Effect of male bud flower removal on yield and quality of 'Dwarf Cavensdish' banana

Banana is commercially grown in Turkey both in open-field and under protected cultivation. The cultural practices are very similar in both banana growing systems. The removal of male buds (debelling) after the completion of female flowers is a routine cultural practice in many banana growing countries. However, the farmers in Turkey have a divided opinion on this practice whether it improves the yield and quality of bananas. This study was conducted on 'Dwarf Cavendish' cultivar in the open-field conditions in the subtropical area. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of the male bud flowers removal in two different stages: firstly after completion of female flowers and secondly when hermaphrodite flowers were dried on fruit filling, yields and fruit quality features. The treatments were compared with control (no treatment). The experimental results showed that the number of days for fruit filling was reduced in both treatments as compared to the control. The highest bunch weight (27 kg bunch(-1)) was recorded when the male flowers were removed after the female flowers got dried. Compared to the control, both treatments gave better results in terms of all the investigation parameters.