Comportamento agronômico de genótipos de bananeira no agreste sergipano

Abstract

In Brazil, banana growing is of economic importance and banana is a basic food of a large part of the population. The need for genotypes that have high yield potential, resistance or tolerance to the main diseases, easy management, and good edaphic and climatic adaptation and that meet the demands of the consumer market increases day by day. Thus, development of new genotypes with potential morphoagronomic traits of commercial interest and that are able to adapt to diverse regions with particular edaphic and climatic conditions has become a challenge for banana breeding programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agronomic traits of banana genotypes in three production cycles under the edaphic and climatic conditions of the Agreste of Sergipe, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in randomized blocks with 22 treatments (genotypes) and three replications, with each plot formed of six banana mats, four of which were used for data collection. The genotypes were evaluated regarding the following variables: plant height; pseudostem diameter; number of live leaves at flowering and at harvest; bunch formation cycle from flowering to harvest; number of hands per bunch and number of bananas; fruit weight and bunch weight; number of tillers; and fruit diameter. The genotypes FHIA-23, PA- 9401, Bucaneiro, Pacovan, Pacovan Ken, and Prata Anã had the greatest heights and circumferences; and the genotypes Grande Naine and PV7934 had the smallest size. The largest numbers of live leaves at flowering were observed in the Mysore, Prata, and Cavendish groups, and at harvest, in the Mysore, Prata, Gros Michel, Cavendish, and Maçã groups. The genotype Thap Maeo was the highest yielding in all the cycles, and the Prata, Cavendish, Gros Michel, and Caipira groups in the second cycle. The same response was observed for weight and number of hands. For the variable of number of bananas per bunch, the genotypes Thap Maeo and Caipira stood out, while for number of bananas per hand, in addition to these, FHIA-23 obtained good results in the first and third production cycles. For fruit weight, the best groups were Prata and Gros Michel, and for fruit diameter, the Prata, Maçã, and Mysore groups. For number of tillers, the best results were obtained in Prata, Caipira, and Mysore. The Thap Maeo and Caipira genotypes and the Prata, Cavendish, and Gros Michel groups show promising agronomic traits and can be incorporated in the production system and recommended for growing in the state of Sergipe.