• Seed selection: A farmer can select seed or plant varieties based on various factors including yield, use, pests and disease resistance, drought tolerance and maturity period. Planting materials can be tissue culture plantlets and/or suckers.

• Tissue culture plants are healthy, pest & disease-free plants, grow uniformly and vigorously.

• Suckers: When planting suckers, sword suckers are preferred to water suckers for their vigour and strength. Suckers must be corm pared to ensure they are free of weevils and nematodes. It is also not advisable to transfer soil from one plantation to another because of the risk of cross-infection.

Planting should be done at the beginning of a rainy season, as banana suckers need 4-6 months of growth without water stress.

However, a farmer needs to understand the appropriate crops recommended for inter-cropping with banana, their impact on banana performance and possible diseases that may arise from intercropping. 

How and when to intercrop

When bananas have just been planted is the time to consider whether or not you want to intercrop. When intercropping, it is important to fertilize and mulch the field to maximize the moisture and nutrient content of the soil. Intercropping is possible in a field that has already been mulched.

Some crops are more suitable for inter cropping with banana than others. Perennial crops, such as lemon should not be mixed with bananas. Never intercrop banana with root crops such as potatoes because digging the soil to plant and harvest them will cause damage to the banana or cereal crops like maize, rice etc.