Banana 'BRS Platina' under different mulches: yield, post harvest and morphophysiological parameters

Abstract

Brazilian banana farming has great economic and social importance. Banana is one of the fruits most appreciated by consumers, being part of the basic diet of all social levels of the population. The experiment was conducted in the farm of the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). Micropropagated banana plants of the cultivar 'BRS Platina' were planted in the field with a spacing of 2.5 x 3.0 meters (1333 plants ha-1), without irrigation. About 20 days after planting, different mulches was installed: black polyethylene films; double-sided polyethylene films (white and black), organic mulch (from the own crop), and control (bare soil). The experimental was set up in a randomized block design with four treatments, six blocks and six plants per treatment, totaling 144 plants. Among the six plants used in each treatment, two constituted the border, therefore four plants were evaluated. The analyzes performed in the first and second crop were: growth analysis, post-harvest quality, production and productivity, anatomical analyses, gas exchanges, chlorophyll content, relative chlorophyll index, relative water content, and protoplasmic tolerance. Both the organic and inorganic cover (plastic film) provide greater growth and yield of banana, and can be used in the cultivation of this crop. They also provide an increase in the chlorophyll content and in the characteristics of the gas exchanges. However, they do not influence the anatomical characteristics, relative water content and protoplasmic tolerance in non-irrigated 'BRS Platina' banana leaves.