Agronomical evaluation of bananas under irrigation and semi-arid conditions

The goal of this work was to make a agronomical evaluation of the vegetative characteristics and income of five cultivars of banana type Plantain, in the first production cycle under irrigation in the semi-arid conditions of the region of the city of Guanambi - Bahia State. Relevant phenotypic descriptors were used for the identification and selection of individuals with superior characteristics, so as to make available to the producers of the perimeters of irrigation an alternative for the diversification of the banana crops. The evaluated genotypes AAB were the varieties Terra, Terra-Maranhao, Terrinha and D'Angola and the hybrid AAAB: FHIA-21. The following characteristics were analyzed: number of days from the sowing to the flowering and to the harvest, height of the plant, perimeter of the pseudostem, number of alive leaves at flowering and harvest, gap flowering-harvest, weight of the bunch, of the peduncle and of the hands, number of hands and fruits per bunch, length and diameter of the fruit. The procedure employed was randomized blocks, with five treatments, consisting of the cultivars AAB: Terra, Terra-Maranhao, Terrinha and D'Angola and the hybrid AAAB: FHIA-21, and five repetitions. Each plot was comprised by 20 plants: four rows of five plants, with six useful plants in the spacing of 3,0 m x 3,0 m. Terra and Terra Maranhao were the most productive varieties, however, with larger load and late cycles. The hybrid FHIA-21 and the varieties Terrinha and D'Angola showed a larger number of living leaves in the harvest. The variety D'Angola presented the smallest productivity between the evaluated cultivars.