Tips on growing Lady Finger bananas
Jeff Daniells & Stewart Lindsay, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.
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Introduction
Gluts in Cavendish production regularly draw attention to the higher prices that the Lady Finger variety receives. In this article we include some of the information you need to know if you are considering Lady Finger production.
Top quality fruit is essential
Due to low yields of Lady Finger (about 1/3 that of Cavendish), high prices are needed to make growing the variety worthwhile. We estimate cost of production for Lady Finger to be about $18 per 13kg carton. Good prices are only paid for good quality fruit as Lady Finger supplies a specialty market.
Tips on growing top quality fruit
Location
Choice of location has a big bearing on fruit quality of Lady Finger fruit. It seems easier to produce high quality fruit throughout the year in drier climates, meaning that production on the wet tropical coast has a lot more problems. Poor drainage in the wet season, low light levels and high rainfall/high humidity are the major factors affecting fruit quality on the wet tropical coast.
Plant density
Low densities (700 - 1000 plants/ha) are essential for quick bunch filling that greatly enhances fruit quality. The main improvements in quality are more 'bloom' to the fruit, maximum greenlife or storage life and larger fruit. Lady Fingers are usually grown in the single row-single follower system. Spacings recommended for north Queensland would be 5.5m x 1.8 - 2.6m. Growers will need to fine-tune these spacings for their particular management system.
Drainage
Lady Fingers seem to perform best on well drained soils. Sloping situations will be generally the best drained. Soils such as red clay loams (krasnozems) are those most commonly utilised in north Queensland. If considering production on alluvials in north Queensland then a carefully planned drainage scheme is essential. This will include a deep drain network and high mounds.
Dealing with sooty blotch
Figure 3. Sooty blotch on a Lady Finger banana
Sooty blotch is a mildew/mould-type growth on the surface of the fruit peel (Figure 3). A range of fungi is involved. Lady Finger and some other varieties like Ducasse, sometimes called 'Sugar' are more prone to the problem than Cavendish. Sooty blotch is most serious during the wet season. Because sooty blotch incidence is seasonal it is possible to minimise problems by scheduling bunch filling to occur away from the wet season, but this does not enhance continuity of supply of product to the marketplace.
As sooty blotch is only on the peel surface it is relatively easily removed by dipping the fruit in a 100ppm solution of sodium hypochlorite (the active ingredient of products such as Exit MouldŽ) for about 5 minutes. After the fruit is dipped, it should be rinsed with water immediately to prevent burning.
Overcoming bird/bat damage
Lady Fingers are particularly prone to fruit scarring from claw marks of nectar feeding birds and bats during the flowering phase. Applying bunch covers early before any bracts lift on the bunch can overcome this problem. Usually heavier gauge bunch covers (150m m) are used which are less easily torn by hungry feeders, and the cover is also temporarily secured at the base. The cover must be opened at the bottom a week or two later and the accumulated bracts removed.
Lady Fingers are better suited to smaller growers
Because Lady Fingers require a high level of management to produce top quality fruit they are probably not for everyone. They will tend to be better suited to the smaller grower (approx 5 - 20ha) who can maintain the intensity of management required.
Four-wheel-drive bagging machines
The advent of the 4-wheel-drive bagging machines has revolutionised bunch covering and the associated tasks of bunch trimming, debelling and bunch dusting/spraying for Cavendish bananas, and because Lady Fingers are much taller than Cavendish the advantage is even greater. However, these machines are relatively expensive and are unsuited to very sloping ground (>20°slope).
Beware of Panama Disease
Unlike the Cavendish varieties, Lady Finger is susceptible to Fusarium Wilt Race 1 causing Panama disease, which occurs in parts of north Queensland. This disease has plagued Lady Finger production in southern Queensland for many years. Telltale signs of the disease are characterised by marginal yellowing of the lower leaves which later turn brown and dry out. Death of the parent plant usually follows often without producing a saleable bunch. The fungus is persistent in the soil for decades so once you get it you cannot continue to produce susceptible varieties on that site.
Therefore it is very important to prevent Panama Disease from ever occurring. This is best done by:
- Obtaining disease-free planting material. The disease is most commonly spread in infected planting material. Tissue cultured plants are free of Panama disease. They are best established in a planting material nursery to allow culling of offtypes before full scale field planting. Otherwise sucker and bit material must be obtained from a recognised disease-free area.
- Observing rigid quarantine to prevent disease entry. Apart from infected planting material the disease is also spread in contaminated soil and water. Avoid the entry of contaminated soil on boots and machinery.
- Avoiding sites potentially contaminated by runoff water (including flooding) from other areas.
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Dwarf selections are worth a look
The DPI&F has evaluated two dwarf selections of Lady Finger - Santa Catarina Prata (2.5 - 4.5m) and J.D. Finger (2.0 - 3.5m), (see Figures 4 and 5). Most management tasks are much easier with the dwarf selections. However, fruit quality is sometimes poorer because of more severe sooty blotch, reduced greenlife and distorted fruit due to choke throat. Growers should try some plants of the dwarfs to see how they perform in a particular situation with their management systems.
Future prospects?
Increased sales of Lady Fingers over time should be
possible especially if some promotional monies were directed to this variety.
The export opportunity for this specialty variety should also be
investigated.
Further reading
- BGF (1992) Lady Fingers: one grower's viewpoint. BGF Bulletin May 1992, pp 18-19.
- BGF (1992) Growing Lady Fingers on a large scale. BGF Bulletin June 1992, pp 12-13.
- Daniells, J.W. (1992) Prospects for Lady Finger bananas. Bananatopics 18:9-11
- Daniells, J.W. and Bryde, N. (1992) Santa Catarina Prata - A replacement for Lady Finger? Bananatopics 17:15-16
- DPI (1994) Lady Finger Bananas. DPI Choices Seminar Series No. 7.
- NSW Agriculture (1999) Growers guide to quality production of Lady Finger bananas in the subtropics. 49pp.
Further information
Agrilink Tropical Banana Information Kit provides information on all aspects of growing and marketing tropical bananas in Queensland. It is available from the Agrilink office (phone 1800 677 640) or the DPI&F Shop on-line.
DPI&F Business Information Centre on 13 25 23 - local call 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday (non-Queensland residents phone 07 3404 6999). E-mail: callweb@dpi.qld.gov.au
Information contained in this publication is provided as general advice only. For application to specific circumstances, professional advice should be sought. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland has taken all reasonable steps to ensure the information in this publication is accurate at the time of publication. Readers should ensure that they make appropriate inquiries to determine whether new information is available on the particular subject matter.
Last updated 04 February 2004
