547,490 | 495,902 | 464,037 | 432,561 | 499,278 | 472,195 | 434,443 | 505,088 | 471,129 | 443,337 |
Wherein I1F1: 150 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizer); I1F2: 150 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I1F3: 150 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I2F1: 100 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I2F2: 100 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I2F3: 100 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I3F1: 50 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I3F2: 50 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I3F3: 50 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; Control: everyday irrigation + 100% RDF.
Note
46 man days and 8 hrs/Ha was considered for Human labor and machine labor calculation respectively. 3086 plants/Ha were considered.
Table 7
Profitability of Grand Nain Banana Cultivation under Various Irrigation and Fertilizer Strategies.
Per hectare profitability in banana production |
| | Control | I1F1 | I1F2 | I1F3 | I2F1 | I2F2 | I2F3 | I3F1 | I3F2 | I3F3 | |
1 | Yield (t/ha) | 117 | 70 | 80 | 74 | 80 | 87 | 83 | 87 | 92 | 102 | |
2 | Gross income (₹) | 817,204 | 488,205 | 562,948 | 520,392 | 561,004 | 611,553 | 580,878 | 611,985 | 644,388 | 715,026 | |
3 | Cost A (Σ item 1–7) | 486,410 | 434,822 | 402,957 | 371,481 | 438,198 | 411,115 | 373,363 | 444,008 | 410,049 | 382,257 | |
4 | Cost B (Σ item 8–10) | 547,490 | 495,902 | 464,037 | 432,561 | 499,278 | 472,195 | 434,443 | 505,088 | 471,129 | 443,337 | |
5 | Net profit (₹) | 269,714 | -7,696 | 98,911 | 87,831 | 61,726 | 139,358 | 146,435 | 106,897 | 173,259 | 271,689 | |
6 | Benefit to Cost ratio (BC ratio) | 1.49 | 0.984 | 1.21 | 1.20 | 1.12 | 1.30 | 1.34 | 1.21 | 1.37 | 1.613 | |
Note: Wherein I1F1: 150 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizer); I1F2: 150 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I1F3: 150 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I2F1: 100 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I2F2: 100 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I2F3: 100 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I3F1: 50 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I3F2: 50 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I3F3: 50 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; Control: everyday irrigation + 100% RDF; The BC ratio calculated by cost B divided by gross returns. |
Table 8
Water Productivity and Fertilizer productivity of Grand Nain Banana Grown under Varied Irrigation and Fertilizer Strategies.
| | Control | I1F1 | I1F2 | I1F3 | I2F1 | I2F2 | I2F3 | I3F1 | I3F2 | I3F3 |
1 | Total water per plant (rainfall + irrigation) (L) | 8612 | 5640 | 5645 | 5682 | 5918 | 6317 | 5838 | 6399 | 6229 | 6571 |
2 | Water Productivity (kg of fruit produced/m3 of water) | 4.393 | 4.007 | 4.616 | 4.240 | 4.389 | 4.482 | 4.606 | 4.427 | 4.789 | 5.037 |
3 | NPK used (gram per plant) | 266.75 | 266.75 | 200.07 | 133.38 | 266.75 | 200.07 | 133.38 | 266.75 | 200.07 | 133.38 |
4 | NPK used (kg per ha) | 823.19 | 823.19 | 617.42 | 411.61 | 823.19 | 617.42 | 411.61 | 823.19 | 617.42 | 411.61 |
5 | NPK productivity (kg of fruit produced/kg of NPK fertilizer) | 26.45 | 15.80 | 23.31 | 32.55 | 18.16 | 25.32 | 36.34 | 19.81 | 26.68 | 44.73 |
6 | Percent water save over control (%) | 0 | 91.10 | 91.01 | 90.31 | 85.77 | 78.10 | 87.31 | 76.52 | 79.79 | 73.22 |
Note: Wherein I1F1: 150 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizer); I1F2: 150 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I1F3: 150 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I2F1: 100 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I2F2: 100 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I2F3: 100 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; I3F1: 50 kPa irrigation + 100% RDF; I3F2: 50 kPa irrigation + 75% RDF; I3F3: 50 kPa irrigation + 50% RDF; Control: everyday irrigation + 100% RDF; Cost per plant was calculated by considering total cost of cultivation per ha and number of plants per ha; NPK cost calculated considering cost of Urea, MOP and SSP fertilizer used in respective strategies. |