• Weeds are a menace in any cropping system. In a crop like banana, where the entire crop depends on the surface soil for its nutrition and water requirements, weed of any sort will be of deleterious effect to the crop.
• The weeds compete with the main crop for nutrients and moisture. They at times also harbour pests of banana.
• The luxurious weed growth in any banana fields will reduce the yield by way of reduction of bunch weight, grade of bunches, etc. Hence in banana plantations, periodical weeding is taken up to have a clean cultivation.
• Weeding is done either through a light digging of surface soil, by mulching or by manual weeding. Presently, in commercial banana gardens, weedicides, are also used extensively to control the weeds.
• One Dalapon and Eleven Paraquat sprays controlled weed effectively in banana plot.
• Pre-emergence application of Diuron at 4kg a.i/ha was effective in checking both monocot and dicot weed growth. Diuron treatment did not reduce banana quality.
• Among the post-emergence sprays, the combination of Diuron and Gramaxone at 4 kg/ha and 1.5 l/ha gave good control of weed population.

• Bananas are vegetatively propagated through the suckers, which are produced from the auxiliary buds of the underground rhizome, once the plant crop attains maturation.
• The suckers produced by different varieties vary in number. The time of sucker production by parent plant is that more than half the number of total suckers produced by a plant is produced since flowering of the mother plant.
• Some suckers are produced three or four months before flowering also. In a pure crop of banana, where single crop is only taken, usually all the suckers, which arise before flowering are removed as it will compete with mother plant for nutrients resulting in reduction of bunch size.
• Hence suckers which are produced by the plant in excess, or out of place are removed periodically to ensure better growth and bunch development of mother plant.
• This is an important operation in growing of bananas. In perennial system of banana culture, the 'setting of followers' at proper time will ensure good ratoon crop to the banana growers.
• In Tamil Nadu, it is a practice to pour kerosene into cavity left after digging the suckers. In case of hill bananas, unwanted suckers are removed after heading off and killing them by pouring kerosene (5-10 ml per sucker) over the cut surface of the sucker.
• While using kerosene, it should be avoided to treat suckers, which arise on the corm above ground level and have no root system. These suckers are entirely dependent on the parent plant and the kerosene may move back into the sap stream and injure it.
• The best method of handling these suckers is to cut off level with the parent corm.
• Desuckering of bananas by using chemicals like, 2, 4-D is also found to be in use. A pruning paste consisting of a mixture of 2, 4-D, fuel oil and grease may also be applied for desuckering.

Setting of followers for ratooning

• Removal of all suckers upto flowering of the plant and maintaining only one follower afterwards is the best desuckering practice.
• Ordinarily daughter sucker commences to appear from the base of the plants from about the third month of planting, but in suckers carelessly removed as to include large slices of rhizomes, some buds may shoot up to form new suckers even earlier than above period.

• The part of the inflorescence which consists of male flowers only, is invariably termed in different parts of the world as male bud, heart, or Navel. This has apparently no comprehensible function or value in the normal bunch formation or development.
• Therefore, the male bud is more often pruned off in many places, where intensive and efficient cultivation is practiced, obviously with the belief that the removal of unwanted growth may favour better bunch development.
• In one of the commercial variety Karpura Chakkrakeli Male bud was removed (12-15 days after shooting) soon after the completion of bunch formation, leaving a 5cm length of a barren axis. It was found that pruning the male bud had resulted in some increase in both the length and circumference of the fruit.
• In respect of mean duration from shooting to maturity, there was reduction of light days in the pruned plants.
• In the case of yield also, there was a significant increase of 0.9kg in the mean bunch weight of pruned plants which worked out to 7.5 per cent increase in yield.
• Other advantages in pruning the male bud include extra monetary returns by sale of male buds which are used as vegetable.
• It was observed that the banana thrips which attack the fruit and cause unsightly brown freckling on the fruit, live and breed in the male buds in large numbers.
• When the bunches are nucleus foci for further infection. The removal of the male buds obviously results in less damage from this pest.
• In Dwarf Cavendish whenever the male bud was allowed to grow, it delayed the harvest by 18 days.
• The bunches in which male bud was removed, were heavier by three kilograms over the un removed plants

• One of the important problems facing banana growers is the lodging of plants with mature or immature bunches during heavy winds and cyclones. The plants are uprooted or broken at the middle resulting in heavy losses to the growers.

Plant supported with bamboos

To overcome this problem, the plants have to be propped with bamboos or caesarian poles. Single props are given. The top of the prop is placed against the throat of the plant, under the curvature of the bunch stem. It is important that the prop itself is clear of the bunch to prevent fruit injury. Double props consist of two poles of equal length and tied together. The legs are spread to form a V at the top, in which the bunch stem is held.

• Leaf trimming is an important operation for controlling certain leaf diseases and for promoting light penetration.
• Trimming is the removal of the dead leaves that hang down the sides of the pseudostem. It is very important that only the dead and diseased leaves are cut and removed and not the still green leaves that often hang down the side of the pseudostem.
• By removing those green leaves, the photosynthetic area is reduced and the final bunch size is affected.
• Leaf removal may be done throughout the growing season. By keeping the plantation clean, more light and heat are available for promoting plant growth.
• Further advantages of removing dead and dried leaves are that the potential dangers of fruit injury and disease infection are reduced.

Bagging is a cultural technique used by planters in the French West Indies, Latin America, Africa, Australia, etc., particularly, where export bananas are grown. The main purposes are the protection of bunches against cold, sun scorching, against attack of thrips and scarring beetle.

• It also improves certain visual qualities of the fruits. Bunch covering with dry leaves is a common practice in India, which, however, may be a source of inoculum for post harvest diseases.

Earthing up

• Earthing up should be done during the rainy season to provide drainage, and to avoid waterlogging at the base. During summer and winter, the plants should be in furrow and on ridges during rainy season.