Plant Maintenance

During the time between harvesting, the banana plant must be maintained to ensure the quality of the plant itself and the bananas it produces. It requires many steps and is very labor intensive.

Deflowering

In early stages of development, each finger has flowers on the end that must be picked off by hand. This is usually done when special bags are put over each bunch that act as insecticide, protection and ripening agent.

When the flowers are picked off a banana sap, or latex, oozes out of the end of the banana. It got my hands sticky.

Pruning

The banana plant grows forward with a new stalk or sometimes several stalks springing up. The stump on the right is a plant that has been cut off as it deteriorates. The stalk in the middle is where the fruit is growing. The stalk on the left will start producing fruit after the middle stalk has been harvested.

Sometimes more than one of the baby stalks spring up. Only one should be kept so there is no competition for nutrients. The one that is kept is chosen based on its size and location on the plant.

I'm still struggling with the machete, and I think some of the workers become terrified when I am wielding one.

De-Leafing

The process of de-leafing involves the removal of the droopy, unhealthy leaves.

The tool used for this is a long stick with a blade at the end.

After the leaf is removed it is added to one of the piles of leaves and stalks that have been removed. This adds organic matter back into the soil and acts as ground cover to prevent grass from growing.

These steps are actually the most important part of growing bananas. A well-maintained plant tends to produce higher yields and a better quality fruit.