Evidence-Based Wind-Felled Recovery of Plantains

摘要

Wind damage and ruin are endemic to the plantain crop all over the world. Apart from pests and diseases that attack plantains, wind effects constitute one of the most devastating and major challenges confronting the plantains and banana farmer. This is especially so with the advent of climate change. Traditionally, wind-felled plantain pseudostems are cut for continued vegetative growth. As a result, any credible recovery method should be a welcome development at loss reduction, sustainable systemicdamage confrol methodology and increased food availability. Rigid support like a fence wall was used to hold uprooted plantain pseudostems at varying inclination angles to the horizontal, in Lagos, Nigeria. Linear horizontal and vertical distances were measured after the side bud plantain shoots occurred to determine the inclination angle. Protractor angular measurements were also taken from the plantain photograph for improved accuracy. The calculated tangent was about 65deg , while the protractor measurement was about 60deg . Empirical evidence shows that side bud plantain outgrowths were visible for plantain pseudostems inclined approximately 60deg to the horizontal, between four and six weeks from the period of inclination. Those plantain pseudostems inclined at about 40deg and below withered, while those inclined at 80deg to the horizontal showed no side bud outgrowth, but lengthened after about 18 months of dormancy. Also, those plantain pseudostems inclined at about 60deg to the horizontal began to fruit after about 18 weeks of inclination. Consequently, plantains recovered by this method fiuit much faster than those grown from either suckers or cuttings.