Sucker invigoration in banana- Techniques and Strategies

Sucker is the primary and major source of propagation material in banana. Continuity of the production process can be maintained only by balancing good bunch yield as well as optimum number of quality suckers. The research work on the initiation and the development of suckers indicated that its genesis could be in the cortex part of the mother corm. Both internal factors and external factors affect the sucker production in Banana. Sucker production increases with decrease in ploidy levels and with increase in M. balbisiana genomic group in the genomic constitution of the particular clone. Intra-clonal variability in suckering habit of different banana clones is seen. Physical methods of sucker activation techniques are reported to enhance the sucker production. In mattocking operation translocation of nutrients from mother plant to daughter suckers at various physiological stages of the mother plant and under the different systems of planting is clear. Cultural and hormonal methods also found effective for enhancing sucker production in banana. Newer techniques like split corm, split bud, minisetting, PIF etc. are also found effective in salvaging underdeveloped suckers.