Sustainable integration of banana in farming systems for enhanced income and nutritional security

Abstract

Banana is a very popular fruit due to its low price and high nutritive value coupled with ample carbohydrates and vitamins. It has a short gestation period and higher potential. It is essentially a tropical plant requiring a warm humid climate. Almost all the parts of this plant viz. fruits, leaves, flower bud, trunk and pseudostem can be utilized effectively in a farming system. Banana plantation offer tremendous opportunities to efficiently increase the yield and income of farmers in a shorter time. Development of Banana-based farming systems involves cultivation of compatible intercrops along with the integration of enterprises like poultry, dairy, mushroom, fishery, crops, etc. Integration of banana in the system offers considerable scope for increasing production in lesser time and with high input-use efficiency. The wastes/by-products of crop/animals used as input for another component helps in increasing the nutrient efficiency at the farm level through nutrient recycling.