Macropropagation of Bananas for Pig Fodder in Northern

Propagation methods of Musa (ABB) cv. ‘Kluai Nam Wa’ were conducted in greenhouse and field experiments in both lowland and upland areas of Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. In greenhouse experiments, six treatments were conducted in both the dry and rainy seasons, while in field experiments, five treatments were conducted only in the rainy season. The treatments used different methods of mechanical injury or application of benzylaminopurine (BA) to induce plantlet differentiation. Results for the greenhouse trial indicated that during the rainy season, BA produced more plantlets than other treatments, whereas during the dry season, there was no significant difference in treatments, most likely as a result of other factors influencing the treatments. Only the split-corm treatment produced significantly smaller circumference plantlets than other treatments. New plantlets emerged earlier in the rainy season, particularly in the upland experiments. The effect of initiation season (rainy or dry) influenced the number of plantlets, and days to emergence in the greenhouse study. Results for the field trial indicated that treatment effects only produced significant differences with respect to circumference: mother plant staking had significantly greater circumference plantlets than other treatments. Neither run nor site made a significant difference in the number of plantlets, days to emergence, growing degree days to emergence, or circumference. Although results were not as anticipated, there still exists significant opportunity to capitalize on the low-cost appropriate technology and benefits that macropropagation of bananas can deliver to smallholder farmers.