Abstract
Abstract While most banana ( Musa spp.) fertilization studies focus solely on bunch weight, this study highlights the importance of also considering crop cycle duration, which determines how many bunches can be produced per year and thus strongly influences annual yield. We hypothesize that on soils rich in potassium and other cations, nitrogen fertilization plays a central role in shaping banana yield by modulating the rate of nitrogen uptake and, consequently, the crop cycle duration. Two one‐cycle field trials were conducted: one in Martinique on clay alluvial soil and one in Guadeloupe on andosols, each with five nitrogen fertilization treatments and five replicates. A nutrient uptake index was calculated from leaf nitrogen concentration and pseudostem circumference (as a proxy for biomass), and annual yield was estimated using three indicators: interval from planting to flowering, fruit number per bunch, and fruit diameter. Results show that nitrogen fertilization did not significantly affect the total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward flowering but accelerated its uptake, leading to a shorter crop cycle. This shortening, in turn, could allow for more bunches to be produced annually. Among yield components, crop cycle duration emerged as the main driver of annual yield indicator, exceeding the influence of fruit diameter or fruit number. These findings highlight the importance of considering temporal growth dynamics when evaluating fertilization effects. They also suggest that foliar diagnoses, often performed at flowering, may overlook key aspects of nutrient uptake if they ignore the time required to reach that stage.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Results show that nitrogen fertilization did not significantly affect the total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward flowering but accelerated its uptake, leading to a shorter crop cycle.
- Taxon
- bananat0
- Treatment
- nitrogen fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward floweringe0
- Direction
- did not significantly affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Results show that nitrogen fertilization did not significantly affect the total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward flowering but accelerated its uptake, leading to a shorter crop cycle.”
t0“banana”
Claim · model-written summary
Results show that nitrogen fertilization did not significantly affect the total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward flowering but accelerated its uptake, leading to a shorter crop cycle.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Results show that nitrogen fertilization did not significantly affect the total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward flowering but accelerated its uptake, leading to a shorter crop cycle.”
t0“banana”
Claim · model-written summary
Results show that nitrogen fertilization did not significantly affect the total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward flowering but accelerated its uptake, leading to a shorter crop cycle.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Results show that nitrogen fertilization did not significantly affect the total amount of nitrogen absorbed toward flowering but accelerated its uptake, leading to a shorter crop cycle.”
t0“banana”
Claim · model-written summary
This shortening, in turn, could allow for more bunches to be produced annually.
Verbatim
e0“This shortening, in turn, could allow for more bunches to be produced annually.”
t0“banana”
Claim · model-written summary
Among yield components, crop cycle duration emerged as the main driver of annual yield indicator, exceeding the influence of fruit diameter or fruit number.
Verbatim
e0“Among yield components, crop cycle duration emerged as the main driver of annual yield indicator, exceeding the influence of fruit diameter or fruit number.”
t0“banana”
Claim · model-written summary
They also suggest that foliar diagnoses, often performed at flowering, may overlook key aspects of nutrient uptake if they ignore the time required to reach that stage.
Verbatim
e0“They also suggest that foliar diagnoses, often performed at flowering, may overlook key aspects of nutrient uptake if they ignore the time required to reach that stage.”
t0“banana”
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